IGNITION Contents Introduction. 1. General Description 1.1. Hall-sender Electronic Ignition 1.2. Electronic Ignition With Knock Sensor. 41.3. Digifant Engine Management Systems From 1991 (California only) 41.4 System Identification and Applications Maintenance Troubleshooting 8.1 Basie Troubleshooting Principles. Test Equipment Quick-check of lgnition System 3.2. Ignition System Visual Inspection 8.3 Testing Coil and Spark Plug Wires 3.4 Testing Hall Sender and Ignition Control Unit Ignition Control Unit Power and Ground Coll Powar Output Stage Power and Ground Power to Coil Primary Circuit Checking Hall Sender Checking Ignition Control Unit Hall-sender Electronic Ignition . 4.1 Ignition Timing 42 Centrifugal and Vacuum Spark Advance. 43. Electronic Timing Advance—Scirocco 16V RPM-dependent Timing Advance . Vacuum Advance, " 4 18 6 218 16 Section 7 5. Knock Sensor 5.1 Removing and Installing Knock Sensor. 5.2 Knock Sensor System Diagnosis, (Scirocco 18V) 6. Distributor 6.1. Removing and Installing Distributor Cap, Rotor and Spark Plug Wires Replacing Spark Plug Wires ‘Spark Plug Firing Order. Replacing Distributor Cap and Rotor. 6.2 Removing and Installing Distributor 63 Disassembling and Assembling Distributor JH, 2H Engines PL (16-valve) Engines 7. Technical Data |. Electronic lgntion System Specifications — 1985 to 1989, CIS and CIS-E, 1. Electronie Ignition System Specifications — Digifant | and Digitant I! from 1990. TABLES Ignition System Applications lgnition System Troubleshooting Ignition Coil Resistance . Electronic Ignition System Specifications . Electronic Ignition System Specifications Knock Sensor Specifications. 16 16 16 7 7 18 18 19 19 20 20 at 21 at 4 4 16IGNITION 7-3 Ignition Introduction ‘The ignition systems used on the cars coveredby this manual incorporate many technolog- ically advanced components to maximize engine performance and reliably in the face of in- creasing restrictions on engine exhaust emissions. The ignition system, in cooperation with the fuel system, precisely controls engine operation to ensure maximum power andefficiency fromthe engine under all operating conditions. Due to the use of sophisticated electronics to operate and control these modem ignition systems, the need for routine maintenance is reduced and troubleshooting can be more dfi- Cutt. Any service or repair work must be carried out carefully, with special attention tothe cau- tions and warnings and proper working procedures. Most necessary service and repair information is provided here, although some of the operations that are described may be of practical value only to professional mechanics. if you lack the skills, or the special tools and ‘equipment, we suggest you leave the service andrepair oftheigntion systernto an authorized Volkswagen dealer or ather qualified repair shop. We especially urge youtto consult your au- thorized Volkswagen dealer before attempting any repairs on a vehicle stil covered by any ‘warranties,7-4 — IGNITION 1, GENERAL DESCRIPTION ‘The spark-ignition systemprovides each cylinder with apre- cisely timed high-voltage sparktoignitethe air andfuel mixture inthe combustion chamber. The system adjusts the timing of ‘that spark to compensate for changing engine speed and oad, 1.1 Hall-sender Electronic Ignition ‘The basic ignition system for cars coveredbby this manual is {a transistorized coil ignition with Hall sender, represented in Fig. 1-1. The Hall sender in the distrbutor is the electronic equivalent of breaker points. It provides a timing signal o the ignition control unit, which in turn switches the 12-vol coil pri- ‘mary circuit to discharge the high-voltage spark. The basic systems equipped with mechanical advance mechanisms in the distributor that adjust the ignition timing forload and speed, 1.2 Electronic Ignition With Knock Sensor For the Scirocco 16V, the basic electronic ignition has the added capability o sense pre-ignition or detonation (common- Iycalled knock orping), and agjustigntion timing electronically to eliminate it. The system, represented in Fig, 1-2, includes a knocksensor (Fig. 1-3) andknock sensor control unit. With this system, the distributor has no mechanical advance mecha- nisms. ignition timing advance is controlled electronically, 1.3 Digifant Engine Management Systems Cabriolet models trom 1990 are equipped with a version of ‘the Digifant engine management system, Digitant controls all aspects of fuel injection, ignition, knock control and emission Jonition contro! Control. The coil primary circuit is stil switched by a separate ignition control unit, but all timing advance and knock regula- tion are controlled electronically by the Digifant control unit. From 1991 (California only) Z Beginning with the 1997 model year, cars buit for sale in California are equipped wihaspactal version ot “Digifant. Sr faTenCas are * special ignition coil with power output stage ‘¢1no separate ignition control unit (primary circuit) + Digifant control unit with fault memory and on- board diagnosis (OBD) capability ‘cauTiON— Volkswagen specifies that tho first stop in any Digitant I system troubleshooting must bo {2 ‘hock the OBD fault memory, and to find and ‘orect any faults that may be indicated. Soo FUEL SYSTEM, 1.4 System Identification and Applications Table a lsts engine codes and the corresponding ignition system for cars covered by this manual. For more information (on identifying a particular engina, see ENGINE. Table a. Ignition System Applications Engine code] Ignition system Application aH Hallsendor electronic | 1985-1989 exe. 16V| Pk Electronic whnock sensor_| Seirooco 16V only & Digitant trom 1990 unit lgaition distributor with Hall sending unit Fig. 1-1. Schematic dagram showing basie components of Hal-sender electronic igntien forall 1985-1989 ‘madels fergie codo JH} except Sca0c0 16. igtantcalea—