97 jetta 2.0 manual sputtering after rain

[Voodoo302]

i know this has been addressed, but i wanted to add some specifics for my car...

it's a '97 jetta, 2.0L, manual trans, and after periods of moderate/heavy rain it's very sluggish and feels like it's sputtering or bogging down at low rpms. i have NOT noticed this after washing the car, and i haven't noticed it when driving in rain (though this could be b/c i'm generally already at cruising rpms).
from reading here i see that the most common causes are a bad ignition coil or bad rotor cap.
when i start my car, it starts just fine, but it turns over several times before engaging (4-5 times). does this make it more likely that my coil is bad? thanks.

[amorton]

Most likely (99%) that it's the ignition coil. My younger brother just replaced his as he had the same issue with driving in the rain, now no further problems. If your mechanically inclined, take the coil off and look at it closely. It doesn't take much of a crack. Otherwise, with your car idling, use a spray bottle with water and spray the coil to see if it sputters. Word of warning, running your car with misfiring cylinders will eventually ruin a catalytic converter, I just replaced one on a Beetle. My cost $460. VW cost $1000.

[2001bluejetta]

I have a 2001 jetta 2.0 liter and I have had the exact same problem too!!! I went to the dealer and paid a little over $100.00 for a brand new coil and it took me 40 minutes to install with a few sockets ! Its very easy to install and no knuckle banging!! If you need directions please drop me a line!
Thanks!!
Chris

[BluesCruiser]

take a spay bottle of water , start the car , and spray the wires, and cap , if it starts sputtering I would go with the cap/roter/wires

also if you need wires check e-bay I got mine made by VW new $35.00
100 at a parts store...

[Voodoo302]

thanks for the advice, it was the coil. i replaced it and that fixed the problem, but i think i also have cracks in my spark plug wires b/c the sputtering is back but not as bad. ah well, at least i'm not running out of things to work on on my car!