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can condenser in distributor cause short

If an ignition condenser shorted internally it would keep the motor from starting and running by essentially shorting around the points, thus preventing them from interrupting the primary current and thus not producing the hi-tension voltage required for a spark.

And on some distributors there is a flexible wire connecting the points and condenser to the outside terminal. That wire is covered with a cloth insulation which may be rotten and easily damaged. Parts of the wire are sometimes hidden under some of the mechanism. When the distributor is disturbed such as when changing the points or condenser the old cloth insulation can fall off in spots and allow the wire to short -- sometimes in a place where damage is not easily seen. A shorted wire could lead you to believe the condenser is shorted even if it is not.

Amen, Howard...Those little wires have caused many, many short four letter words that do not include Love! Ernie in Arizona

Spoken like a man who like many of us must have fallen into that rabbit hole and speaks from experience.

If anyone needs to replace that wire do not use ordinary wire for the purpose. Regular wire and insulation is much too stiff and will break after a short time due to the continual flexing from motion of the vacuum advance mechanism. You can do a search on ebay or in some parts store websites for "distributor ground lead" and find the correct ultra flexible fine stranded wire.

Main differences between the leads is length and the type terminal on the ends. You may not find exact to what you have but try and get something close that looks like it will work. Do not modify the wire by cutting and changing terminals or doing any soldering because that could cause a stiff stress spot where the wire would break.

thanks when I put ignition wire on distributor it grounds it out . new coil new switch.

Perhaps you could explain a little more clearly, what ignition wire to where on the distributor?

If you mean the wire from the coil and it grounds out when connecting to the distributor primary terminal, that's what should happen if the ignition switch is "on" and the distributor points are closed. If you open the points or separate them with a non-conductor like a piece of cardboard, then the current flow to ground to cease. If it doesn't, you have a short somewhere, the condenser is one possibility.

thanks you are right but want fire.

What year and do you have an OD? If you have an OD there is an ign ground out circuit as part of that assy which if there are certain problems in the OD could cause the ign to stay grounded and not fire.

Are you getting a spark at the dist terminal when you connect the wire from the coil to the dist or if not, what leads you to believe there could be a short in the dist?

If no OD and no spark when connecting wire can you remove the wire from the dist and using something insulated so as not to touch the wire terminal directly, ground it against the block and get a spark from the high voltage lead when the terminal is removed from the block? If you can do that and get a spark from the coil high voltage lead then there could be something grounded in the dist. It might be the flexible wire, the condenser, or points misadjusted or not on the high point of cam so closed. It could even be a wrong length screw or wrong points or something else in the points or condenser installation. If you get no HV spark when grounding the wire directly to the block then look to the voltage from ign sw supplying the coil.

If a 6v system and you have a low battery or too small of battery cables or a high current draw from the starter or poor connections somewhere then there could be enough of a voltage drop that the coil no longer has enough primary voltage during cranking to deliver a decent spark.

1932 coupe roadster all new wire harnesses. was running fine. last time I started it about a week ago.it sparks at battery when put cable on positive ground. 6 volt.