98 Jetta GL electrical problem (wet)

[nehi]

I have a 98 Jetta GL, auto trans. with 83k miles. Driving to a city 400 miles from home on a wet snow covered highway the engine stalled. I suspected the engine got wet. This happened in the past but conditions were different as it went through about 12" of water. I expect it to get wet driving through deep water but not wet snow. Had it towed to a VW dealer. This happened at night. In the morning the tech started the car and drove into the shop. He tried to duplicate the problem but could not. He did tell me I needed spark plugs but I had replaced them and wires about 10k ago. Seems they should last longer than 10k.

Anyway I picked up the car and it was not running quite right. As I drove it back home I floorboarded the accelerator and the engine kinda snapped and began running properly. The check engine light came on. I continued driving with the light on. When I arrived home the light turned off. I assume the fault was no longer there and the light turns off after a number of on-off's of the ignition. Correct?

My question is what connection or component is susceptable to wet conditions? Where do I begin to look? Nearest dealer to me is 200 miles away.

[veedubmechanic]

Ignition coil... spark plug wires

[CaseyVR6]

Completely agree, either the coil or the wires are shot.

[nehi]

Wires, distributor cap, and rotor are fairly new. Coil is located high on firewall. I can't imagine the coil getting wet from wet snow. Forgot to mention, added VW aftermarket cruise control. I had to splice into harness near the coil. I believe that connection was for the RPM's. The control for the cruise is located behind the left front headlight, ahead of the wheel. The electrical connectors for that unit are on the top of it.

As I stated the tech sprayed the engine liberally with water and could not duplicated the fault. Any other ideas before I replace all electrical components again?

[boschmann]

Replace the coil.