I have taken a voltmeter to my coilpack connectors and found that the two that are not sparking dont seem to have an earth. does anyone know whether there is a seperate earth for each pair of packs or a shared one??

so far all i have is two ring connectors for the earth, is there meant to be another one that im not seeing??

There are no 'earths' on the coils. They use a permanent/ign +12v feed, and the coils are triggered via a switched earth, controlled by the ecu. ( through an ign amplifier )
Not sure if the early cars trigger as pairs ( as it would on later cars with the single coil pack ) or as 4 serperate units.

ok, so i should check them all for a permanant 12V feed, and then see if they pulse while turning the ignition over??