OY ****E! Flashing CEL, car is misfiring like crazy, so I think I lost a coilpack. then it stops?
12-01-2002, 09:06 AM
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OY ****E! Flashing CEL, car is misfiring like crazy, so I think I lost a coilpack. then it stops?
So I parked my car this morning (32F outside) and let it sit for an hour. I come back, start it, and the engine is idling real rough, like "woom-woom-woom-woom-woom" and is shaking the whole car. I pop the hood, go to the back and check out the exhaust pulse, and sure enough, I have a misfire. I was at this guys house who used to race cars, and confirmed it was a misfire. CEL is blinking. Im thinking a ****ed coilpack. He tells me when he used to race he would loose cylinders often, and to counteract that he just drove at much higher RPM's to cancel out the lost cylinder. He suggested I do this. I was wary, but I had to get home. So obviously, the engine ran much smoother at 4k than at 900, so I drove home at 4k the whole way (yah I burn like a 1/4 tank). I roll up my driveway, and the light has stopped blinking but is constant. I let the rpm's fall to idle for the first time of the whole drive and it is not misfiring, but is running smooth. So no coilpack failure after all? What the hell is going on? The car is parked now till I can get a VAG too it. I have no idea what was going on. Oh, also after I first started the car and walked around it, I smelled the distinct scent of gas on the driver's side. It was a 15 mile drive home. What do you guys think is going on? I've never had a misfire like this before.
My car is a 1998.5 1.8TQM with 66K miles. no chip at the moment. all stock in the engine bay. What in the hell was it?
My car is a 1998.5 1.8TQM with 66K miles. no chip at the moment. all stock in the engine bay. What in the hell was it?
12-01-2002, 09:19 AM
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If it isn't a coilpack, then it's the ignition amplifier.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/12690/ignitionamp.jpg">
This little piece controls the firing of the c'packs. Try to find a VAG-COM, so you can pinpoint the misfire. Then you can swap coilpacks to see if that's your problem. I bet it's your ignition amplifier. I realize c'packs are quite a common failure, but that's mainly on the '01s and up. The older MY have better coilpacks IMO, but the ignition amplifier is a more common failure. It's a $280 part by the way. Start hunting the junkyards. Good luck
Andy
This little piece controls the firing of the c'packs. Try to find a VAG-COM, so you can pinpoint the misfire. Then you can swap coilpacks to see if that's your problem. I bet it's your ignition amplifier. I realize c'packs are quite a common failure, but that's mainly on the '01s and up. The older MY have better coilpacks IMO, but the ignition amplifier is a more common failure. It's a $280 part by the way. Start hunting the junkyards. Good luck
Andy
12-01-2002, 09:25 AM
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agreed. vag it, if the misfire doesn't switch cyl when you
swap the coil pack and plugs it its most likely the IA. I got mine for $260 @ the dealer. Someone a while back had the same problem and got one from the junkyard ~$60.
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12-01-2002, 09:30 AM
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yeah, i saw your pick and comment about that a bit ago. What I did was I disconnected it, then
restarted the engine and nothing happpened. but why would it go back to normal if it failed in the first place? I was thinking this was a piece that could fail. Will the VAG tell me whether it is the IA or the coilpack or will it just say generic misfire?
