Burning up condensers, need help.

[2T2-Crash]

67 beetle, 1600sp, Bosch alternator upgrade, .009 dizzy.

A few days ago all was fine in the beetle, when I parked it I accidentally let off the clutch like an idiot and stalled her hard.
Two days later I make my 45 min commute to school and notice she is surging on the highway in 3rd and 4th at high RPM, on the trip home she is gutless when giving it gas.
The next day I'm heading to school and she quit out on me. She would spin the starter and was giving gas but wouldn't turn over. After inspecting the points I noticed one side had a pit and the other a point. I replaced the points and condenser, my original condenser had a square plastic plug to go into the square hole in the dizzy, the replacement had a round one.
The bug ran like a champ for about three hours of intermittent use then gave me the finger again.
This morning I replace the condenser with another that had a round plug in because it was what I had on hand. She is sitting in the driveway now.

Are there differences in the electrical capacity of the round vs square plugged condensers and that is why the replacement failed or is there something else to look at as the culprit?

I verified my little jostling of the beetle didn't stick the float in the carb and I blew air through the gas tank vent tube at the suggestion of a local vw was before the condensers gave me the finger).

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[EMPIImp69]

Just eliminate both and put in a Pertronix ignitor.
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1963 Ragtop Bug

[HippyTom]

Buy Bosch condensers. Not all condensers are made the same. Break open a few and you'll see the difference. Bosch have been the most reliable for me.

[Tim Donahoe]

Yes, they are different--and it's not just the shape of the plug.

Make sure you get the condenser that matches your distributor.

I went through the same crap when I first got my latest bug--after a 19-year hiatus.

There is a chart that reputable vendors have in their catalogs. Match the points and condenser to the distributor number. Then your points won't get pitted up.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[mukluk]

Has the car always eaten condensers the entire time you've owned it, or is this new behaviour? If new, did you perform any maintenance or replace any parts close to the time frame it started acting up?
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[2T2-Crash]

[mukluk]

So does that mean the burning condenser behaviour is new or not? Did it start shortly after swapping to the alternator or one of the other things you did or no?
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[2T2-Crash]

[runamoc]

[Glenn]

[runamoc]

[67jason]

[2T2-Crash]

[HippyTom]

[HippyTom]

[tasb]

VW condenser values are all pretty much the same. Quality is another matter. My suggestion is find an NOS condenser.
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Roads Scholar &
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

[Glenn]

[KTPhil]

What coil do you have?

[2T2-Crash]

[Glenn]