Rep Power: 0

hey guys i got unusual problem that i still haven't figured!

my car shut down while idling twice but was able to start right away then last few days it shut down while driving and had it towed to my usual mechanic. he was able to start it fine and couldn't find any problem. i let him to have my car for a day but it never happened to him.
then i decided to gamble with my car by replacing the main relay. it already has new timing belt, distributor, cap, rotor, and battery you name it. its still running great at 150K mileages, so i never want to give it up. after the main relay, it still shut down when idling and wont start again. i checked the sparks there was no sparks so it is definitely not fuel problem. i tried to diagnosis further for no sparks but in 10 minutes later, it starts again just fine no problem now. it is giving me trouble to try find where the problem is. i would gamble with replacing the parts to make it go away.
any idea of what the problem could be??? thanks guys

 
Rep Power: 519

No spark...... I'd say igniter, they seem to like quitting when hot just before failing completely.

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah my civic seems it always quit when its hot but can start up when its cold all the times. where can i locate the igniter? the map would be awesome if you have it

 
Rep Power: 519

It's inside the distributor. #7 here

I should say to replace the ignition coil and spark plugs (if there is 30k or more on them) at the same time, cheap insurance.

 
Rep Power: 0

thanks alot man! i already had the distributor replaced like 3 years ago. would it already included the igniter though?

 
Rep Power: 519

Was it a factory part? Was it complete?
Doesn't matter. If it's bad, it's bad.

Aftermarket remans are filled with cheap, low quality parts. Always a crapshoot.
Lifetime warranty? Replace it again some more.

 
Rep Power: 0

it was aftermarket yea i agree. thanks man i will replace that parts next weekend and see how it goes!

 
Rep Power: 519

Since you say it is aftermarket, you ought to take a peep inside the dist. See if the contacts in the cap are clean or burned out, and do a dwell check on the primary side of the coil while cranking. See what else you need before going to the parts store.

I also mean check and see if I guessed right before just replacing it.

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah my mechanic took a look inside the dist. and said it looks fine. cap and rotor were replaced last few months. like i said car never shut down while on his watch so he wont do anything. i guess he couldnt test anything while its running fine. he mentioned about igniter and module but couldnt test them. i just dont want see my car shuttin down while driving to school and work again all over.

 
Rep Power: 519

Yeah, it is hard to condemn something that is working fine when checked.
Most people don't understand how tough an intermittent problem can be to chase down, especially if it happens randomly and infrequently.

Lots of stuff like this can only be accurately diagnosed WHILE the problem is present. It would be far easier to diagnose if it was completely dead.

Sometimes enough symptoms were noted to allow a somewhat accurate guess (no spark when hot). Of course that igniter isn't the only possible cause, but it is very likely to be.

HTH