Hey polo peeps. Hope you're all safe and well.

I have a question about condensers. Are they pretty much standard or do they have different ratings/capacity like a fuse?

Thanks for stopping by and dropping some knowledge on me if you have done so.

Take it easy.

I assume that you are talking about the cylindrical thing in the distributor?

These have always been known as 'condensers', but the term was dropped by the electronics people many years ago, being changed to CAPACITOR.

The value of the 'condenser' in your distributor is determined by the resistance of the ignition coil winding, so you should really stick to the correct one.

That said, pretty well any 'condenser' intended for a 12 v ignition system will work, especially in an emergency.

If you get the wrong value, you could get a weak spark or rapid burning of the contact breaker points - the latter being a sure sign of 'condenser' failure.

Capacitors come in all sorts of shapes,sizes and values, so do not use any of those (for example, a suppressing capacitor used on the alternator) for the ignition system.

The 'condenser' plays a vital part,along with the coil, in producing a decent spark.

Regards

Regards

Yes. The little jobbie that looks like a battery, hooks on the back/side of the distributor. I've only ever heard it called a condesor but i'm still pretty new to all this car wizardry.

Found the one i have in place and the two spares i have by entering "mk2 polo condensor" into ebay search engine.

The one i had in place until recently, the black plastic bit that fits through the side of the distributor was pretty much melted. I'm guessing that was the wrong one for my car.

How can i find out the correct value? Will it be in the haynes or do i need to go by the part number on on the ignition coil?

I think the one i have in place may be the wrong one but i need to find out what i should have in place as a reference.

Thanks again for guidance caretaker.

Very grateful for your patience.

I can't find any spec for the condenser in "Haynes 813" or "So wird's gemacht".

But one of those did say failing condenser will usually cause blackened contact breaker points which you don't have.

I think it is VAG part number 060 905 295

eg

http://www.vwsonline.co.uk/car_parts_bristol/vw/polo/polo86c/filtersbelts/ignition-coils/060-905-295.html

Cylindrical 18mm diameter 25mm long

0.21 microFarad

http://www.toutvendre.fr/CONDENSATEUR-NEUF-ALLUMAGE-AUDI-80-100-PORSCHE-924-GOLF-JETT_27732792.aspx

Edited 26 August, 201412 yr by dvderlm

Thanks dude.

They look just like the ones i have. The first one says it's for a 1.3 or 1.5. Pretty sure that's what i got on there already, is that cool or do i need to find another one that's more specific?

If it physically fits and it is of the value stated above (0.21 mfd) it will be OK.

Regards

Okay. Thanks dudes. Very much appreciated.