12 volt condensor

[Little Jo]

Hi Guys

I have been experiencing some power problems when driving my 1942 MB Willys Jeep. It appears when I accelerate and the jeep is put under pressure she loses power, but as soon as I shift down and increase the revs she drives OK again until the next hill. I have checked everything from Carbie to coil, plugs and points. I then had a thought, when I changed from the 6 volt to a 12 volt system I changed everthing to 12 volts except the condensor in the distributor and I was wondering if I should have put in a 12 volt condensor. Could that be causing my problem. Has anyone out there had a similar problem when converting to 12 volts.

Cheers

Tony

[Frank v R]

have you done a compression test and what type of fuel are you running down there do you still have leaded fuel? sounds like your engine is going away, if you are running unleaded fuel have you been using lead additive? if it is your engine and it comes out make sure you have hardened exhaust valve seats installed ,first thing try adjusting your valves and see what happens, also do you have ethanol in your fuel down there , this stuff is a even bigger problem for the old engines and fuel systems, hope this helps,
regards Frank

[motto]

Condensers are not specified in Volts, they are specified in Micro-Farads which is a measure of storage capacity.

The easy check for condenser compatibility is to observe what sort of a spark the ignition system is putting out. This can be done statically by removing the distributor cap and flicking the points open with a finger nail whilst holding the end of the king lead from the coil that normally plugs into the centre of the cap close to any metallic part of the engine. You should have a fat blue spark that will jump at least 3/8 of an inch. Watch out for Shocko if you have a weak heart.

The spark can also be checked with the engine running by removing one plug lead, starting the engine and once again holding the end near a metallic part of the engine. Depending on what sort of end is on the lead you may have to insert a bolt as an electrode.

The problem you are having may in fact be your plug leads if they are of the silicon type. They are good when they are new but can break down internally and give lots of trouble.

David

[Little Jo]

Hi Frank and David

Thanks guys for coming back to me. You have both given me some things to check out. It sure is a pain as when the Jeep is standing still I can rev her up and down with no change, very responsive, but under load when driving is causing the loss of power and causing the spluttering.

FRANK. The fuel we are sold down here is all unleaded, there is some cheaper unleaded which has Ethonal in it, but I don't use that not even in my normal everyday Jeep. You mentioned a lead additive, I will follow up on that. An old guy told to me to throw a cup full of diesel fuel in the tank and mix it with the other fuel, he claims this will bring the Octane Level down.

DAVID. I will check the spark output as you suggested, If I get a boot who knows I may end up with curly hair. I had already replaced it with new Spark Plugs, High Tension Leads, Coil and Points, however I did not replace the condensor and god knows how old that is.

Cheers

Tony

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi Tony,
The only time we had a Jeep with similar problems it was a lack of fuel to the carby under load. Maybe worth checking filter and lines etc.
Some of the guys here use a bit of diesal in the fuel as they believe it helps prevent valve wear. Certainly never seen it cause any problems.
Personally I use a Moreys product in my toys, and whenever (finacially) possible I use the mid range octane fuel, and have no intention of going down the ethanol path. (Although I did use it for years on my EL Ford).
Have fun.......
Rich.

[Little Jo]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

Hi Tony,
The only time we had a Jeep with similar problems it was a lack of fuel to the carby under load. Maybe worth checking filter and lines etc.
Some of the guys here use a bit of diesal in the fuel as they believe it helps prevent valve wear. Certainly never seen it cause any problems.
Personally I use a Moreys product in my toys, and whenever (finacially) possible I use the mid range octane fuel, and have no intention of going down the ethanol path. (Although I did use it for years on my EL Ford).
Have fun.......
Rich.

Hi Richard

Good to hear from you again. I am always pleased with the advice you guys give me. This morning I started checking eberything again from the start and I followed some of the tips from Frank and David. Took the Carbie off again and gave it a good cleanout and used the compressor to blow out all the little holes and put it back on the motor. Checked the spark as suggested and all the cables, redone the gaps in the spark plugs and points in the distributer. I then replaced the condensor with a new one and took the Jeep for a drive. I was very pleased with myself as the problem is now gone, the only problem is I don't know what I did to fix it, but I suspect it was a faulty condensor. I think I will put some diesel in the tank when I fill up, as you said it can't do any harm. So once again my fellow MLU'r have come to my aid. Thanks guys.

Cheers

Tony

[hrpearce]

Tony I use flashlube adative in the blitz it comes in a measure bottle and is easier than guesing on a quantity of diesel that is safe.