Volkswagen Polo III (1994 - 1999) - 95 1.0 Engine not firing up

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Tue 25 Aug 2009 21:27
95 1.0 Engine not firing up - rmj
Hi

Just bought a cheap Polo for our son to learn to drive in. He was out with his mum over the weekend and drove through a deepish puddle, causing the engine to cut out. It started up again not long after, no harm done we thought.

Well last night it cut out again and refused to start, it had to be towed home. A friend who knows a fair bit came to have a look before I towed it and seems to think it's the immobiliser or key transponder. I'm not convinced, especially after googling around, because of the symptoms, such as the engine turns and turns but won't start at all (not the "classic" firing up, then cutting out). He checked the HT leads and said there's no spark from the coil but didn't think the fault was with the coil itself as there would still be a weak spark?

Well I've had a better look in daylight and taken some pictures, the coil looks knackered to me (cracked/charred plastic, light corrosion within). Here's some (big) pictures...
img156.imageshack.us/img156/3875/dsc00177w.jpg
img401.imageshack.us/img401/9902/dsc00180ghl.jpg

I've also checked the connections to the immobiliser box under the steering wheel and they seem good. Does that coil look knackered and should I start by replacing that, or should I check anything else?
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Wed 26 Aug 2009 00:16
95 1.0 Engine not firing up - davecuk
Doesn't look good, see if you can get a cheap one and try it.
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Wed 26 Aug 2009 09:15
95 1.0 Engine not firing up - Peter D
Looks pretty sad. Time for a new one. Regards Peter
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