1987 Turbo II fires but dies instantly, What to check for?
 

Without any warning my car died while going a turn, now it cranks and fires briefly and then immediately dies. I'm wondering if theres anything such as electronic issues I could check for, or if I'm looking at a much bigger problem. Please help point me in the right direction I'm new to these cars and looks through the 2nd gen faq before posting this.

Jumper your fuel check connector and see if it stays running, if it does, check the MAF sensor per tests in the FSM

Once I had this problem because I forgot to plug in the MAF cable.

Update: the problem is something intermittent, after a bit i did get the car to start and run for a while, then died in the exact same while turning.

How long did it run? Did it run by itself or did you have to play w/the throttle to keep the car running? And did you do what was suggested and jumper the fuel check connector?

When it does run, does it run poorly? Being an AFM based car, it will die with a large vacuum leak (cracked TID is a usual example).

the one time it did start and run it ran for about 5-7 minutes and ran like normal, trouble holding idle when cold and slight hesitation around 2800 rpm but not every time. I had been playing around with tps and had it running and idling somewhat better for 2 days before this happened. I just got home from work so i havent been able to search the forum yet to figure out to jump the fuel check connector

What is the TID and where is it located so that i could check that

TID: turbo intake duct(piping in between the Turbo and the Air Flow meter.)

is there anyone who could provide with a link on how to jumper the fuel check connection, im using mobile and i have not been able to find it by searching. I want to rule this out before going any further as i've not been able to get the car to run again except for the one time.

Its a Yellow plug encased within a Black rubber boot. It has two wires, one Brown and the other Black. It's located between the engine and the passenger strut tower. It's part of the emission harness and dangles from it. The boost/pressure sensor is from the same harness so follow it back to the emission harness and you'll find it. Back stab both wires from the rear of the plug using a U shaped wire exposed at both ends and it will basically join both wires in the plug together bypassing the fuel switch in the AFM.

also I am slightly below a quarter of a tank and it has died going around turns, but each time i crank the engine it does fire but only briefly. is there any way this could be a clog in the fuel system?

thank you, i did find the fuel check connector. but before trying that, I want to get an opinion on something else here. the one time that i did get the car to run it was after trying to start it with the tps unplugged (unsuccesfuly) and once i plugged it back in the car ran but died in the same way a few minutes later. while playing around with the tps again this morning, i noticed that when holding the wires a certain way, it makes a clicking sound each time they make contact, but other times if the wires have moved, there is no click. based on this im thinking that i have either a bad tps or the tps plug/wires are not making good contact and that this is possibly causing my issue. If anyone has any knowledge about this or how to fix it, or if i should just go and spend $200 plus on a new tps please help me figure this put, thank you guy so much for your help this far.

The TPS controls solenoids which click depending on the TPS position. The TPS has a Brown/White wire and it should read 5 volts w/key to on so check it to see if you have a short in this wire which would prevent the car from running. The Green/Red wire of the TPS reads 1 volt w/key to on and the engine completely hot or otherwise it would read higher. And the 3rd wire to the TPS is the ground and should read 0 vots w/key to on.

The car can die if the fuel gets pushed to the opposite side of the tank where the fuel pump is but a clogged fuel sock or problematic baffle in the tank can cause this problem most likely besides a weak fuel pump.

voltage seems to be correct at the tps. when i jump the fuel check i hear air flowing from somewhere, but still fires but wont run. *edit* i seem to be getting a .46 volt reading at the green and red wire with the key on, engine cold

You could have a vacuum leak, clogged primary fuel injectors, wet spark plugs, poor ignition from coils, incorrect fuel pressure.

A jumpered fuel check connector should not be related to air. You just might be hearing the fuel flow. Have you tried starting the car, at least briefly, by using starter fluid (1-2 seconds at most).

occasionally, when i try to start it, it will rev up like it normally would on cold start, but then still die right away. but majority of the time i try it only fires for a very brief instant, however sometimes will run slightly (split or single seconds) longer. there seems to be no rhyme or reason other than both times it died while make the same left hand turn (low speed, clutch disengaged)