car randomly stalling
 

so, Im driving on the highway the other da and my 99 civic sedan decides to shut off. It has been doing this now for the past couple of days, and it just does it when it feels like, while I am driving. I have some ideas of what it could be but im not sure. I was told that the ignition switch could be faulty but when i jiggle it, nothing happens and my car doesnt have that recall on it. Another possibility is the coil/ignitor, but wouldnt it take me a while to start back up if that was the case? Sometimes it takes a minute to get it running again, and sometimes it takes 1 try. How do I fix this and what do I do to test my theories?

Any help would be appreciated,

Alex

are there any check engine codes? when it fails to restart on the first try, what does it do? does it crank but not start? does it not crank at all? does the main relay click? does the pump prime?

basically, your best bet is to diagnose it when it stalls and won't restart for a while. in that period, determine if you have fuel and spark. at this point you can assume you have air since the car runs otherwise. so look at if the fuel pump primes or not. if it does, I suppose you can assume you have fuel at the injectors. then check for spark, so when it fails to start, check for spark at the spark plugs.

also, how does it die, does it just cut right out or does it sputter to a stop? if it cuts right out, it's more likely to be an ignition problem. if it sputters, then prolly a fuel problem. finally... is there any power loss or any other indication it's about to die?

it cuts right out, but the lights and radio stay on so im luring away from an ignition switch, it dies and starts right back up within 50 seconds. It gives me no time to diagnose, its a heat related problem, because it seems to do it on long drives. Im leaning towards the coil and or ignitor?

both are internal to the distributor.... so go ahead and start looking at junkyards for a replacement. but really.... 50 seconds is plenty of time to pull a plug out and test it for spark. and it could save you a couple hundred bux. or even better go to a princess auto or similar place and get a spark plug tester, that way you can just pull a wire off a plug, stick this thing in and clip it to a ground and find out if there is spark.

I had a similar problem that turned out to be my ignitor but it only stalled if I let off the gas or came to a stop, never when driving on the highway.