does any one know an ACTUAL method to test the condensor?

 

My 84 blazer had the same problem and it turned out to be the pickup coil.

 

hey there i have an 84 chevy k10, 350 with a hei ignition and boy have i had some problems lately. my truck died at a stop sign in town, hadnt been running for maybe more than 6 min and it wouldnt start up again...it has had stalling issues for awhile but this is different now. I had already replaced the ignition coil and module in my truck about a year ago and so i thought that maybe it went out again so i replaced both again after each attempt produced no spark. I dont know if my truck has a pickup coil (stator) in it at all and dont know if that would be the problem. someone has suggested that it could be the condensor also...any ideas what the problem is?

The first thing to check for, is full battery voltage at the large red/orange wire going to the distributor, w/the key in the "START" and "ON" (or "RUN") positions.

Take the distributor cap off and check the carbon brush that is in the center of the cap. If it and the rest of the cap and rotor all look good, it's most likely going to be either the module or the pickup coil- this includes the small wires that connect them. The wires give more trouble than anything on these old HEI's, IMHO.

BTW, there's no condenser in the traditional sense, in the HEI distributor. The part that looks like a condenser is there to control the RFI.

 

thanks for the info. im planning on taking it apart to get to the pickup today and as for the full battery voltage coming from the hot wire on the distributor it reads the proper voltage