Gosh be careful if your doing that, the volts jumping across could kill a black dog!
You can use a multimeter to check the continuity..... not sure what setting i had it dialed on but basically if you have the MM probs touching together and then turn the MM dial until it shows a number or a 1 (meaning connected and 0 for not) and then put the probs on the coils top terminals after removing the leads you should be able to test if they have continuity.
There is a value my local mechanic mentioned they should be around, but basically i found one that didnt have any continuity, i replaced it with one that did from a spare car and hey presto.
If you dont have a multimeter... buy one they can be brought for less then $10
ANd look below at those other links .... you will probably find a better explanation there.
Much safer doing electrical stuff without having to have the motor running!