The Hodaka Club Forum

When replacing the condenser on my '73 Wombat, I noticed that the 4 wires connected to the condenser were soldered in place with an unsightly glob of solder. Since the connection appeared to be solid, I soldered the wires onto the new condenser the same way. But, to tell the truth, I really wasn't happy doing it that way. I would seem that if I solder the 4 wires onto a single wire & then connect that single wire to the condenser, the risk of a connection failure might be lessened.

I would appreciate your thoughts & suggestions. Thank you.

Kit

Kit,
The soldered connection works as long as care is exercised. Good solder technique and no excess heat to condenser.

That said, I have used a remote condenser from a 1976 Honda mr250 that makes servicing easier. Also may be a little more reliable. This condenser is bolted to the ignition coil under the tank and a bullet type plug in wire connector used to connect to the black wire...if I remember correctly. Wires at the original Hodaka condenser are soldered together and tucked out of the way. I don't have a pic...sorry.

Danny Cooke

Danny,

Thanks for the interesting idea. Since the condenser in the original location is indeed a bit difficult to replace, I am intrigued by your idea. Since there are 4 wires connected to the condenser (2 black, 1 blue & one wire from one of the coils), I assume that you ran all 4 up to the coil in its new location.

I found it to be a bit difficult to solder all 4 wires to the condenser without generating excessive heat (probably due to my inexperience).

I am interested in this & other ideas to assure that replacing the condenser will be done properly. Thanks!

Kit

What I do is hold the 4 wires with a pair of needle nose. Then I heat up the wires first, set them in place and drop some solder onto the wires & condenser. Finally I us the soldering iron to flatten out any rounding of the solder. I'm not the greatest solderer, but it gets the job done. ; D Victor

Kit,
Simply solder together all the wires going to the original condenser, insulate and tuck out of the way of any moving parts. Basically you are simply teeing in the new condenser to the black wire going to the coil. The condenser grounds at the coil mount bolt. Come to think of it, I might suggest running a separate ground wire from the engine to the frame. Loose / corroded engine mounts could present a remote possibility of a problem.

Danny Cooke

Hello again. I've installed many of these condensers and have made every imaginable mistake and ruined many in the process. Here's what I've learned, in no particular order, along the way. Its a somewhat tedious operation but it needs to be done absolutely perfectly lest you will reconfirm that a condenser malfunction will allow the bike to move only as fast as you can push it I've found that the soldering process will be more satisfactory if you perform the work with the end cap in a horizontal plane. Trying to solder it in its installed position on the stator plate (ie vertically) can result in gravity pulling the molten solder away from the contact point. You can accomplish this position by 1) laying the bike on its clutch side - properly blocked to avoid damage to the brake lever, pedal, or exhaust, 2) removing the stator plate and steadying it horizontally to perform the work, or 3) soldering the connection to the condenser prior to installing in in it's well on the stator plate. You'll have to McGyver a system to stabilize the condenser horizontally. Duct tape works. If you choose 3, remember that the wires approach the condenser from right to left so make sure to confirm correct orientation based on the position of the mounting tab on the condenser. On many of these bikes, these wires have been resoldered many times over resulting in foreshortening or otherwise roaching the wires. This makes the whole process unnecessarily tedious and possibly dubious. I have spliced additional length to the wires with a good end-to-end solder joint secured with heat shrink tubing then cut to appropriate length. Kind of like Goldilocks and porridge, these wires can't be too long nor too short, but "just right". Redundant wire runs the risk of abrasion of the insulation resulting in shorting followed by swearing then pushing. For soldering, I strip about 1/2" from the insulated wires and twist all four (be sure to include the wire from the exciting coil) together and give them a good tinning. Tinning them keeps all of the wires organized and facilitates making the solder joint quickly. On the condenser there should be two tabs on the contact end. From right to left advance the wires under the tabs so that the insulation is just under the right hand tab. Slightly bending the tabs down to the contact point so there is just enough room to advance the wires helps keep the whole process organized. Once in position, bend the left hand tab down tightly over the wires to hold them in position. Don't worry if there is a little extra wire protruding from the left hand tab. This will be trimmed tightly when you are done. Make the solder joint being very careful to avoid solder or wire contact with the condenser case. You can't just blast away with the soldering gun as the excess heat will destroy the condenser. Here, the pre-tinning of the wires seems to help form the joint quickly thus limiting heating time. A bright, shiny solder joint is mandatory. Once completed, trim excess wire and fold the right hand tab over the wires to provide stabilization and strain relief. Reinstall everything and...brrrrrrrrapppp!! You are ready to grab a handful.

At least on my W'Bat 94 the Stator plate is affixed to the block with countersunk flat-head bolts so it can be removed without changing the timing. Loosen the stator plate, reposition it close to horizontal and solder away.

All of my points/condenser wires are really short, too, and I need to do some rewiring next time. I ought to replace that condenser just to be sure.

--Bill

Thanks, Guys, for the info. Your comments reaffirmed my thoughts. That in itself is confidence-inspiring.

Matt: Thanks for taking the time to detail your procedure. Makes perfect, intuitive sense.

Kit

Hey Kit, you're totally welcome. The operation as detailed is the result of my countless reaffirmations that Einstein was correct - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a better outcome is the definition of insanity

Amen!