I've had wet weather stalling problems with my '97 Jetta. It's not like it dies going through a puddle - instead, I'm typically stopped at an intersection, and the engine does when I let out the clutch and give it some gas. I crank it repeatedly - for the first few times nothing happens. Then it starts to cough just as I stop cranking. If I keep this up long enough (until the battery is just about drained) I can get the engine started, and it runs very rough for a few seconds then smooths out.
I noticed some arcing on the plug wires and replaced those and the distributor cap and rotor. I thought this had it fixed but the other day I ran into the same situation again. This time I let the car sit for close to an hour, and then it started up with just a bit of extra cranking.
I have a new coil in hand, but before putting it in I thought I'd try to create the fault. With the engine running I misted the coil, the distributor, the plug wires, everything. Then I turned the garden hose on everything (fine spray). Engine runs like a top.
Is it an intermittently faulty coil? I'm keeping it with the vehicle now
- next time it happens I'll try the swap. But I'm wondering if I'm missing something else. All suggestions appreciated.