After years of faithful service my '87 740T has left me stranded for the first time, thankfully only a mile from my house so I was able to walk home. I was driving through a parking lot and the tachometer needle suddenly wigged out and was flipping all over the place for a moment then the engine simply shut off. Now it turns over fine but doesn't even try to start. I can hear the fuel pump running for a fraction of a second after I stop cranking but the tach needle now just sits at zero and doesn't budge. My first guess is the hall effect sensor in the distributor but before I spend $50 on a new one I'd like some confirmation.
Also does anyone have experience with the aftermarket hall sensors FCP Groton sells? The OEM Bosch sensor is nearly twice the cost.