Can out of adjustment shunt contacts cause a phone to not dial out?

[RotoTech99]

I have had a couple of AE 51 dials where the shunt contacts did not break contact completely when the dial came to rest after dialing a digit, returning dial tone...

I experienced this, and heard a bad dial condenser can cause this as well, but can the shunt contacts not completely breaking after coming to rest after dialing also cause this?

[unbeldi]

This depends on the type of telephone the dial is installed in.

If it's an AE40 or 50 type, this diagram should answer the question:  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13908.msg145393#msg145393

Yes, a bad capacitor (C1 in the diagram) would short the dial contacts via the resistor which is not large enough to provide protection, and it is not designed to do so.

But if the condenser is bad you might notice it by experiencing perhaps immediate ring trip when the phone rings. But this depends on the switch the phone is connected to.

If the off-normal contacts, ON1 & ON2, don't break, either or both of the receiver and transmitter remain shunted and you shouldn't be able to hear anything, or not be able to transmit anything.

[RotoTech99]

My AE dial is in a SC 1212, It is a 51A dial I am using.