Car Cuts Off

[Looped71]

I have a 98' 2.0, in the last week it has started cutting off by itself. It will cut off while @ idle, or going down the highway. It is not loosing voltage, and the battery is not dead, the dash doesn't loose power like the switch has been cut off, but the throttle stops responding (like you cut the switch off). When this happens if you engage the clutch the engine will run at a very low (50 - 100)RPM sputter for about 2 seconds before it shuts down. A scan shows no active codes. I have cleaned the Mass Air Flow & checked the fuel pressure. I does NOT loose fuel pressure when it shuts down.

Any help??????????? I'm open for any suggestion at this point. My next stop looks like the dealer.

[Looped71]

It was an OBD II scan, and checked fuel pressure with in line gauage. Can I get the VAG-COM scan anywhere other than the dealer? I don't know anything about that scan, sorry if I sound "ignert"

[BUGSTUFF]

A friend's '98 had a similar problem - it would shut down while driving or coasting to a stop. It would start right up as soon as they pulled over. Dealer couldn't find a problem after numerous visits - until the tech hooked up the laptop computer and took it for a ride. Luckily it happened while he was driving around. Turned out that the radio was faulty. Dealership replaced the radio and there have been no problems since.

Good luck with yours.

[Looped71]

Picked the car up from the dealer yesterday. They found a bad "TU POWER SUPPLY RELAY" and replaced it, also noticed that the fuel pump relay was getting hot so replaced it as a preventive maintaince measure, also replaced the fuse panel on top of the battery. Great news they told me all my problems were fixed, BAD NEWS, paid the bill and proceeded to drive 1.7 miles before the car shut down again. (Yes I set the trip meter when I picked it up). I will call and tell them about the friend with the radio problem. My tags say "LUVDBUG" (love the bug), but you don't really know how much fun these cars are until you don't have one to drive. This is my first real problem in 267,000 miles, and I'm "missin me bug".

[Looped71]

Don't give up, answer is at the end (read on). You are correct, the dealer was guessing. They got no codes on their scan. It was actually what I suggested to them when I took it back in. I'm not real good on the new stuff, but I am old enough to have worked with some old school (60's - 70's) cars. It wasn't loosing fuel presure, and since they had no codes at all when it shut down, they told me the electronics were most likely OK. The fuel pump relay they replaced the 1st time was a preventive measure, as was the fuse block, they told me they were working, but had shown signs of heating and should be replaced to avoid future problems, so I was OK with that. The ignition relay I wonder about, as it fixed nothing, but they said it was showing an intermitent lose of power, but only for a second or so at a time. Now for my lucky guess. The only thing I could think of was the coil (had that problem on a 72 Camaro). So they took a shot & replaced the coil and coil plate. Presto 250 miles this weekend and no shut down. Evidently a bad coil gives no code, and as it was working at times and not working for only 30 sec to 1 min before car would restart, they couldn't track it down. Thanks for all the advice.
Looped71