Product Review: Lucas Type 2MC Capacitor 54170009
Hello again C.B.S. readers. Today I am very excited to release this full product review on the new Lucas type 2MC capacitors produced by JRC Engineering. We have been waiting many months for these capacitors to be manufactured. Now they are ready to hit the market- again. Alright lets get right to it.
What is a Lucas 2MC capacitor?
The Lucas 2MC capacitor was developed in the late 1960s to replace models that featured the energy transfer (E.T.) ignition. Using a Lucas capacitor allows a standard ignition motorcycle to run battery less. The whole purpose of fitting a Lucas capacitor originally was for emergency purposes only. Example - If you left your lights on on your motorcycle and your battery goes flat, the Lucas capacitor will allow you to start your motorcycle and ride it to a close destination. Once the bike is running lights are fully functional - just like E.T. systems. Many folks today install the Lucas capacitor on British motorcycles, European motorcycles and Japanese motorcycles just so one can ride the bike without a battery.
Ready to hit the market - again?
Mounting spring included with all capacitors
Back in the day when Lucas made parts (not today's Lucas) they offered capacitors as standard equipment on some models and offered them as replacements. Finding an original Lucas capacitor today is very difficult. Most original capacitors have expired. In the mid 2000's a company named Sparx decided to reproduce the Lucas 2MC capacitor. They did an excellent job at reproducing the capacitor but there where some flaws such as backwards terminals. Most Sparx capacitors are now off the market.
Review
1 positive terminal - 2 negative terminals
What's great about these new Lucas type capacitors is that they are an exact reproduction of the original Lucas 2MC capacitors. They happen to feature the correct blue color and the correct mounting spring for most Triumph and BSA models. Each capacitor comes with its own box designed by JRC Engineering. Features one positive spaid terminal and two negative spade terminals.
Storage life
Storage life according to Triumph is close to a year.
According to triumph themselves a workshop manual states that Lucas capacitors have a storage life of approximately 9 months to a year depending on temperatures. I have personally tested original, used, and new old stock Lucas capacitors and have found some that still work close to 50 years later.
Applications
The Lucas 2MC capacitor well technically fit any British motorcycle that has standard points ignition. Example if you choose to install this capacitor on a BSA Lightning you can do so even though it was not fitted as standard. The spring supplied is used to mount the capacitor (we recommend installing the capacitor in a vertical position away from heat). I personally installed a Lucas capacitor on my 1968 triumph TR6R with excellent results.
Conclusion
All in all I am very excited and proud to stock these new Lucas type capacitors on my shelves and to offer them to my customers. I would like to give a big shout out to everyone at JRC Engineering for developing, producing and investing in a wonderful product that at one point was hard to obtain. As always thank you everybody for reading today's post. If you have any questions or have some input please feel free to leave a comment below. Click here to purchase the Lucas type 2MC capacitor.
Shane
In ‘80 I was riding a ’57 Triumph 5T with a 2MC/zener diode conversion when the alternator burnt out on the motorway. In ’83 I built a ’59 AJS, fitting a Wipac 12v alternator and the zener diode and battery from the 5T. When the battery died, I fitted the 2MC – initially just to get the bike home (I’d left in a kind stranger’s garage then come back a couple of days later). I never did fit another battery to the Ajay and ran it from the 2MC until I sold it.
J. Randal Montgomery
I have same Q, will this work with a Boyer e-ignition, just for a few seconds when starting the engine with e-starter causes the battery to drop to 10 volts. Just need the capacitor to provide 12 volts for a few seconds.
daniel bernbaum
will this work with electric ignition ? and will it help anything ? also converted to negative ground… thank you…
Wayne
Hi. The value of the electrlytic capacitor is 10,000uF 63v and not 1,200 as stated. The 1200uF capacitor would not be able to store enough energy to smooth and therefore boost the output voltage from the rectifier. 63v or above is also preferable.
Classic British Spares
@Daniel Moisan – I do not know that info at the top of my head, I will see what I can dig up!