91 Shadow won't start

[Hwyman]

Hi guys. Im really stumped here. I have a 2.2 litre 91 shadow. One day I came home from work and parked the car in the driveway, I went out an hour later to go to the store and it would not start. It cranks over but just wont engage. I left it till the next morning and it start up just like nothing had happened.
A week later (Now) The same thing happens. But now it wont start at all and its been sitting for two days.
I had a problem with it last year where it would die on the highway. It would just lose power and die. I took it into the shop and they replaced some component on the distributor. ( the holladn affect or something I think its called). Do you think that this could be the same thing messing up?

[KManiac]

Your car needs two things in order to run, spark and fuel. If you have an inductive pick-up timing light, you can check for spark by hooking it up and pushing the trigger while you crank the engine. If you have a fuel pressure test gauge, you can test for fuel pressure by hooking it up to the fuel pressure test port on the fuel rail. A lack of either one when the car is cranking will point you in the right direction.

I have experienced intermittent starting like you describe from a failing fuel pump. Sometimes they work when they are cold, but decide to stop when the get hot. This usually happens as a result of dirt contamination. The fuel pressure gauge will identify this problem.

Since you just replaced the halls effect sensor in the distributor, I would consider a lack of spark a less probable issue, but anything can happen.

Good luck and let us know what you find and do.

P.S. My 1991 Shadow won't start either. But the cylinder head is sitting on the floor, so its hard to make compression right now.