UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hey guys,
So as it happened, the engine cut out one morning shortly after start, turns out no charge from alternator. After short inspection I quickly noticed that there is nothing plugged in to the 2 pin connector..I found the wires dangling under the alternator, without connector (!), only the pins insulation taped around separately.. long story short, ordered new connector, wires connected to alternator, tested and yess 14.5V on the battery.
Because I felt the engine running a bit rough I run a quick fault reading and it picked up a cylinder 1 misfiring. Cleared the fault, restarted the engine, the code never came back but it runs rough and it feels like 1 cylinder not running at all.
Where should I start? Logically thinking it’s something to do with the previous very low voltage?

swap the coil with one of the others and see if the fault follows it.

Also make sure that the spark plugs are still okay as a duff plug can kill an old but still okay coil pack.

After getting caught out once, I made sure that I always had a spare coil pack (COP) in the car. One original make of factory fitted COPs seemed a lot worse than the other, Eldor was the brand that I preferred and especially ones NOT manufactured in Turkey!

Maybe check which brand(s) are currently fitted to this car, and their manufacturing date codes, and buy a reasonable branded new COP coil to help you out of this.

But do get all the spark plugs out and check them first to avoid damaging any or any more COP coils - doing that could save a lot of time and money.

thanks I'll have a look tomorrow.. it just seems a bit suspicious that a spark plug and/or a ignition coil failed straight after that alternator issue.

Could you also clarify which engine we are talking about? ie is it a 3 cylinder?