condensor on coil

[captden29]

i wonder if anyone knows why there is a condensor on the coil. on my 54 windsor it connects one terminal of the coil to the condensor and the cond. is mounted to the coil bracket. i asume it goes to ground. is this something to reduce static on the radio? the wire lead into the cond. broke. can it be replaced with the same cond. that is in the distributor? my radio doesn't work anyway, so that is not a priority. thanks for any advice. it has a part # on it, 1479706. definitely looks like the factory original. dennis

[Jim Saraceno]

Would that be a ballast resistor?

[Niel Hoback]

It's there to prevent ignition static in your radio. Its a different value than the one in your distributor.

[desoto1939]

I have a radio in my 39 desoto and the radio condensot is mounted on the generator. You can get these at a NAPA store and ask for a radio condensor

Rich Hartung

[captden29]

definitely not a ballast resistor, neil. jim says it is for radio static and that was my uneducated guess. does that condensor replace the need for resistor plugs? i will start looking for a new one to keep my original look in the engine bay. thanks, dennis

[Niel Hoback]

The condenser on the coil is to help stop the static caused by the points. They make an annoying popping noise that sounds like an audible tachometer. The condenser on the generator is there to stop the generator whine noise in the radio. If you don't have a radio, you don't need either one.

[41/53dodges]

maybe it is your flux capacitor!