At the risk of being SERIOUS here. . . . .

Youc an check to see if the basic ignition itself is operating by turnign it on and off and watching for spark at the plugs. Watch BOTH plugs. Basically, pull the plugs out of the engine, insert them into the plug leads, and then turn the ignition on an off quickly. You should see some spark. This indicates that the basic Capacitive Discharge circuit, and coils, are working properly. This is considered an ignition "Output side" test, because it tests the output circuitry, but not the triggering/timing parts of the unit.

The "Input side" of the ignition is "triggered" by an inductive pulse from the pickup coil that is mounted on the engine. Basically, the very strong magnet mounted int he crank hub causes an inductive spike in the pickup coil, which triggers the control transistor to turn off (or turn on, depending on the actual circuit design) the voltage that has been saturating the coils, at the same time allowing the CD circuit to discharge, causing a fast collapse of the coils and causing the spark. If the pickup has gone bad, OR the magnet is weak, the triggering tranistor will not receive a strong enough signal, and will not switch the voltage on and off as it should.

Usually, these ignitions are basically bulletproof, and rarely fail. The worst culprit for them not firing is either the magnet in the hub getting too hot and losing it's strength, OR the pickup beign damaged in some way, though I've never seen a damaged pickup. They DO draw a lot of instantaneous current, though, so if the switch, or a connector, is degraded and not allowing a good amount of current to flow, you will not get enough powr to create a proper spark, leading to no-start or misfire conditioins. You CAN use a 5-cell pack, which gives a hotter, more visible, spark, for testing, and I run one in the plane using a 6 volt regulator, so that the ignition gives a hotter spark. This will make it easier to see the spark to ascertain if it actually exists.

Hope this helps. Aircraft International or Cactus Aviation, or even Desert Aircraft, are all good sources for further information should you need it.