AARRRGGHH!

So I changed the battery and washed out the battery bay (pretty carefully).

Car starts but barely, runs rough and sometimes quits at idle.
Foot on throttle, car intermittently cycles around 1500-2000 rpm.
I can rev it higher past that point and it seems to run fine, but once it hits the lower rpm's again, I'm dead.

First thought: Water somewhere.
Course of action: Get compressed air to all the spark plug valleys (dry!) and all electrical connections on the firewall.

Same.

Second thought: Bad Vacuum.
Action: Replaced all the dried-out hose on top of TB & by solenoids.

Same.

Third thought: Still water somewhere.
Action: Drove the car (even though it ran like crap & engine light on) to get it warm & let set.

Same.

4th thought: Bad plugs or wires.
Action: Replaced stocker NGK plugs with the NGK Iridiums.
All plugs had normal wear (but were still pretty worn), but #4 smelled of raw gas.
Conclusion: No spark to #4.

Result: SAME! @#$ %&!!

5th thou...oh, screw it. I'll post to the forums to see if I can't get some help over here.

Any thoughts? Anybody got an extra old spark plug wire lying around to send to AZ so I can see if I may need a new coil pack, or could I still have some water somewhere that's fouling the signal to the coil?

Thanks, Audi Bretheren.

 

Can you get the check engine light codes pulled? It'd help narrow it down a lot. Places like Autozone can usually do it for free.

 

Once you changed the battery, did you recalibrate the throttle body? Disconnect the battery. Sit for a few minutes, reconnect, then turn your key to the ignition point without starting the car. Wait a few minutes for the car to go through the throttle body alignment. Then restart.

I think 99 had electronic throttle, but not sure...

 

99 is Non-DBW

 

If it's non-DBW, I'm pretty sure the TBA needs to be done by Vag-Com or something similar. I could be wrong, maybe someone can clear that up?

 

I don't want to change my battery anymore, I was going to do it tomorrow.

Sorry can't help.