Hi. I have a 2002 Audi A4 1.8T FWD CVT with 104,000 miles.

I was driving home last night, pulled in the fast lane and accelerated to pass a car and before I knew it I was in limp mode. Lost power, CEL flashing and felt like the engine was missing. I figured coil pack of course. Limped home and let the engine cool down.

This morning, I went out and started it up and did the "I hope I don't get electrocuted" test of pulling out one coil pack at a time with the engine idle. I know it's not the best way to test coil packs, but it gets the job done when you don't have a tester to put it under load.

Working from the front of the engine back, pulling the first one made no difference in the way the engine ran. Putting that back and pulling the second one made the engine worse, but putting it back in didn't make it better -- after replacing the 2nd one, the engine still ran worse than it did last night. Pulling the other two made the engine almost die, but putting each of them back in returned it to at least being able to run.

So, I know the first coil pack is dead. When I pulled the 2nd one, I heard it miss on that cylinder and the engine did get worse, telling me the 2nd one WAS working. Now it is not.

The 3rd and 4th work and still work when I replaced them.

Is it likely my test killed the 2nd coil pack or that it was almost dead when I pulled it? That seems pretty unlikely, but it's worth a shot.

Anyway, I'm going to pickup 4 of these babies on Monday when the VW parts department here opens. Just wondering what you all think...

-Chris

P.S. -- Which is cylinder 1? The one in the front or the one in the back?

 

Did you know if you read the codes, which they do for free at autozone, it tells you which cylinder is misfiring?

 

Yeah... I was afraid to drive it anywhere, though... and they were closed last night when it happened. Also, I'm having problems with my computer finding the ODB-II interface for the VAG-COM software.

-Chris

 

as far as i know, Vagcom doesnt like Vista

 

I'm going to pick these up today. Is the 2002 A4 the same as the Jetta or Passat (spelling?)? We only have a VW dealer in town, so I always have to pretend I have a VW to get parts.

-Chris

 

VW can cross check your vin to get you the right parts. I got my last coilpack from them.

 

If I can remember correctly cylinder 1 is closer to the front grill and the 4th is towards the firewall.

 

Cyl 1 is nearest to your radiator (front of the car). If oyu ever need to buy coilpacks from the dealer, I would always go VW over Audi, it's like $5 cheaper per pack. Yes, they'll have them, just tell them you have a passat if they give you any compatibility run around (which they shouldn't).

 

Yup, I picked up two for a Passat. I should have picked up 4, but I was intending to replace the other two this weekend once I was sure that's what the original problem was. I say I should have because I was coming home tonight and lost ANOTHER one. I just tested them and it's one of the ones I didn't replace. Crap! How annoying...

What are the chances of loosing THREE coil packs within 20 miles of driving?

I lost one on the Interstate, lost one as I was testing them, and lost another one tonight.... amazing.

Tonight I was close to home, so that wasn't as bad as the other night. I had to drive probably 3 miles. Friday, when I lost one the first time, I was about 10-15 miles from home and I went ahead and drove it in (carefully, going easy on it).

When I popped the hood tonight the catalytic converter was glowing. Obviously dumping raw gas into a catalytic converter is going to make it get hot, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite THAT hot.

Since I drove 10-15 miles Friday when it originally failed, do you guys think I toasted my catalytic converter? How will I know?

-Chris

 

I lost 3 coils within about 100 miles of driving. It was right after I did my APR flash... I replaced all 4, and kept the other one as a spare. So now, I rock a brand new spare, plus a used spare in case I blow a coil, replace it, and blow another before replacing my spare. Oh yes, it has happened. :P
Thank God they are easy to change...