Chrysler Repair: 87 Lebaron no start, scharlau, lebaron

Question
Hello sir!

My roommate has an 87 Le Baron turbo. Sometimes his car will run for a little bit, then it will shut down. The oil pressure drops (oil is full) before it shuts off (shows : Powerloss), and sometimes it will crank without turning over. I did the on-off test and got a repeated set of 5 blinks. Would you have any clue where to start???

Thanks a ton,
Paul Scharlau

Answer
Hi Paul,
The double 5's is a code 55 which simply means 'end of readout', basically confirmning that there are no fault codes.
With that result I would suggest beginning with the basics: when the engine won't catch and run, pull the cap off of one of the spark plugs, stick a screwdriver with an insulated handle into the cap so the tip touches the wire inside the cap, then hold the handle and the cap so that the shaft of the screwdriver is 1/4" from the cylinder head; then have a helper crank the engine for 5 seconds and verify that a spark jumps across the gap for the full 5 seconds.
Also, when he turns the key to "run" listen to hear whether the fuel pump in the tank hums for about a second. Let me know the results of these tests and we'll go from there.
Roland
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