Chrysler Repair: 89 Lebaron: 2.5L turbo stalling and erratic start, spark plug wires, starter switch

Question
I have an 89 GTC with 2.5L turbocharged engine with 60,000 miles that has stalled once in traffic at idle and has taken several tries to start in  the morning this past week. I checked the memory several times this week and have found no code except the 55. I have observed that when the engine won't start there is no tach indication. After several attempt the Tach will start when I hit the starter switch and the engine will start immediatly. I believe this is telling me that the switch plate sensor in the distributer is going bad, but would like your thoughts on it.

Answer
Hi John,
The coincidental observation of no start with the absence of the tach signal is relevant. It suggests that the hall effect spark timing sensor is weak, but maybe not so weak as to pass the criterion to set a code 11. I would check the spark, using a spare plug attached to one of the spark plug wires and with its threads held against the cylinder head for grounding, while a helper cranks the engine over. Do this when you first start the car if that is the most likely time when the engine demonstrates a no tach/no start symptom. That would corroborate the distributor sensor as the likely cause. Without any other codes it is the first possibility I would pursue. I have the wiring diagrams for that engine if you need to trace anything and could xerox and postal mail them to you, if needed.

Roland