distributer question

[wysardad]

Some one with a running E3 should be able to answer this first one.
My 87 died one night, instantly..... No spark. Voltages to the distributer OK.
Coil resistances seem OK ... pri about .4 ohms sec 1.2K
Pickup coil about 160 ohms.
Question one.... should I get continuity in the cap between the coil contact and roter contact?
I have an open....but wait.... that lead me to test for spark directly off the coil....NONE.
Cap and igniter? Would one failure have caused the other?
Question two.... can the igniter be tested? I don't believe I have a source for one to swap and I would hate to buy a new one if it's not the problem.
Thanks for your attention

[TercelFix]

I looked up your schematic, You have an ignitor, it should be a hall effect (Magnetic) sensor in the distributor, this should have continuity. It is basically a coil which picks up pulses in the magnetic field, and gives larger pulses to the ignition coil. This is what is in the Haynes manual....

[wysardad]

Hey..thanks for looking tercelfix. I have about 160 ohms thru the hall pickup so I'm guessing thats OK. It's the igniter that has me stopped. There is a black wire on it I can't account for (hanes is no use, they show the EFI and I have the carb model) and I'm wondering if it turns the igniter on or off from somewhere else. I'm going to a junkyard tommorow with meter in hand so maybe I'll find some answers there. Chances are it's the igniter and if it were the price of a lottery ticket i'd take the chance.