New 20 ounce tumblers available now! Forum donation credit with purchase. https://www.wildguzzi.com/Products/products.htm#Tumbler
Some coils will not produce a spark without the condenser aka capacitor or at least a strong spark.While the points are closed the current flows through the coil saturating the magnetic field. When the points open the field collapses causing a spark and the Voltage across the coil charges the condenser in the opposite direction which builds up the magnetic field again so the energy swaps between the magnetic field in the coil to the electrostatic field in the capacitorThe condenser and coil ring (oscillate) together causing several sparks in a quick succession.Yes it does suppress the spark at the points but without it the spark will be very weak if at all.http://www.ratwell.com/mirror/users.mrbean.net.au/~rover/ketterin.htmConsidering his great contribution to motoring there's not a lot of good information on the web about Charles Kettering.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blignition.htmBTW the magneto which preceded the coil also had the capacitor to cause the ringing effect, it's in the rotating part.
Thats interesting, Joe. I wonder why the original owner put one on the bike? Maybe because it was a customary thing to do on cars, etc. back in the 70s..... ??? unless someone knows of a reason, for having it,in this case, I think i am going to leave it off.Thanks ,Rick.
Hello Folks, some very interesting information here, thanks! I just spent an hour studying the links Kiwi Roy provided. Excellent!! Maybe my simple mind is easy to impress, but statements like this in Kiwis link to the "Kettering Ignition" just blow my mind! I never had any idea the points worked so fast!! Wow! "At ordinary engine operating speeds, the points open and close a couple of hundred times per second, the exact number depending on the number of cylinders and the engine RPM. The points need to be closed for a appreciable time in order to build up the maximum magnetic flux in the ignition coil core."This is one of the things I love about this forum, you can get an education in mechanics, and a history lesson here! After reading my personal email, this forum is the next place I always visit, with my morning coffee in hand.Thank You all Fellow Guzzisti for providing that quality experience.So what I gather, is that the second condenser placed at the coil neg. terminal doesnt do the necessary function the other condenser on the distributor does, and its function would be just noise suppression, and unnecessary for the running of the bike. There is no way the second condenser is to provide "backup" to the the condenser by the points, is it? They are hooked up to the same circuit, as the wire from the negative side of the coil is the one that goes down to the distributor, right?I got the gas tank back on the bike, and it started up normally, without the second condenser,I plan to take it for a test ride in a bit, and see how the new Flamethrower coil performs....Of course with a name like flamethrower, its supposed to "Feel faster" ! ;DWill report back,Thanks,Rick.
Now shoot me if I am wrong.If the capacitor is on the -ve side of the coil it is doing the job of the capacitor in the dizzy, and is very necessary to the running of the spark.If it is on the +ve side of the coil it is for suppression of interference.(Assuming a -ve earth system.)