Well...lets start off with the given; Car- 98 1.8t quattro manual. 130+ mi. Well, occassionally, maybe once every two weeks my check engine light will come on then stay on for maybe 3 days, then go back off. I pulled the codes and it was Misfire in Cyclendar 3 and Catalyst is below threshold. Well one day i went to start up the car and it didn't start right away. The engine turned but it just did the chur-chur-chur sound a few times then started and white smoke was coming out. it wasn't a whole lot but enough for me to see it and get worried. Now i haven't replaced anything as of yet. I plan to replace the spark plugs and the coil-packs today.

Well when i start the car up for this past week, it has been giving me the chur-chur-chur thing again and isn't immediatly starting up. I noticed very mild hesitation when outside of 2nd gear and in low rpm's. I'm thinking that it maybe the coil packs or the spark plugs and i'm praying that that is the end result.

Bottom line i guess i need help with what is needed to do the swapping of the spark plugs and the coil-packs. I'm going to try and do an article with picutres when i do change them. I couldn't find one with pictures so i'm going to create one. Suggestions on plugs are definatly welcome.

 

yea sounds like coil packs, but spark plugs are good to replace anyway
remove engine cover
take out the two allen bolts on each coil pack..(the black things bolted to the head)
find the appropriate size socket for the spark plugs and take them out (standard sparkplug socket will not fit so get a pair of pliars or something to grab those little bastards out of the hole)
put in new plugs
new coil packs
reconnect all wires
done !

 

this is what my fear was. i do have the standard spark plug socket. i dont know why i had a feeling tht it wouldn't work for my car. do you know off hand the size of the socket?

 

i dont know off hand, its nothing odd, if you have a socket set and a extension you should be good

 

Well...i'm outside cleaning the car, adjusting the diverter and listening to music etc...all normal stuff. I noticed that the negitive battery post is very loose so i say to myself hummm i should tighten that. I get the tools and go to tighten it and it slips (keys in the ignition and in the on position) off...i dont think much of it and put it back on tighten it back up and i'm done. well i go and try to move the car and it starts up but then feels like its about to die. so i give a bit of a tap on the gas and it hesitates, does'nt go past 2300 rpm and dies...I start it back up same thing. wtf is going on. I'm thinking coil pack...spark plug? i had planned on replacing them tomorrow. I'm thinking could it be a vac leak? to dark to check but i will tomorrow.


also i found this little button on the driver side of the pilar, all the way down near the floor. what the heck is that button for?

 

thats for the interior motion sensor

and i have no idea about that, sounds like you shorted something when you slipped the wrench

 

the reason there is no write up for plugs and coil packs is because its so self explanatory if you look at the top of the engine. there is no need for a writeup.

But, a bad coil could certainly cause a starting problem, or a bad plug, or a bad icm. Coils and plugs are a decent place to start. i doubt you messed anything up with the battery thing, you might want to just disconnect the neg. cable for a few minutes completely just to reset the ecu all the way.

So disconnect the battery. replace the coils and plugs. Then go from there. If you want. you can test each coil pack for spark, or do an ohm test to verify if they are good or bad.

You could pull the pack and plug from each cylinder and see if its getting spark.

but replacing the coils and plugs wont hurt, and you will know when they were last replaced and will eliminate them as the problem.

 

to do what iwth it though?

 

Do you have an owners manual it explains the button, I found it today as well

If you push the button so the light lights up the motion sensors are on, when you lock the car if anything moves inside the alarm goes off, not sure how anything would get in there though.

 

lmfao... good point

Didnt know theifs could just appear inside, usually it takes breaking in and makes it go off anyway