Motorcycle Repair: ignition, engine cranks, ohm meter

Question
QUESTION: I had a manual now can,t find! I have a 88 sportster lost spark on highway. I have batt. voltage at coil (both sides) with key on. With wires unhooked batt. voltage on left terminal(sitting on bike). Question what is resistance spec. for coil& how to check and should the wires on left open and close when engine cranks.       Thankyou

ANSWER: Not sure what you mean by the wires opening and closing when the engine cranks.
Your OHMs on your coil should be 2.5-3.1 on the primary and 11,250-13,750 on  the secondary
Good luck and happy riding
Mike


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QUESTION: on the open close I mean wires to pick-up or ignition box that attach to right side (NEG)? of coil. Should they break or go to ground (flash a bulb) as the engine cranks. Like the old points ignition.       Thankyou again
ANSWER: Yes, it acts like a old points system
Mike

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QUESTION: So far your help is great, on the neg. side should I be able to hook up my ohm meter and hook one to wires and one to ground and get resistance up and down (open-closed). Or should I test with wires attached to coil and look for up and down voltage ORR is there a better test for the pick up or ignition, I;m limited to test light, digital ohm meter. Thanks and sorry so bothersome
ANSWER: Remove the wires. The primary side of the coil is where the 12 volt wire attach, the secondary side is where the spark plugs go.
Mike

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QUESTION: I,m looking for the best way to look for a signal on the neg. side. How can I tell if it,s the pick-up or the ignition. I checked the coil and all is in range.  Thanks all!!

Answer
In order to test the pickup you have to have a special harness to do the testing. The only thing you would be able to test is if you have power going to the pickup.
99 times out of a 100 its the pickup that has gone bad, not the modual.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike