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[.:Reaper]

Ok ive been at this car thing a long time but ive never run into something like this.....
2001 GTI GLX
misfires when it has reach normal operating temperature and only between 1000 and 1400 other wise it runs perfect when cold.....heres the kicker theres a knock thats related....it started in the 3rd cylinder after replacing the plugs which were found to be faulty the knock moved to the 4th,5th, and 6th cylinders..... now as of today we have ruled out Spark wires thanks to a continuity test and plugs thanks to replacing them with a brand i know is good.  we cant figure out why the knocks moved or why the thing keeps misfire during acceleration when its warm...... if anyone has ever ecountered this before please enlighten me as to what is going on cause the only thing my friend sam and i can figure it is is the coil pack or ignition control module....

[Jesus]

Define continuity test on the plug wires?

They could easily pass a continuity test with a multimeter and still fail under actual use.

I had a major issue similar to this years ago on one of my VR6's ... turned out to be bad plug wires.

[punkrider99]

you mean knock as in detonation?  i'm assuming you're data logging this with vag-com?  is the ecu pulling timing?  definitely sounds ignition related and since you swapped out the plugs that narrows it down to the wires. 

[Jesus]

Yeah Nate, I guessed he meant detonation as well.

Just out of curiousity what kind of plugs are you running.  VR6's run best on simple plugs... they don't need all that platinum/gold/silver/unobtainium alloy plus 84,000 stuff.

[.:Reaper]

it has to be detonation it doesnt sound like valve train when you do the dowel listening trick (place a dowel to your ear and the other end to parts of the engine to find a knock) i didnt know that the wires could pass a multimeter (that is what i meant sorry) and still be disfunctional. *the ecu registers a misfire but doesnt register the knock. *the plugs are .... autolite double platinums, pretty standard as far as plugs go ive never had trouble with these. before i had Standard NGK's in it.

[Jesus]

I'd still try plug wires.

how many miles are on the one's you have?

[punkrider99]

it has to be detonation it doesnt sound like valve train when you do the dowel listening trick (place a dowel to your ear and the other end to parts of the engine to find a knock) i didnt know that the wires could pass a multimeter (that is what i meant sorry) and still be disfunctional. *the ecu registers a misfire but doesnt register the knock. *the plugs are .... autolite double platinums, pretty standard as far as plugs go ive never had trouble with these. before i had Standard NGK's in it.

there is only detonation at load so if you're doing the dowel hearing test at idle it definitely isn't knock/detonation.  unless you're running next to the car and doing the test while making 2nd and 3rd gear pulls...

EDIT you've obviously got a misfire issue and not a knock issue.  you said it yourself - the ecu isn't picking up knock.  that's because there isn't any.  were these platinum plugs gapable?  if so did you gap them?  to what spec?

[toxicavenger]

hey bro they are right about sticking with stock plugs in a VR6 and anything else could burn hotter than the stock plug and cause issues. also I have had it happen a few times where u ohm out a plug wire and it still being bad. my Subaru Outback had that happen twice because at the time I was being cheap and only replaced the bad one. so I honestly would see if one of ur bros had some u could just throw on to eliminated the wires as being a issue. but I would definitely go back to the NGK's.

[.:Reaper]

wires i think are at there end the most i know is they're stock and im at 70,000miles.....the plugs are gappable we gapped them at .040... unfortunatley the ngk's are were the problem began but they ran fine for several weeks until christmas eve the car started this whole thing.

ok according to these two sites....
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=8824
http://mysite.verizon.net/janvdb/vw/Engine/vr6_problems.html

All that needs to be done to solve my troubles is get new Spark Plugs and HT wires..... now does any one have recomendations? should i do the bosch or NGK dual electrode? what cable set should i go with?
this has been a HUGE help i thank you for any recomendations .

[toxicavenger]

hey bro I would stay away from anything with dual electrode. they are a waste of money and burn to hot. but NGK or BOSCH are both fine in my opinion. I am sure Nate or Pat could give u a good recommendation too in this area. I honestly have always run BOSCH plugs in my VAG vehicles.

[SwiftMKIII]

I honestly have always run BOSCH plugs in my VAG vehicles.

German parts in German cars.  Craaazzy Concept...

[Jesus]

wires i think are at there end the most i know is they're stock and im at 70,000miles.....the plugs are gappable we gapped them at .040... unfortunatley the ngk's are were the problem began but they ran fine for several weeks until christmas eve the car started this whole thing.

ok according to these two sites....
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=8824
http://mysite.verizon.net/janvdb/vw/Engine/vr6_problems.html

All that needs to be done to solve my troubles is get new Spark Plugs and HT wires..... now does any one have recomendations? should i do the bosch or NGK dual electrode? what cable set should i go with?
this has been a HUGE help i thank you for any recomendations .

All you need to buy is stock specification spark plugs and stock wires. 
Trust me your vr6 will run just fine with those.  And naturally if that doesn't fix your problem it's probably something else.
I'm still leaning strongly towards an ignition problem..most likely the plug wires.
If you have removed and replaced your plugs several times it is very possible that you have damaged a couple plug wires in the process and they are shorting out down inside the head.  I have seen this happen as well...especia lly if you're using that piece of shit plastic plug wire tool.
VR6 plug wires are  PITA to deal with no matter how you look at it if you're using that plastic tool.  I ponied up years ago and spent like 45 bux on the metal plug wire tool.

[toxicavenger]

on my plug wires it had a burn spot thru the side of the boot. Pat is right about the spark plug tool I think i got mine from Napa auto parts.

[scurvy_bandit]

If you have a plug wire that is bad, your car will read emission control in the display... also the CEL will be on. When you checked your wires for continuity what was the resistance? My guess is you have a bad coil pack bro. Since the misfire is moving and all. If it were the wires it would be the same cylinder misfiring.

Also to just beat a dead horse, regular cheap Bosch or NGK plugs work the best in the VR6. The OEM wires are awesome and as far as I know and heard (vortex) the OEM stuff is better than most aftermarket stuff.

[Jesus]

If you have a plug wire that is bad, your car will read emission control in the display... also the CEL will be on. When you checked your wires for continuity what was the resistance? My guess is you have a bad coil pack bro. Since the misfire is moving and all. If it were the wires it would be the same cylinder misfiring.

Not as a rule.  When I had some bad wires I had no CEL
You could be right on the coil pack ... were the MKIV VR6's known to have coil pack issues like the MKIII's ?

[.:Reaper]

not sure if the coil pack issue is common as far as my research has gone i havent seen anything suggesting that......i did manage to solve the problem all it took was some regular copper core NGK's the wires are fine after a continuity test and wiggling them in the dark to find any shorts i was convinced that with out me being able to reproduce the misfires while moving the wires at idle it couldnt be them but on the safe side i ordered some when i bought the new plugs but to my amazment the plugs fixed the issue though I'll still put in new wires casue the old ones are hell to get out with out the plastic pull piece on top....(broke one off myself the other three were already like that) you fellas have been a great help, I'll try to make one of the gtg's soon but no promises between full time student and full time clerk at the comfort im friggin beat on the weekends. I wish all of you luck with your troubles (if you have any) and I'll lend knowledge where i can if its needed. again THANK YOU

edition 719 

[Jesus]

Good to hear that you got it sorted 

[Barry]

I'll try to make one of the gtg's soon but no promises

This weekend will be a good one for first time attendance.... with talks of DATR in the air at the gtg's, they have been building in attendance...

THANK YOU

edition 719     

Thank us at the gtg! I'll even show you the kickass plug wire puller I bought online...

[.:Reaper]

well im supposed to go visit my folks this weekend but i will definatley catch ya' all next weekend

Wolf Creek Pass ..... do your worst ......

[scurvy_bandit]

Im glad for you that it wasnt a coilpack! Also good to hear everything worked out well. I am actually about to do the same with my car... I have no idea when the plugs were last changed, but the previous owner was a woman... haha


And I will see you guys saturday.

[.:Reaper]

looks like I'll be there on saturday after all....

[Barry]

awesome... see you then!

[punkrider99]

that's right newb.  it's your turn to get jumped in to the gang.

[SwiftMKIII]

By "jumped" you mean?   

[Barry]

haha... yeah, there wont be any jumper cables coming from my car this week...

[scurvy_bandit]

you have to get beat into the gang... and make sure you wear the right colors... you dont want to rep the wrong peeps...

[punkrider99]

haha... yeah, there wont be any jumper cables coming from my car this week...

now that the op's shit is fixed i can jack the thread and ask....

did you finally fix your hoopty or what? 

[Barry]

yeah.... it was a rusted connection on the starter motor from the battery... disconnected it, cleaned everything up, and no problems since

[punkrider99]

badical.