The 2003 1.8T or 1.8-liter turbo 4-cylinder by Volkswagen, was installed in the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle, Golf GTI, Jetta, and Passat models. The 2003 VW 1.8T engine was capable of producing up to 180-horsepower, and 173 foot-pounds of torque. The ignition coil for the 1.8T engine is located on the firewall of all of the Volkswagen cars from 2000 through 2005. The ignition coil is directly next to the brake booster, which is the large black cylindrical object that holds the master cylinder and brake fluid reservoir. Accessing the ignition coil will require removing part of the drip rail above.
Raise the hood of the Volkswagen you are working on, and set the hood prop to support the hood for this entire project. Loosen the negative battery cable from the battery, using a 3/8-inch drive ratchet and socket. Turn the tie down nut on the cable end counterclockwise until it is loose. Remove the negative battery cable by hand.
Remove the front edge of the drip rail, sitting just above the brake booster on the Volkswagen. The drip rail is attached loosely to the edge of the firewall, so you can remove the drip rail by simply pulling it upward and out toward the engine. Pull the drip rail out far enough that you can visually inspect and physically access the ignition coil, just to the left of the brake booster when you are viewing it from the front of the car.
Visually inspect the front of the ignition coil and locate the "+" side or positive terminal of the coil. Do the same search for the "-" side or negative terminal of the coil. It is important that you can differentiate between the positive and negative coil wires. Place the red lead from an ohmmeter onto the positive or "+" side ignition coil terminal. The terminal is the screw that holds the positive wire onto the ignition coil. Place the black lead from the ohmmeter onto the negative or "-" terminal of the ignition coil.
Visually inspect the gauge or digital meter on the ohmmeter to view the amount of resistance that the ignition coil is producing. The 2003 Volkswagen 1.8T engine ignition coil is supposed to produce between -0.52 to -0.80 ohms of resistance. If the coil is not producing a number in the range of the two numbers just given, then the ignition coil is bad. If the ignition coil is producing no number at all, please double check your connections with the ohmmeter leads and try again.
