Jennifer’s Passat suddenly started running rough and stalled. She called for help and we trailered it to the shop.
We pulled the codes and got Random Misfire and and Cylinder 3 and 5 Misfire. We tried testing the spark using an inductive spark tester, but none of the wires would reliably light the light.
We did all the resistance checks that the Bentley manual suggested and every thing checked out. However, it was obvious that the spark was still weak to non existent.
Despite the lack of firm evidence, we elected to replace the coil pack. The V6 Passat coil pack is only available as a unit that included all three coil packs and the transistor to fire them.
The coil pack is easy to change. There are four bolts holding the coil pack to the front of the engine. There is one wire connection where the bundle comes in. Then there are the six plug wires.
Replacing the coil pack quickly cured the misfire condition.