79 Sportster Crane Cam ign

[oldskool]

This 79 Sportster Has a Crane cam ign  system.There are the 2 wire's black and red! Anyone know how to test this,to see if it is good or bad?

[eglideic]

 Turn the ignition key to the on position and then push the starter button.

[oldskool]

wow really thanks for that!!So what u'r saying is there is nothing else in the ign system that will not stop spark from happening?

[olpigiron]

oldskool.....
The red wire is the hot wire coming from your ignition switch, the black goes to your breaker points ( I think yours is pre electronic )....You can remove the wires from the coil, attach a ohm meter to the Primary Terminals those are the wires on the ends, you should have Primary resistance of 4.7 to 5.7 ohms. if not your coil is probably defective. This with a stock coil not sure if a crane coil is different. Also If your condenser is bad it can act like your coil is defective, and the condenser is more likely to fail, that is where I would start. Hope this helps.

[eglideic]

 OK I couldn;'t resist the chance to make a joke. But anyway, I think the 79 originaly came with the first edition Prestolite Electronic Ignition and still has the timing advance weights, but no condensor.
I would toss the crane ignition and put in the early 1980s Harley V-Fire electronic ignition with the brain box. But then I always try to stay wth genuine HD parts.