AUDI COIL PACK PROBLEM AND REPLACEMENT

An extremely common problem on Audi engines and more specifically the 1.8 turbo is the coil packs going bad or becoming intermittent. This will cause a major misfire and depending on how many coil packs have gone bad, in some cases the car may not even maintain an idle. Aftermarket coil packs from Autozone or Advance Auto will work but many times over I have seen them fail months after installation. One of the reasons for this is an incorrect gap for the spark plug. This will cause a short in the coil pack overtime leading to premature failure. 
The steps to fixing this problem for good is to first: 

1. Scan the Audi for codes to determine what coil pack or coil packs are bad. 
2. Purchase new (NOT USED) coil packs, aprox cost is $29.00.
3. Replace or check the gap on all spark plugs. When replacing the spark plugs with new ones still go through the process of checking the gap, in many cases I have found new spark plugs that have had a spark gap that was not even close to stock specifications.  

How to replace the coil packs:

• Remove plastic black Audi cover on top of engine by using a Philips head screwdriver to turn the screw 180 degrees to the right while applying downward pressure.
• Each coil pack has its own small wire harness that you will need to remove. Apply pressure to the tab that is right where the harness plugs into the coil pack. While applying pressure slowly pull back and it will pop off. Sometimes this takes patients and the clips break very easily so take your time.
• You will now see four coil packs if you are working on the 1.8L turbo model. Each coil pack has two bolts that will need a hex head tip to remove. 
• After the bolts are removed slowly pull out the coil pack.
• You are now ready to install the new coil pack! Slide it in and follow the directions backward. 

The coil packs are not cylinder specific so do not worry about interfering with timing or anything else for that matter. Good Luck!