Well the shop that has been working on my car has had it for the last 2 weeks now (they have been real busy), well last monday I went and bought a used Ignition control unit for $100 (compared to $1300 that the shop wanted to charge me for a new one) and brought it to the shop. Well the next day they called and said my car still would not start and I may need to replace the coil (which is new by the way), I told them I was going out of town for the week and would talk to them on Friday. Well I talked to them on Friday and they said either the ignition control unit I bought was bad or I needed a new coil. Anyhow, I havent really spent much money on this problem yet and was wondering, what else could possibly cause a no spark situation? I am going to give them the reciept for the coil and have them exchange to their hearts content and see if that does the trick which I doubt it will. Thanks for your help in advance.

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Adam,
2003 Volkswagen Golf GL 24,000 miles. 1.9L I-4 TDI 5spd.

1986 300E. 115,000+ miles. 3.0L I-6 1st daily ride, around town only. (Gone)

Crank sensor, ignition control unit, coil, distributor cap, rotor, plug wires. Lastly, ignition switch.

That should about cover it.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

Where is the crank sensor located? Does a crank sensor fail much. When the car first didnt start someone told me the procedure for testing the resistance of the crank sensor and it tested out ok. But could it still be bad even if it tested out ok?

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Adam,
2003 Volkswagen Golf GL 24,000 miles. 1.9L I-4 TDI 5spd.

1986 300E. 115,000+ miles. 3.0L I-6 1st daily ride, around town only. (Gone)

The crank sensor on this car is a durable item. I've replaced only 2 or 3 in the 15 years this engine has been out, and I see these cars almost daily. This sensor is hiding down below your oil filter and is hard to see. The resistance test is a good starting point, but checking its voltage output would be impotant. The sensor should generate somewhere between 0.5 and 1.0 volts depending on cranking speed. I'd look to make sure that the spark is missing at the coil and not just the plugs. Most of the failures I see in these cars are in the secondary ignition. The usual culprits are the cap and rotor. Good luck!