1987 Camry won't start

[baddy]

I have a 1987 4 cylinder camry wagon that wont start. one day it was running fine, next day it wouldn't start. engine turns over fine, but it was flooding. checked fuses, visual spark test good, and fuel was poofing out of open cylinder. changed plugs and got it running (albeit very smoky exhaust) with air cleaner plenum disconnected, so i thought it might be the MAF sensor. replaced the MAF sensor with a junkyard part and it still wouldnt run. again disconnected air cleaner and it started. replaced throttle sensor (junkyard part), and again wouldnt run. it would run with air cleaner disconnected so i unplugged MAF sensor and reconnected air cleaner, it started. while running, if you plug in MAF it will kill. then it sat for a day, i tried to start it, but it now appears to start then immediately kill. any ideas? i'm sure its possible the MAF sensor from the junkyard was bad, but improbable. does this sound like it could be the engine control unit?

[Mike Gerber]

"visual spark test good,"

What color was the spark? Orange indicates a weak spark. You should see a bright blue spark. The coils inside the distributor are famous for going bad on these cars as that rack up lot's of miles. Check the coil with a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual. You can also remove the coil and visually inspect it for cracks.

Mike

[baddy]

spark is big and blue. had it running today, but as soon as you step on the gas it would kill. now it wont start again. is there a way to force it into limp home mode?

[baddy]

so how about just bypassing all the emissions crap? i just need it to run for 10 minutes so i can drive it to the junkyard. i'm at wits end.

[baddy]

ok, finally got down to doing what i should have started with, i checked the trouble codes and i was getting 4-1 and 5-1. checked throttle sensor and it was physically broken, either from my friend who put it in or the mechanic who did some "work" on it. put the old one back in now i only get 5-1. First, are the codes the same for a corolla as for a camry? i am going by a corolla manual (cant find my camry manual), which lists 5-1 being for 1988 and later, and that 5-1 being "a/c switch signal". could someone clarify this please? anyways, it still wont start, and it floods. that diagnosis is "a/c switch on, idle switch off during diagnosis check", then for trouble area: a/c switch circuit; a/c switch; a/c amplifier; throttle position sensor circuit; throttle position sensor; ECU. since in my camry manual all the codes go by 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and so on, i am going by the 88 and later codes.
so before, when it ran, if you accidently hit the "econ" button, the car would act as if it was going to die. could the 5-1 code be related to that? what can i look for for that diagnosis and trouble area? i unplugged the 3 a/c related fuses (in engine compartment) to no avail. how else can i disconnect the entire a/c system? might the throttle sensor need adjustment? cuz the screw slots make it so it can be adjusted. how likely is it that the throttle sensor would quit working? the spring part works fine and the elec. tabs are good. sorry for all the ?'s. any help would be nice, as i cant afford to play engine part russian roulette any more. thanks.

[Eugee]

Haynes also mentions the neutral start switch on code 51. Since you mentioned the eco button it might be worth checking.