A condenser is really only there to protect the points as they open. It contains the power that would normally cause arcing across the points as they open. That would burn the points.
If you have a voltmeter, check for voltage on each terminal of the coil. On the one with the wire that does NOT go to the distributor, you should have 12V when the ignition switch is on. If not, check b ack along that wire at each connection point to the ignition switch. If you have 12V into the coil, at the distributor, take the cap off and with the points open, check for voltage at the terminal connected to the wire from the coil.
