Rep Power: 0

My sister has a 1998 civic ex with appx 130k on it. I did a tune up on it a couple years back ( plugs,wires,cap,and rotor) then she had the timing belt water pump etc replaced as routine maint.It ran fine for the next year. Now for the last 4 months or so the car has been cutting off on her at different times while driving. She says it started doing it when turning right onto a main road. The last few times it has cut off while at idle in traffic. The car Will re-start with no problems on the first try after each and every instance. My dad says the sending unit is broken and has been for along time causing the gas gauge to flop all around when turning, and he thinks this may be part of the problem. I have read that the coil in the distributer could be bad or the main relay..but it restarts perfect every time so I would think if the main relay or the coil were bad it wouldnt start right away like it does. Also if she parks on a decline or incline she says its hard to start sometimes. IDK. any suggestions before buying a new dist or coil and main relay????

 
Rep Power: 812

well the main relay can be opened up to check the solder joints, and if needed, resolder them properly. it seems like ignition problem tho check the rotor and make sure its tight and secure and there is no black stuff on the contacts. fuel sender should not affect how the car runs, only what the gauge displays. unless you have fuel pump issues and pressure is low. but then the car would drive badly all the time. double check all the stuff you did for tuneup. did you use good plugs like ngk/denso? and ngk wires instead of off brand? ive heard of generic wires going bad after only a few months.

 
Rep Power: 0

will recheck those parts next week for her. thanks