Will a 3 ton coil work with a 5 ton condenser?

Yes but very inefficiently. Evap should be equal or a bit larger than condenser.

With that much of a size difference, I'm not sure it would work at all. The compressor certainly wouldn't like it.

That is a loaded question for sure. It may 'work', but it will not work 'correctly'. It Will lower efficiency, it Will shorten the life of the compressor, and it WILL NOT 'cool' like it should. An over sized evap coil is okay ( as long as you use the correct metering device and even then a max of 1 ton difference will work), but a condenser that is larger than the evap coil is always just a headache for all parties involved. In summery, don't do it.

Thank you.