Golf 2.0 misfire

[stuby115bhp]

I have a 2.0 golf 2001 with 35k miles from new.  It has developed a misfire when cold which gets worse if the car is left for a couple of days or more without starting.  If the car is used daily the problem is either not there or very slight, leave it for 2 or 3 days or more and it is a real pig until it warms up then runs absolutely fine.  My local vw garage (independent) has scanned it and it has the following faults:
16684 random/multiple misfire detected
16685 cylinder 1 misfire detected
16686 cylinder 2 misfire detected
They changed the plugs (even though only been in 9 months) as they were fouled but seem at a loss as to what else could be causing the problem.  The car also had new plug leads (Bosch) and inlet gaskets 9 months ago due to a misfire and poor running but this cured the problem then.  Any advice would be really appreciated before I start playing 'parts darts' and changing the coil pack etc. cheers

[northeast_gti-t]

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16684/P0300/000768
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16685/P0301/000769
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16686/P0302/000770
these should give you some ideas 

[mar_k]

Could try changing the coils pack? Recently had this eith my dad. His ws the lambda sensor but it threw a code up.. other culprits could be maf or cts. Have you tried unplugging the maf to see if there is any change?

[stuby115bhp]

Thanks for the replies, I am going to try and change the coil pack next week, I spoke to a mechanic last night who told me that because I have misfire on cylinders 1 & 2 then this is a good indicator that it is the coil?  The only other thing I have noticed is that there is an intermittent sound that is very much like a short coming from the carbon filter, looking at some other online resources it seems that this can also contribute to poor running or misfire, not sure how this can be but it is obviously controlled electrically as it has a plug going into it so it could be shorting out???

[northeast_gti-t]

Thanks for the replies, I am going to try and change the coil pack next week, I spoke to a mechanic last night who told me that because I have misfire on cylinders 1 & 2 then this is a good indicator that it is the coil?  The only other thing I have noticed is that there is an intermittent sound that is very much like a short coming from the carbon filter, looking at some other online resources it seems that this can also contribute to poor running or misfire, not sure how this can be but it is obviously controlled electrically as it has a plug going into it so it could be shorting out???

The carbon cannister is part of the evap system which vents fuel fumes and yes its controlled electrically the noise you describe is the clicking sound which is normal and means its operating,not likely to be shorting i'm afraid also if there was a fault with part of this system a scan with vag-com would highlight this.

[MoshiMoshi]

99% sure it's coil packs. I had 2 die on me in one night. Took a while to get the car home on 2 cylinders..

Their a bit pricey but should last you a while.

[stuby115bhp]

Right then going to put a new coil pack on tomorrow, going to put a genuine vw one on I think as hear some bad reports on aftermarket products.  I will let u know how it goes, cheers for all the help.