Problems after checking spark plugs

[CoupeWannabeS2]

What a nightmare, just had to tow the car home and hoped there might be some ideas as to what I have done. This is the second time the car has failed to return under its own power. Im sure the neighbours are laughing...

Any way, I took the coil pack off to make sure all the spark plugs where tight. Turned out that most of them were needing a tighten. So out came the torque wrench, and each plug was correctly torqued up. What a clever lad I thought.

Drove the car later on, and it sounded like it wasnt firing on all 5 cylinders. I drove it and when I stopped at traffic lights (about 1 mile away) it idled for a moment and then died. It then would not re-start.

Since then I have towed the car home, took the coil pack off again and loosend the plugs slightly. My thinking was perhaps the connectors off of the coils were not reaching the plugs anymore. However this didnt work.

I noticed the connectors between the coils and the plugs looked a little "tired". I also wonder if I could have had a weak wire running into the coil pack that has snapped after being moved around while I was working on it.

Has anyone else had symptoms like these, or can suggest how I "fault find" ? The plugs in the car are NGK R PFR7B. They dont seem to have given any problem so far so not sure that they could be the problem. Just seemed strange that it started initially (although not correctly, and then died and fails to catch at all now).

Wishing I had not touched the car tonight. Any comments, thoughts etc would be greatly appreciated.

[4WheelDrifter]

It's possible you have broken a wire from the POS to the coil packs. They do seem to get pretty brittle.

[CoupeWannabeS2]

OK, can I ask what the POS is ? Also can the wire be changed easily ?

[4WheelDrifter]

POS = Piece Of Sh*t, or in this case Power Output Stages. Although sometimes they can be the same thing.

[Flat on my back]

'Power Output Stage'

For the technically minded this may be of use?

[Knight Rider S4]

Since then I have towed the car home, took the coil pack off again and loosend the plugs slightly. My thinking was perhaps the connectors off of the coils were not reaching the plugs anymore. However this didnt work.

Sorry but i found that very funny

Could you expain problem a little more

How did you start the car when it broke down the last time ?

Hall sender fault maybe?....pull the timing belt cover out slightly and pour 200ml of water down the back of the cam and see if it starts?...

If you know someone with VAG.com they could scan for codes which could save you allot of bother

Cheers

[CoupeWannabeS2]

I should be able to laugh about it once the car is back on the road.

My last break down was clutch failure. This has now been rectified, so i'm thinking the current fault is related to my "efforts" with the spark plugs. Havent been out to take another look yet.

Are the wires that run into the coil pack ok to change individually or do you have to buy a new set ? If I have broken one of these it should be fairly easy to change, shouldnt it ?

[Rusty]

Wires are wires, if there's one broken then a continuity tester on a digi volt meter would identify it. If you're not too electronically savvy then I'm sure that an Auto Electrician would be able to test / sort the problem. Wonder how much a new wiring harness is for the col packs... bet it's a fortune

[CoupeWannabeS2]

Thanks Andy - I will see if I can find the broken wire. When I took the coil pack off, I guess if one of the wires was on its way out I could have finished it off by moving it around.

[Jas11n]

Are the wires that run into the coil pack ok to change individually or do you have to buy a new set ? If I have broken one of these it should be fairly easy to change, shouldnt it ?

There are two wires emerging from each coilpack. One is the live and it disappears down it's own route within heatshielded covering to the connector at the POS's.
The other wire, the earth. runs off down another route.
No loom is available as there is no connector from where it emerges from the coilpack, ie it's hardwired into the coilpack.
To get at the wires, you'll have to remove all of the heatshielding covering them, make a note of which wire goes where etc.
It's a little like playing with spaghetti.
It's not like the two wires that emerge from each coilpack follow each other to the POS's, they don't, they split up and go different routes, which makes it a bit of a nightmare.
I had to splice in the new coilpacks.

See this post of mine here (towards the end) >>> Linky, where I show the state my wiring was in, I opted to replace all five coilpacks with OEM new ones from vagparts, but I know others will charge in protesting that that's not the only option.
You have the option of the 1.8T conversion from the likes of Apikol.

HTH's and good luck.
Jas..

[CoupeWannabeS2]

Wow - good work on your coils, and fab write ups on that other thread you put a link to. My coils didnt look too bad, so I hoped to get it running again for now and do a full replacement job later.

Would a break in any one of wires prevent the car from starting at all, or should it start but just not fire on one cylinder ?

[Jas11n]

Would a break in any one of wires prevent the car from starting at all, or should it start but just not fire on one cylinder ?

A break in one wire wouldn't stop the car from starting no, you'd just have one coilpack missfiring.
Have you checked that you haven't snagged and broken the earth lead that comes out from under the coilpack cover at the back?

Jas..

[S2central.net]

Skimmed thru this thread and was just about to post exactly what Jas11n has suggested - if you break that earth strap from the coil loom to where it bolts to the head then you aint getting any sparks.

I've seen an ABY or two running rough cos that earth strap was loose.

Paul

[CoupeWannabeS2]

Great - I'll take a look at the weekend. It will hopefully be as simple as the earth wire.

Thanks for all the advice, its much appreciated.

[CoupeWannabeS2]

Still not working correctly.

Found time to work on the motor today, earth wire is fine. However after removing all the plugs I discovered there is a mixture

There are 4 NGK plugs, and the centre of the 5 is a Bosch! So going to get a new set of 5 OE Bosch ones.

Im not sure this could have caused the missfire because it was fine until I removed the coil pack in the first place. I did discover a blown fuse today, and after replacing this I managed to get the car to start again - although misfiring again.

I wondered if anyone could let me know what fuse it is, as my fusebox sticker is not complete. It is the one that the fuse puller is attached to, a 20amp.

My thoughts are that I may have broken a coilpack wire, and the car has then popped a fuse while I was driving on 4 cylinders. Does this sound reasonable ?

Also how can you identify a problem coil / coilwire as I cant get a multimeter probe at both ends of the wire. Ie one at the plug end and one at the coil end ?