# VW stalls in car wash

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** stall\
**Created:** [February 26, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162 "2008-02-26T17:21:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Snowstorm77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Snowstorm77](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Snowstorm77)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162/1 "2008-02-26T17:21:28Z")

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I have a 97 VW Cabrio that has started stalling when I’m in a car wash. It turns over when I try to restart it, but won’t actually start for 3-5 minutes after the water stops. (It does always restart again, though!) I’ve tried turning it off when I’m in the car wash, but that doesn’t help - it won’t start for several minutes. Any idea what the problem is? Someone suggested it might be a bad coil.

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**Author:** ![Bill\_Russell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Bill\_Russell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Bill_Russell)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162/2 "2008-02-26T18:13:07Z")

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Obvious thing to do is: don’t wash it.

What engine? the 4 cyl. turbo has separate coils for each cylinder.

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**Author:** ![SteveF](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevef/32/2_2.png) [@SteveF](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveF)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162/3 "2008-02-26T18:15:49Z")

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VWs have been known to have a splash problem. Water splashing up from underneath does unhelpful things to the electrical system. Contact a VW dealership, service department. They may have a TSB (technical service bulletin) about installing an improved splash shield.

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**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/vw-stalls-in-car-wash/11162/4 "2008-02-26T20:03:16Z")

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This could also be a sign that the ignition wires are past their prime and need to be replaced.