Chrysler Repair: chrysler not starting, crankshaft position sensor, lebaron gts

Question
I have a 1986 chrysler lebaron gts premium with a 2.2 turbo engine in it.  It will not start and makes an abnormal noise during cranking with the starter.  I did a fault code readout and got 11-12-55.  How should i go about fixing my car?  I recently gave the car a tuneup and put in new spark plugs, sparkplug wires, oil, airfilter, and hall effect sensor( the circular peice that fits into the distributer)-i believe thats what it is called.  The car ran for a few weeks then died one day while i was driving it.  I would like your input on where i should begin checking for my problem.  I looked online and found that a code 11 means that either the crankshaft position sensor is bad, the timing belt skipped a tooth, or the hall effect sensor is bad.  So where should i check first?
Thanks,
Zach

Answer
Hi Zach,
The code 11 is the key to the problem. But because you replaced the hall effect sensor unless the new one is faulty too then there are two possibilities:
first, if you replaced the old one because of an earlier failure to start, then the 11 code could be stale. If you didn't disconnect the battery at that time for a few minutes then that earlier code will not erase until you have cycled thru the starter-operate-off function 50-100 times. So I'd begin by disconnecting the battery, then reconnect, verify the 11 is gone (12 and 55 will remain) and then try to start it again and see if the 11 comes back or not. If it does, then either the new sensor or its wiring is bad, or here is another possibility (in fact one that you might want to check first, before erasing the codes): the timing belt is broken. So crank the engine and verify whether the distributor shaft is actually rotating or not. If not, then that is your reason for the 11  because the sensor won't put out a signal if the shaft isn't rotating. You could also remove the inspection cover at the front of the cylinder bank to verify that observation. The "abnormal noise" may indeed be because you don't have operation of the valve train at all.
So let me know what happens either way with these two possibilities and if both are ruled out, we'll go further.
By the way, there is no crankshaft sensor, the distributor sensor does the same thing. And "skipped a tooth" is not exactly correct either: missing several teeth (so the belt won't operate the cam shaft) is a more accurate description for why you might get a 11 code.
Roland
P.S. There are actually two sensors in the turbo distributor, and 2 separate plug wires. The other one is for the fuel pulse synchronization. If it goes bad it usually sets a code 54. Do you recall whether you replaced both units recently (or were they sold as a package with 2 plugs?) By the way, I will be getting an '86 shop manual in a few days if we need it (already have the 85 and 87).
Roland