# MKIV Jetta 2.0 dies while driving



## synchronicity (Jul 27, 2014)

Hi All,

I am new to VW Vortex. I have an '02 MkIV Jetta with a 2.0 AVH engine with A/T. I was hoping someone had some advice for a problem I have been having with the car. The car basically dies after driving it about 5-10 miles. It does not sputter or buck, but just slowly losses power until I have to pull off the road, then it dies completely. It never throws a code so it has been difficult to diagnose. Once the car sits for about 20-30 minutes it fires back up and I can drive it a mile or two and it dies again. It is almost as if something gets hot enough to stop working and then works again when the car cools off. 

I had the car at the dealer and they recomended the the crank sensor and catalytic converter be changed. They also found that the fuel pressure was low and replaced the fuel pump and filter for about $800. They estimated that the crank sensor and cat would be about aniother $2K so I took the car home. The cat needed to be replaced because it was leaking. I replaced the crank sensor and cat yesterday, but it did not fix the problem. The car left me stranded last night. I was too far from home to do the drive/cool off cycles so I had it flat bedded home. 

At this point I am thinking that it might be the coil pack, but at about $250 thought it might be best to ask people smarter and more experienced for advice.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## synchronicity (Jul 27, 2014)

*Just ran another test*

I just completed another test which may provide some more information. I started the car in the driveway and let it idle with the hopes that the stalling problem would manifest itself in the driveway as opposed to on the road. It did after about 30 minutes. With the car dead, I found a spare new spark plug and pulled a wire off and inserted the spare plug. I had my son crank the car while i held the tang of the plug against the head - no spark!! So it seems to be ignition related. Maybe the coil pack? or is it something else that ends up inhibiting the ignition when it gets warm?


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## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

Have it scanned for codes.


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## dogdog (Jul 26, 2007)

synchronicity said:


> I just completed another test which may provide some more information. I started the car in the driveway and let it idle with the hopes that the stalling problem would manifest itself in the driveway as opposed to on the road. It did after about 30 minutes. With the car dead, I found a spare new spark plug and pulled a wire off and inserted the spare plug. I had my son crank the car while i held the tang of the plug against the head - no spark!! So it seems to be ignition related. Maybe the coil pack? or is it something else that ends up inhibiting the ignition when it gets warm?


if you suspect that there are few youtube and articles on the forum on how to check if your issue is with cracked ignition modules. but you should scan for code as suggested.


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## Jay-Bee (Sep 22, 2007)

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4791388-TECH-MK4-2-0-Crank-Position-Sensor-P0322

Give this a look.

I was helping a friend with a 1.8T timing belt job this weekend and we had a weird no start after. Luckily i had some experience with this sensor and code.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

A VCDS scan would be really helpful here. Put a scan tool on it, and see if there is an RPM reading while cranking when it refuses to start.


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## synchronicity (Jul 27, 2014)

*More Testing - need to get VAGCOM Scanner*

Hi All,

Thanks everyone for your input. I am embarased to say that I do not have a VAGCOM Scanner. I would take it somewhere to have it scanned, but I am not sure I would make it before it dies on the side of the road. If anyone has any recomendations on a good scanner to buy - I would appreciate it.

In the absence of a scanner I did some more rudimentry diagnostics. As I mentioned before it appears that when the car heats up to a certain point it dies with no spark. So I am suspecting the coil pack at this point. To test this I pulled the connector off the coil pack and ran some tests. The first test was to verify that I had 12 V between pins 1 & 6 which is tested with the ignition on. This checked out with the car in a running state and a dead state. I then got a small LED bulb and started testing the trigger pins. I ran the car until it died and then tested the trigger pins (1&2, 1&3 etc.) while cranking the engine over. The LED was flashing on and off for all pin combinations. So it appears that the coil is getting both baseline voltage and trigger inputs when the car is "dead". So at this point the problem really seems to be pointing to the coil pack.

Any thoughts?


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Yup, if the LED blinks, you've got signal to the coil. Power, ground, and signal to the coil, but no spark = bad coil.


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## synchronicity (Jul 27, 2014)

*Problem Solved!*

I just wanted to follow up on solution to the car dieing after it got warmed up. It was the coil pack after all. As I mentioned before I had tested the souce voltage at the coil and the signals to fire and they were all good. After the new coil pack the cra runs great and keeps running.

Thanks everyone for your advice!


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## jp6060 (Apr 9, 2014)

I've been having a similar problem with my 03 Jetta 2.0 AVH with M/T. It is no where near as bad as yours was though. When I first bought the car in June it would not cold start properly and would crank multiple times then die. It would sometimes take 5-10 tries to get it started. The previous owner had already replaced the CPS, the fuel pump, fuel relay, and fuel lines but never resolved the problems. When I scanned it with my standard obd2 scanner I got a code for engine coolant temperature sensor. I replaced that ($10 part) and it has been 99% fine after that, with the starting problem fully resolved. One other thing with the car that happened 3 times before I replaced the ECT was that it died while driving, sort of like yours. I always able to just start it right back up again and continue driving with no problems. But last week after the car had been fine for 2 weeks it died at highway speeds with cruise control on 2 times within 5 minutes. I had low gas at the time and I thought that might have had something to do with it, as I haven't been below 1/4 tank since. I also thought I started to feel it die today in 3rd gear with the cruise set at 35 but I took cruise off and it drove normally. I am not sure however the car was even going to die. But one thing that the previous owner told me they didn't replace was the coil. When you first started having your issue was it intermittent (car wouldn't die frequently) or was it full blown right away?


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