No spark

While doing a radiator flush on my '93, the engine died just like someone had turned off the key. No sputtering, spitting or drama. Just shut off. It's never done this before. I checked for spark at the plugs. Nothing. I checked for spark at the coil. Nothing. Checking for power ato the coil, I put a test light on the negative side of the battery and probed the plug at the coil. One side gave me no light. The otherside lights up only when I first turn on the key. Only for about a second and then it shuts off. It will do this consistantly. Assuming that this must be the pos. side, Ihooked up the pos. side of the battery to the other (neg.) side of the coil to see if the light would pulse when I turned the engine over. No dice. I changed out the CPS, as this seems to be the big trouble maker, and nothing changed.

Ideas anyone?

It almost sounds like your coil is no good. The test lamp should act the same way on both sides of the coil. While cranking, with test lamp from negative terminal of battery to either side of coil, the test lamp should light up. Coil fires by ECU breaking ground. With your test lamp, you are creating a new ground, so you should always have power to both sides. If you have power to one side and not the other, the windings in the coil are broken.

I haven't tried turning the engine over with the test lamp on the neg. side of the battery yet. My thinking is with they key on, I should be getting power to the coil from one of those wires, right??? I am just guessing here. I would expect power going to the coil continuously while the key is on. Maybe that's old point and condenser technology and I am not up to snuff here. But, when I turn on the key, only one wire will ligt up the test light and only for a second. Anyway to test the coil?

Turned out to be the coil.