Hello everyone, I had found this funky looking device inside the box of an old VCR that I had recently acquired from a freebee pile at a local computer store, and I was kind of curious as to what it might be, any ideas?

Pic attached.

Looks to ME...like a capacitor that used to be in cars with the standard--non-eelctronic ignition system...they usually called them a "condenser". I believe it's purpose was to do 2 things" reduce sparking of the contact points and ALSO...somehow provide a path for the HV to collapse through or such. I have been told..they will NOT produce spark--without one in place...

Looks to ME...like a capacitor that used to be in cars with the standard--non-eelctronic ignition system...they usually called them a "condenser". I believe it's purpose was to do 2 things" reduce sparking of the contact points and ALSO...somehow provide a path for the HV to collapse through or such. I have been told..they will NOT produce spark--without one in place...

Some points-less distributor-ignition cars (such as my Lincoln) also had them on the ign coil.....They were sometimes found in other places too; like mine also has one on the SS voltage regulator module.

Looks to ME...like a capacitor that used to be in cars with the standard--non-eelctronic ignition system...they usually called them a "condenser". I believe it's purpose was to do 2 things" reduce sparking of the contact points and ALSO...somehow provide a path for the HV to collapse through or such. I have been told..they will NOT produce spark--without one in place...

Interesting, why would this thing be in a box with a VCR?

Some points-less distributor-ignition cars (such as my Lincoln) also had them on the ign coil.....They were sometimes found in other places too; like mine also has one on the SS voltage regulator module.

So I'm assuming that this thing was in cars pre-1973?

Some points-less distributor-ignition cars (such as my Lincoln) also had them on the ign coil.....They were sometimes found in other places too; like mine also has one on the SS voltage regulator module.

You still have your Lincoln? What year model is it?

Interesting, why would this thing be in a box with a VCR?Probably fell in the box during moving. You'd be amazed at all the things I found inside VCRs over the years servicing them. I never realized a 7" 45 RPM record would fit until one came in "won't accept tape" symptom.

Probably fell in the box during moving. You'd be amazed at all the things I found inside VCRs over the years servicing them. I never realized a 7" 45 RPM record would fit until one came in "won't accept tape" symptom.

Reminds me of the DVD player I worked on that was completely full of fruit loops. I picture some kid hitting "open", putting fruit loops on the tray, hitting "close", and watching them disappear...

We pulled books, coins, Barbie limbs, plastic bottle caps, stickers, a tin can lid, and lots of legos from VCRs back in the day. Onboard ship, I even pulled a complete dart out of one - the dart board was below the shelf with the VCR - and someone was a bad dart player.

Interesting, well I think I might keep this Ignition capacitor for posterity sake, because my grandfather who passed away 3 years ago was a semi retired mechanic and I've kind of gotten into automobilia because of that.
This will definitely be an interesting story to share. :yes: :thmbsp:

You still have your Lincoln? What year model is it?

Darn right, I still have it! Early production 1978 model year.

Darn right, I still have it! Early production 1978 model year.

My grandfather used to have a 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, it had pretty much every single option that it could have in it including an AM/FM Stereo 8-Track Player, Power Antenna, Power Seats, Power Windows, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Courtesy Lights, Map Lights, Reading lights (for the passengers in the back), curb lights, Wheel Skirts, Power Trunk Release, Plush Velure (Sp?) Pillow Seats, Cruise Control, Tilt Steering Wheel, Electronic Ignition, Security System, and the 4 Barrel 440 V-8 Engine. And lots of other options.

How about chicken bones? I found bones, pennies, pens and condoms (still in its wrapper) think god.

yikes! There's a lot of crazy things you guys have found in these VCRs over the years. I had also found the governor off of either a clock chime mechanism or a music box inside this VCR that I'm currently working on, which at first I thought it might of been part of the VCR but upon closer inspection I noticed that it couldn't of been and that it was part of a music box mechanism.

:scratch2:-My grandfather used to have a 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, it had pretty much every single option that it could have in it including an AM/FM Stereo 8-Track Player, Power Antenna, Power Seats, Power Windows, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Courtesy Lights, Map Lights, Reading lights (for the passengers in the back), curb lights, Wheel Skirts, Power Trunk Release, Plush Velure (Sp?) Pillow Seats, Cruise Control, Tilt Steering Wheel, Electronic Ignition, Security System, and the 4 Barrel 440 V-8 Engine. And lots of other options.

Was that the GF, that was an auto mechanic?
It takes a mechanic to know, what a good car really is. Those big old Mopars, were really quite the car in the day. The only problem, the big block was a little fond of fuel.
That was probably a "Lean Burn" engine. The first generation ECM. :scratch2:

:scratch2:-

Was that the GF, that was an auto mechanic?
It takes a mechanic to know, what a good car really is. Those big old Mopars, were really quite the car in the day. The only problem, the big block was a little fond of fuel.
That was probably a "Lean Burn" engine. The first generation ECM. :scratch2:

Yes, that was the Grandfather that was the mechanic, he actually had nearly 40 cars on his 5 acre lot (quite literally a junk yard of old Mopar, GM and Ford vehicles that he had acquired over the years from people or that he had gotten from his father who owned a Chrysler dealership in Myerstown, PA, whenever a car broke down on my grandfather his dad would just send him a new one instead of my grandfather trying to fix it because he was so busy trying to fix other people's cars).

Anyways I already acquired an old Mopar Electronic Ignition Tester, Several old Chrysler Emblems (from 1970s vintage Chrylsers and Dodges) and now I have this Ignition Capacitor. :yes: :thmbsp:

My grandfather used to have a 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, it had pretty much every single option that it could have in it including an AM/FM Stereo 8-Track Player, Power Antenna, Power Seats, Power Windows, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Courtesy Lights, Map Lights, Reading lights (for the passengers in the back), curb lights, Wheel Skirts, Power Trunk Release, Plush Velure (Sp?) Pillow Seats, Cruise Control, Tilt Steering Wheel, Electronic Ignition, Security System, and the 4 Barrel 440 V-8 Engine. And lots of other options.

Sounds like my 2 door Mark V only no skirts, no security, Quadraphonic 8-track (instead of stereo), Leather option (velour was available), and 4 barrel 460 V8.

Sounds like my 2 door Mark V only no skirts, no security, Quadraphonic 8-track (instead of stereo), Leather option (velour was available), and 4 barrel 460 V8.

Yeah, it was a pretty cool car my grandfather drove it up until the early 1990s and I only vaguely remember riding in it when I was little (I'm 27 and I was probably abour 2 or 3 years old when I rode in it). I really wanted it so badly but my dad told me that it had really funky steering in it and that I probably wouldn't want to try and drive it (Supposedly it was in an accident in the early 1980s and my great-grandfather who was the previous owner of it did the body work on it and got it into driving order again but he forgot to fix the steering so when you drove it you had to have the steering wheel at a 45 degree angle to where it should normally sit when you wanted to drive straight down the road).

Anyways the vehicle I really wanted though (once I learned that my grandfather had it) was his 1956 Chrylser Newport Spring Special (which was basically a 1955 Newport that was left over stock from 1955 that was sold in 1956 and offered as a "Spring Special") anyways it was really cool because it had a push button transmission in it (something that no one else was able to replicate at the time) and it basically had all of the bells and whistles on it for that time period (power Locks, Power Windows, Power Steering, Power Brakes, A/C, Power Antenna, AM Radio with long distance options and mechanical presets, intermittent wipers, rear defrost etc. but anyways I guess it was in my grandfather's barn which had collapsed in the mid 1990s and it had a cement floor but because rain had filtered down through the debris for the past 18 years before my uncle could get it dug out of the barn debris it had rusted the body of the car to the point that it wouldn't of been worth fixing sadly enough (because my uncle and his buddies even wanted to try and fix it up but then when they pulled it out of the barn they saw how rusty it was then they figured out it would of been too much work to fix it up properly).

My Grandfather also had a 1968 Chrysler Imperial which I was also interested in for a while but then the rear windshield got broken on it by a tree that fell on it so then it was kind of out of the question for me.

He also had a 1987 Dodge Diplomat SE that I was also interested in (which I could of had that for my first car but some bratty kids came along and broke out some of the windows in it and made it so I couldn't get it then because to replace the windows would of costed me more than it was worth).

Anyways the Diplomat would of been a good first car because it had the famous Chrysler small block 318 in it which would of been an easy engine to learn to drive on because it wouldn't of been too powerful but yet it would of had just enough power to not bee too putsy like some of those little 4 cylinder cars out there, or some of those V-6 engines and would of been easy to service (lots of room to work under the hood unlike some of your cars now a days where they barely give you any room under the hood to stick a wrench in there).