How to install a new ignition coil for a 2004 Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8T

[markae]

I was driving home and the car suddenly lost power and sounded really rough. The engine management light then came on. I managed to get it home and I phoned my local -independant- Audi dealer. He reckons its an ignition coil. After reading many forums it sounds like it is, and that it is quite a common problem.

The part isn't expensive and I thought it might be worth fitting it myself. I am not a mechanic by any means but I am technically competent and so it depends how complex this job is?

Has anyone got an idea of how I can approach this or specific instructions for this vehicle.

The vehicle is a 2004 (54) Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8T Sport.

Thanks!

[rally5]

Hi there
The coil pack failure is quite common, I had 2 go down on my 04 1.8t in 2 weeks, Changeing is very simple, You have 4 individual coil packs costing approx £25 each. In my case I plugged in a fault code reader which told me which coil pack had failed, Removed the plastic engine cover and simply pull out the correct coil pack, then unclip the cable and push on the new coil pack refit the cable and start the engine, then clear the fault code and the engine management light will go out. Without a fault code reader you will have to replace each one in turn untill you find the correct one, However the engine management light might take some time or days to go out or might need reset by a code reader. No harm will come to your engine to run with the light on once the fault has been fixed. I now carry a spare in my boot. Good luck.
Coil packs available from any Motor factor.

[markae]

thanks for that rally5. sounds pretty straightforward then. few other questions if you wouldn't mind - is there such a thing as an audi 'original' coil or are they '3rd party' from the beginning? can you recommend any 3rd party coils? - do some perform better than others? can you mix them?

[rally5]

As regards to makes, there are quite a few, VW/audi no better than any others, Euro car parts do good quality at a good price, Yes you can mix. Not aware of any better perforners although each manufacturer would probably disagree !!

[markae]

thanks for your help rally5. I think I will avoid paying hefty garage repair charges for this!

[markae]

I ordered a new injection coil and have just installed it - very simple to do (following rally5's instructions) and it has sorted the problem! Superb...saved me about £120 after the cost of the part.