Other than replacing the alternator a year ago, I have never had a problem with my 93 Nissan Sentra. That is until recently. About a month ago, my car failed to start. My brother initially thought it was a bad fuel pump, and he proceeded to check both the pump and fuel filter. The initial diagnosis was that the problem lay within the relay. Being Sunday, he jumped the relay then replaced the fuse. Afterwards, the car didn't have any problem starting.
For a few months though the car had been chugging on ocassion when starting. Nothing a depressing of the pedal wouldn't solve. In retrospect, perhaps the two problems were related. This past week, my car quit again just a few steps from my driveway. After sitting overnight, it started again in the morning. I drove it a few miles, shut it off, and it failed to start again. After having it towed and letting the garage perform a diagnostic test, they said that the car wasn't getting fuel intermittingly. They, too, replaced the relay.
All ran well for two days, about 100 miles or so, and then the car failed to start again. This time, instead of having it towed, I did the same thing my brother had done: pulled the relay and ran a jumper, then replaced the fuse as soon as the car started. Since then it's been starting without fail; however, I'm reluctant to drive it anywhere for fear that it may quit again and leave me stranded. I've had it at home for a day now and have gone out to start about 15 times, expecting it to fail sooner or later. It hasn't.
What might the problem be? Should I purchase another relay, even though the garage just installed one 4 days ago? How do I know if the relay really is bad and is really the problem? If the relay went bad so quickly, is there a bigger problem that may be triggering that?
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.