location of ignition module on 99 Passat 1.8?

Anyone know were the ignition control module is for a 99 passat 1.8?? Its gone bad before and I paid dearly to have it replaced. I can get the part for $250 and would like to change it myself but I cant seem to find it. Ive followed the wires from the coils to the ECU box, and into the fuse/relay area in the cabin above the pedals. Its a small flat black thing with a 4 slot plug on one side and a 5 slot plug on the other. I just cant find it tho :uhoh: Any help would be greatly appreciated. Since this is the second one already on mine, im sure others have had to change thiers.

Anyone know were the ignition control module is for a 99 passat 1.8?? Its gone bad before and I paid dearly to have it replaced. I can get the part for $250 and would like to change it myself but I cant seem to find it. Ive followed the wires from the coils to the ECU box, and into the fuse/relay area in the cabin above the pedals. Its a small flat black thing with a 4 slot plug on one side and a 5 slot plug on the other. I just cant find it tho :uhoh: Any help would be greatly appreciated. Since this is the second one already on mine, im sure others have had to change thiers.

Sorry, I do not have your answer, but was wondering if you might help me. My 99 passat 1.8 appearently is not firing on #2 cylinder. The check engine light is flashing and there is heavy vibration during idle as well as tremendous loss in power. I switched the coils and the spark plugs to make sure they were not the cause. Are these the same symptoms your passat is displaying? I would rather not pay the VW labor charges either. Thanks.

Mine is also missing on #2 cyl. and I swapped coils and the coils are ok. I know its the signal coming into the coil. With the wiring harnesses disconnected from the coils, on the good cylinders I have 12v on one wire and a strong ground on one and a weak ground (more resistance) on the other. My #2 cyl has 12v and only one ground working. When I plug the wires into the coil, 2 wires have 12v and one ground, even on #2. It seems like I remember this to be the case 2 years ago and they replaced the ignition module to fix it. Im working on getting one from a wrecking yard to see if thats the prob before i spend 250 bucks on a new one, or I will just buy the used one if its cheap enough. I will let you know what I find. That is if I can find where the damn thing is!!!
Good luck!

Haven't looked at one, but it's supposed to be on the right side (passenger) of the engine compartment.

the control module is in the right front corner of the eng compartment, under the plastic cover, the part should be available for under $200.00 for aftermarket

Sorry, I do not have your answer, but was wondering if you might help me. My 99 passat 1.8 appearently is not firing on #2 cylinder. The check engine light is flashing and there is heavy vibration during idle as well as tremendous loss in power. I switched the coils and the spark plugs to make sure they were not the cause. Are these the same symptoms your passat is displaying? I would rather not pay the VW labor charges either. Thanks.

Hopefully you have fixed your problem by now, but if not, we recently had the same experience, we ended up taking it into the dealer, where they replaced the power output staging sensor, for a $527. The car is back to it's happy self.

I finally got it!! It was the ignition controll module and it is located on top of the air box in the front left corner of the engine compartment. Just take off the plastic cover to the air box and there it is. Two screws and two plugs and its an easy swap. I found one made by Huco instead of Bosch and saved myself $100. (150 instead of 250 for the Bosch) www.ecstuning.com It sounds like luvmypassat had a different problem. Im not sure if his simptoms were the same but if they were it could be a $150 gamble on changing the ECM. I have since found that the ECM is a common problem though. Hope that helps someone else and thanks for the responses.

My passat seems to be having the majority of these symptoms and all of these coments and responses may have answered my problem. My VW guy told me it might be the ignition control module, but I didn't get a price. Thank you so much.

guys it is not an ignition control module who ever is telling you this is incorrect or has there terminology incorrect. the problem is the power output stage as stated above and it is located on the air box under a black plastic cover. cylinder two is the most common one to fault due to the power output stage but i have seen some that were causing other cylinders to misfire. the power output stage was not used on the new vehicles after the 99 or 00 model passats

Ok thanks. I just ordered the ignition control module, so I guess we'll see what happens. I hope it works.

ICM (ignition control module) also known as the power output stage and other aliases (ICM is most common name) failure is a very common problem with the 98 - 99 AEB 1.8T engines. Here is an excellent link on how to test and replace a bad ICM:

http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66779&sid=c472f1f8291573bb0ead8e2f449ec911

Thanks. I found it but I didn't know how to get the clips off. It should be coming in the mail in a few days, so I'll let yall know if it worked. Thanks so much, great link.

I found a brand new ignition output module, p/n 4D0905351, for $84.25 by doing an internet search.

ICM (ignition control module) also known as the power output stage and other aliases (ICM is most common name) failure is a very common problem with the 98 - 99 AEB 1.8T engines. Here is an excellent link on how to test and replace a bad ICM:

http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66779&sid=c472f1f8291573bb0ead8e2f449ec911
Hi,
I tried to open this link but it dosn't work. I need to find this module in my passat. Could you please update this link.
Thanks

its right on top of the airbox. you need an 8mm socket to remove it from the airbox. just press the metal tabs down and pull the connector off the module. dont worry about the white stuff, its just dilectric grease (if you want you can buy some at the local parts store for about 2.00.

Just finished up replacing the 4D0905351 ICM module on my daughters car
thanks to the fine information I obtained here. I thought I might try and return the
Favor by posting my experience with my diagnostic method for this module.
I’ve seen other sites that had information on this, but some were not clear or
missing important information.

Testing the 4D0905351:
1) Remove the two connectors from each side of the module. This is done by pressing down on the wire spring clip and pulling on the plug. They should come out easily.
2) Borrow or buy a handheld Digital Multimeter (DMM). They are available from Radio Shack or off eBay. The cheaper ones can be purchased for around $25-$30. It’s a great investment!
3) Set the DMM for resistance measurement. Most DMM’s today have auto-ranging so you need not select a range. If yours has a range selection choose the highest resistance range.
4) Connect the DMM’s + (Red) lead to the middle pin on the modules five (5) pin jack. It is important that you connect the + lead of the DMM. These modules are made up of four power transistors which are polarity sensitive. Even though you are making resistance measurements the DMM does apply low voltage DC to the circuit.
5) One at a time connect the – (Black) lead of the DMM to each of the four pins on the four pin jack side of the module. Each pin should give a resistance reading of around 2.5M ohms (2.5 million ohms). Provide yourself a tolerance and say that 2.0M to 3.0 M ohms is OK. If any pins gives a complete OPEN or a resistance value other than that in our range that sparkplug/coil driver is bad. If you show all of them OPEN maybe you have the DMM connected backwards.

It seems like on the module the four pin jack has cylinder 1 as the pin closest to the letter B in Bosch. From there it just counts up by cylinders 2, 3 and 4. This is just a guess and I didn’t officially check it out. However, my car gave the error code P0302 which is the ever famous cylinder 2 code. Sure enough on my module the second pin down from the letter B in Bosch gave me infinity ohms (OPEN) on my DMM. The remaining three pins read between 2.3M and 2.6M ohms each.

If you do replace the module as others have said make sure to clean the metal to metal portions on the bottom of the module and mount within the engine compartment. Add new white thermal conductive grease to this metal area before reassembly. This stuff is available cheap at Radio Shack or even at auto supply joints.

They will rob you if you try and buy one of these new at an auto supply house (Over $350 at AutoZone). The clones can be had for around $80 off the internet. I was lucky and got one from the local boneyard for $35 and its an original OEM Bosch from a 98 VW Passat. Some days I just get lucky. I did run a quick check on the boneyard module and sure enough all the four cylinder pins measured around 2.5M ohm.

Thanks again all who have posted here. The internet and these service support forums have saved me thousands of dollars over the past five years and I will always try and return the favors by posting my experiences.

NOTE: Don't use an old automotive analog resistance meter to do the resistance checks on these modules. In most cases they are not designed to make the high resistance measurements needed. Invest in a new handheld DMM as you won't be sorry.

Don, thank you!! 'Had the same code/same problem on my Passat 98. Using your instructions (found by my b.f., who diagnosed the problem), we identified the dead ignition module--the apparently notorious #2 cylinder is bad).

Huco, Bosch, or Meyle replacements are available on eBay for about $70 with free shipping. See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Audi-Volkswagen-Ignition-Control-Unit-69-99_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33689QQihZ006QQitemZ 160038405516 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Audi-Volkswagen-Ignition-Control-Unit-69-99_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33689QQihZ006QQitemZ 160038405516) . The original retails for about $350.

Thanks---you (and my guy) saved me about $1K in diagnostic and repair work. Blesssings on your heads.

Barbara

[quote=donbuska]Just finished up replacing the 4D0905351 ICM module on my daughters car
thanks to the fine information I obtained here. I thought I might try and return the
Favor by posting my experience with my diagnostic method for this module.
I’ve seen other sites that had information on this, but some were not clear or
missing important information.

The dealer is telling me that I need to replace all 4 cylinders and I just gave them about $2000 on other repairs. Do any of you know where I can find a manual for a 2004 Passat? I would like to see if I can replace these myself. Thank you so much.

Hola amigos! i just wanted to say that this website its awesome!!!
thank you thank you so much... i saved over 700.00 usd by reading you guys stories and info about the same problem with my VW PASSAT 99.
AND yes the ICM its also call power output stage unit ...thats how the dealer calls it but after market shops calls it ignition control module. and its located on the very top of the air box or air intake..in the same place where you put the air filter.its really easy to replace...once again thank you.. GRACIAS

Hi everyone! I do not know where to start but hope this place will be useful for me. Hope to get some assistance from you if I will have any quesitons.Thanks in advance and good luck! :)

I'm so glad I found this site! I too had the 2nd cylinder misfire code, on my '99 passat wagon. I first replaced the #2 coil but still had the problem (and actually got a new code of cylinders 2 & 4 misfiring. Then as suggested here I replaced the ICM and the car runs great again.

I got the Huco replacement for about $48, doing a google search. It was super easy to replace, just pull up on the shield on the air intake and it's right there. It came with a little tube of grease and two new screws.

Thanks to all!!

> 5) One at a time connect the – (Black) lead of the DMM to each of the four pins
> on the four pin jack side of the module. Each pin should give a resistance reading
> of around 2.5M ohms (2.5 million ohms). Provide yourself a tolerance and say
> that 2.0M to 3.0 M ohms is OK. If any pins gives a complete OPEN or a
> resistance value other than that in our range that sparkplug/coil driver is bad. If
> you show all of them OPEN maybe you have the DMM connected backwards.

I measured my and the #2 pin is OPEN. The other 3 pins show 3.5M ohms. Does it mean all pins are bad? I was having cynlinder 2 misfire but now the engine won't start at all.