Hello, welcome to the forum :wave:
Whereabouts in the world are you?
A 60S from 1988 should have the 1116cc engine, not the 1108cc FIRE engine used in later models. So the distributor is block mounted?
The ignition coil has, I think, a couple of red wires - one may go to the fuel cutoff solenoid (on the carburettor) or - for 1988 - probably the fuel cutoff control unit. The positive terminal has power from the ignition key switch. A red wire goes to the finned electronic module (on the side of the distributor) to provide power to that, too.
The other, negative, terminal usually has a single green wire but there may also be a grey wire if the car has a tachometer (I don't think the 60S does). The green wire does go to the distributor - as I think you were saying - and the electronic module grounds (earthes) this, as the points did in older systems, to 'power up' the ignition coil. When the module un-grounds the green wire (or when the points opened in older systems), the magnetic field in the ignition coil breaks down and creates a high-tension voltage to fire a spark.
Before you go too far, check that the engine has a good ground (the ground cable on the end of the gearbox), since a poor ground may mean the green wire never grounds the coil properly.
The problem might be with the wires to the pickup coil, inside the distributor. The insulation cracks and flakes off, allowing the wires to short together. You can clean the wires and re-insulate using heatproof 'spaghetti' tubing as used for oven wiring and available at an electrical shop. Heatshrink tubing will probably work, too. Insulation tape won't - it will come un-wound in the hot oily environment.
Or the problem might be the electronic module, which is an especially common failure - but that usually begins as an intermittent cutting-out or refusing to start when hot. If you can get one, it's worth having a spare just in case, or to substitute during your fault-finding, as it doesn't take long to swap.
I have managed to burn out a coil once - but only when using the electronic (D-shaped) coil with an older points distributor. Otherwise the coils are reliable - much more than the module, anyway.
So I suggest swapping the module if you can. And if there's no difference, take the distributor apart to check/repair the pickup wires - do this with it off the engine, you'll need to re-time the engine later (with a timing light). Perhaps first turn the crankshaft to align the notch on the back of the camshaft pulley with the small pointer built into the metal backing of the cambelt cover at the top towards the front. With the camshaft in that position, the distributor rotor should point to No. 4 spark plug - not No. 1 as on other engines.
I presume you've already checked that the distributor is actually turning with the engine - if not, you could have a broken cambelt, which is pretty much curtains for the 1116cc engine
We'll see what others suggest, too.
Cheers,
-Alex
