# 97 Jetta 2.0 8v Intermittent misfire/loss of power



## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

Well as much as I hate being a pain in the a$$, as stated in the title, my '97 Jetta 2.0 is acting up. I've been searching for threads for about a week now, but nothing has really pertained to my situation specifically. 
The problem started while I was driving at highway speeds and the engine cut out on me and wouldnt start after that. Had it towed, diagnosed it as a coil problem, and proceeded to swap out the coil, wires, distributor cap, and rotor. I didnt bother changing the plugs because I did this about 5k miles ago. Car ran mint for 3 days, then on my way to work it started misfiring and lost power immediately. I shut the car off as soon as that happened, waited a 5 minutes and figured I would see if it start. The car started and was running good, so I figured I would see if it would drive. It drove ok for about maybe a mile or two and started misfiring and acting up again. At this point I was at work, and pulled it into the shop checked out the MAF and it was reading weak on my scan tool, and was pretty dirty so I replaced it. Car once again ran good for 3 or 4 days and started misfiring and losing power again. 
At this point I've tested the cam and crank sensor, and everything was getting power as is it should. I also checked all the ignition system/wires as well as vacuum lines for cracks/leaks. The only codes its throwing are: Random cylinder multiple misfire, as welll asmisfire codes for cylinders 1-4.
I'm at a loss at this point. I'm leaning towards replacing the distributor, but was looking for anybody elses opinions/input. As I stated, its intermittently and seems to only happen when the car is up to temp. 

Also I've got the BFI stage 1 eprom. Dont know if that makes any relative difference, but any help would be appreciated at this point.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Any fault codes?

What brand coil (and wires, and MAF for that matter) did you use?


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

I beleive replacement parts are beckarnley or something of that name sort. They're supposed to be equivlent to OEM. And I dont have the specific fault codes on hand, but its throwing codes for a misfire on each cylinder 1-4, as well as a code for random multiple cylinder misfire.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Bosch, Beru, or OE coil only. Return the Beck/Arnley one. Yes, many are that bad.


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

Thanks for the help, have a Bosch coil coming to me as we speak. I've got my fingers crossed, this will fix the problem.


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

well I went ahead and swapped the coil yesterday afternoon to the bosch unit. I let the car warm up to normal operating temps, and drove it around locally for about 40 mins. At this point everything was going smoothly so I got on the highway and after about 5 miles it started misfiring and backfiring like before. Luckly I was able to coast off the highway and into parking lot. I let it sit for 30 mins and was able to drive gently and make it home. 
Back to square one. Any furthur input would be great.

also its throwing:
P0300-multiple/random misfire
P0301-cylinder 1 misfire
P0302-cylinder 2 misfire
P0303-cylinder 3 misfire
P0304 -cylinder 4 misfire


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Cap/Rotor/wires? Mist them with water, see if something's arching when hot.


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

cap, rotors, and wires have all been replaced. Cap and rotor are bosch parts, im not 100% sure on the brand of the wires. I've tried spraying down the ignition system multiple times, at different operating temps, to check for misfires or arcing. This is what led me to beleive it was a potential issue with MAF which was replaced with an OE part. However this did not solve the issue. Vacuum lines were all tested again last night as well, and I was unable to find any leaks.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Does your scanner give you any data or just codes?

Check fuel pressure while hot and driving. Swap the stock chip back in if you have it.


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

i have the MacTools ET97 Scan tool. It does offer a limited data stream list. I will be able to monitor fuel pressure though. I dont have the stock eprom but I do have a Neuspeed eprom, so I'll swap it over tonight and give it a shot. I also forgot to mention earlier I was monitoring the timing when it started misfiring last night, and timing jumped from 17.5 to -13.2 at time of the misfiring and loss of power. Not sure if any of that information is relative, I figured where it seems as though it could be an ignition problem it might help.
Thanks again for your help and feedback, I really do appreciate it.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Report back with fuel trim numbers (STFT and LTFT), as well as max MAF reading during a WOT blast to redline in 2nd or 3rd gear.

What are your timing values when it's at operating temp and not misfiring, both idle and 2500 RPM?


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## DCA52387 (Nov 22, 2009)

After running the scan tool on it like you suggested I came back with the following data. Timing at idle read 8.5* at idle and 37.5* at 2500rpm. 
MAF reading at idle was 3.3-3.5g/s and at WOT third gear pull was 70-78g/s. however while pulling in fourth the reading dropped to 54g/s and shortly there after misfire occurred and lost power. 
St fuel trim was12.4 to 17.6 @900rpm
Lt fuel trim read "0" due to the rear 02 sensor deleted I'm assuming, which was the reason I went with the BFI EPROM at the start.
I was able to get the car to misfire at idle. Fuel trim readings were slightly lower around 7-9. Timing was also slightly lower reading 5*-6*. MAF reading was steady at 3.3-3.5g/s. once again hope this helps. Thanks again.


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## supercook2 (Mar 27, 2013)

*2002 jetta misfire loss of power 2.0*

After taking my car to dealership and replacing coil,wires,plugs,crank sensor,maf sensor,trottle body replacment,air intake tube cleaning and replacement,vaccum lines replaced,come to find out after taking car to vw specialist the timeing belt was off 2 teeth the timing belt was replaced 40k ago with roller watrerpump etc,....the dealer thought that the check engine light would be on or code thrown but not the case so check the timing belt first!!!!!!!!!!!!!! save big bucks!!!!!!!!


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