I just recently had a similar situation.......

I have a '86 740 turbo wagon.

As I would drive, initially at very slow speeds and at stand stills, the engine would cut off for no apparent reason. From there, it progressed to actually cutting off when I was going 55- 60mph.

The engine would stop, interior lights would come on and I would coast to the side of the road. After a desperate walk back home and a return trip to the car, it would start up again as if nothing was wrong.

It was frustrating because of the inconsistency of the problem. Luckily for me I have an expert mechanic whom I kept informed about the situation.

His first effort was to replace the fuel injection relay. It continued to cut off.

Actually, I was driving it into the shop and the car stopped about a block from the shop...I thought,"great!" Now the mechanic can actually try to turn it over and resolve the problem.....And, wouldn't you know...The car started right up!....I think it has a mind of it's own!

.....anyway.....

Through his wisdom he decided it needed a new distributor. The old one had oil leaking into it causing the contacts not to connect properly. As the oil settled down, the contacts could once again provide a sufficent connection, the car would start up again!

It's been about a week now and no more problems.

The total cost was about $400 for the installation of the new distributor.

Good luck, I know the frustration of the car stopping!...yuk!

But my car has 233,0000 miles on it and she's almost like a part of the family......(I cuss at her just like I do my teenagers!.*just kidding*)

Scott