1997 Jetta Hates Water, HELP!

[calebawilson]

I have a 1997 Jetta GLS, and it hates water. If I wash the car and spray the front end down, the car will not start. When I try to start it up it turns over, but it won't start or it starts but it jerks like the engine is choking. If I can get it to start when I first start driving it jerks like I am going over small speed bumps. Sometimes the engine stalls and shuts off when this happens. This also occurs after it has rained for a couple of days. I tried to have this fixed, but VW dealership couldn't reproduce the problem. They poured water over most of the engine (including distributor cap) and nothing happened. I told them to spray the front end, but they said that may mess something up. But all it takes to cause this problem sometimes is a mist of water. After I wash my car if it will not start I just let it sit of about 10 min, and then it will start up. But if i excelerate too quickly after that it stalls and the engine dies. After driving the car for a distance the problem disappears.

[jbatsa]

Look at your coil ( on the firewall ) - you'll see a round mark (about 3/6") from the mold on the face of it - slap a blob of grease on it and see what happens.

J

[rubyms]

I had the same problem with my 96 Jetta. You probably need to replace the rotor cap. Not a big deal. Costs about $15 from the auto parts store. Once I replaced it the problem went away.

[boschmann]

Spray the ignition coil w/water & it will probably start to sputter & die. I'm not sure if that grease idea is a solution to the arcing problem or what, I usually replace the coil even though they tend to be pricey.

[slodubber]

If shes a 2.slo then its def the coil. usually runs 95-100 bucks for the coil, carry a can of wd-40 or other silicone spray to dry out the coil if it dies on you......

[Swanz]

I had the same problem, it was the rotorcap.
Swanz

[calebawilson]

I took the car in and the coil was in really bad shape they said, and after they replaced it the sprayed it with water and nothing happend. They also checked the roto cap. So it looks like it is fixed for now, I am taking it to the car wash later today.

[koko2]

I'm doing the same cap/wires/spak plugs project ... after 3 days of non-stop rain and 60,000 mile on my '96 Jetta.

The only thing I'm not sure about now is the order of the wires:
(per my notes, before taking down the old stuff)
Distributor Cap:
____4
3_______2
____1

Front of the Car.

Engine:
4___3___2____1

Front of the Car.

After looking again at this, it kind of doesn't make sense to have 3 where it is. Can I mess up something if I switch 3 and 4 by mistake, and see what happens.

[Tacuvito]

Hey KoKo, the firing order of the cylinders is like this. First, cylinder #1 is at the drive belt end of the engine. The firing order is 1-3-4-2. Hope this cures what ills you.
Tacuvito.

[koko2]

Yep, that is right. Thank you very much for confirming. Your count seems to be the more professional and widely world accepted...I just did take notes on a piece of paper starting the numbering with the shortest wire. (obviously I'm an amateur, but learning quickly) The order did slightly throw me in panic mode, but it is what it is - I guess the authors of Haynes will take a note, or i'm no longer buying their overpriced black and white pictures books.

Something else i found out though. After changing the distributor cap, the wires, the spark plugs, the air filter and adding dry gas in the fuel tank I still couldn't fire the engine.

Turns out is was the ignition coil: figured that one out by spraying it with WD-40, waiting a few minutes and turning the key.

That one must have had a crack, and now it is another US$120 to get that one replaced also. Or I can keep spraying it with WD-40 for a while... A project for next weekend.