Volkswagen Passat Forum banner

Random Igniton coil failure

3.7K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  AndreasPassat  
#1 ·
Car- 2001 VW Passat AWM 1.8t 160,xxx miles

Issue-A month or two ago i had the issue of my ignition coils dying in the order of #4,3,1,2 and i had them all replaced for free believing they were faulty and they all died after each other as i replaced them for the next weeks i drove easy and they always died on acceleration today is april 14 i was on my way home on the highway and it started misfiring got it to orielys and swapped the coil and the misfire is gone also the coils now dont seem to fail in any order just randomly jump around to different cylinders

i have checked the wires that go to the coils and they are not cracked
the plugs are NGK laser platinum PFR6Q gapped .032 (stock car)
the plugs were also find i even swapped one on the misfiring coil and still misfire the misfire always goes away after replacing the coil
i had thought maybe due to my maf problem which is fixed now was causing the problem by running rich due to the setting the car sets when the maf isnt working properly but does not seem to be the case now that my maf has been fixed for 2 or so weeks.
i have also checked I do have the J style coil packs and do not have a warranty at my dealership for the coilpack replacement issues some VWs have. i am just trying to find someone who might have some insight on maybe im using the wrong kind of plugs or the plugs are getting too hot and i need to switch to copper instead of the platinum so they dont toast the coil the life span for the misfire to happen is at least either random or between a month or so of perfect driving then boom misfire
 
#4 ·
X2

The edited repost isn't any better.
OP, seriously, it's hard to follow what your trying to say.

I know this may sound picky and even a bit arrogant, but the people here in this forum abide by a standard protocol. Please use proper gramatical practices, otherwise you may find it tough to get answers.
 
#3 ·
Okay well I tried to be consice how's this I have ignition coils failing randomly and it's not the plugs or wires to the coils being cracked and I have j style coil packs the failing coilpack is fixed by putting a new one and fixes the misfire
 
#5 ·
I will try this again I am currently having a misfire caused by a failing ignition coil I have checked the wires going to the ignition coil I have checked my spark plugs they are not the problem but when I replace the ignition coil the misfire goes away
 
#7 ·
Try using some punctuation. Your first post is one very long sentence followed by a long incomplete sentence.

I will try this again. I am currently having a misfire caused by a failing ignition coil.
I have checked the wires going to the ignition coil and I have checked my spark plugs, they are not the problem.
But when I replace the ignition coil the misfire goes away.
Your symptoms indicate at least one of the following:
Faulty connectors on the coil pack harness.
Faulty ground connections at the VC.
Other fault/s in the wiring.
 
#8 ·
I feel if it were the connectors the misfire would move around by moving connecter to cylinder 3 to cylinder 2 but the misfire only follows the faulty ignition coil. I've visually checked the wires that go to the connectors they aren't cracked or bare wire showing.I haven't used a meter on them to see the voltage on them
 
#9 ·
Tom's telling you it is not the connectors on the coil packs - the connectors in the wiring harness that attach to the coil packs.

I'm more inclined to believe it's more likely the ground at the valve cover. pull that ground, and clean up the connection with some sandpaper on both the valve cover *and* the ground wire. if that doesn't resolve it, then look at the connector wiring for each individual coil pack connector in the harness.
 
#11 ·
The harness wires and the connectors wires on the harness all check out no cracking or bare wires I haven't used a meter to test the current tho or how much is flowing I'll sand down the ground and I do not have a active cel. Only time cel is on when the car misfiring due to whichever ignition coil dies

Side note- I was attempting a PS rack swap today and well stripped the torx bolt that connects the shaft to the ps rack under the dash and now have to send it to a garage to get it out. Anyone have ideas plz?
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Side note- I was attempting a PS rack swap today and well stripped the torx bolt that connects the shaft to the ps rack under the dash and now have to send it to a garage to get it out. Anyone have ideas plz?
The steering shaft bolt side with the nut, 15mm (I think) is right handed.
The side that has the Torx head is left handed. The bolt that holds the steering shaft to the steering rack input shaft has an eccentric on it. That turns the opposite direction (left handed) to remove the bolt from the steering shaft coupler.
I'm guessing you were turning that bolt counter-clockwise and wondering when the hell it was going to come loose. Hence the stripped out Torx.