On all Volkswagen VR6 motors they have very shitty ignition coil packs that crack on the outside casing allowing for arcing of sparks causing backfires etc. These problems are also slightly more noticeable on rainy days.
You can solve your ignition problems once and for all by swapping to a Ford ignition coil. These are known to be extremely reliable and Ford usually builds quite stout components.
You can use quite a few different Ford V6 coil packs however the older ones use a hybrid spark plug which has a slightly different end than the stock VR6 spark plug wires. The following list of coil packs are 100% compatible with the stock VR6 wire.
<pre>
FORD E-150 2001-2003
FORD E-250 2001-2003
FORD ECONOLINE 2003
FORD F-150 2001-2008
FORD FREESTAR 2004-2007
FORD MUSTANG 2001-2004
FORD RANGER 2001-2008
FORD SABLE 2001
FORD TAURUS 2001-2007
FORD WINDSTAR 2001-2003
MAZDA B3000 2001-2008
MAZDA MPV 2001
MERCURY COUGAR 2001-2002
MERCURY MONTEREY 2004-2007
MERCURY SABLE 2001-2005
If you want to purchase one, RockAuto is always the best: <a href="https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2003,mustang,3.8l+v6,1415078,ignition,ignition+coil,7060">https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2003,mustang,3.8l+v6,1415078,ignition,ignition+coil,7060</a>
The mounting holes are almost identical however one side will be a half inch too short so you need to add a small bracket.
<img src="https://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss291/power302/FinishedCoil.jpg" />
Here are some photos of the wiring and setup. You will attach the spark plug wires up the exact same way as the stock unit.
<img src="https://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss291/power302/FinishedCoilwithDiagram.jpg" />
<img src="https://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss291/power302/WiringFordPlugtoVWICM.jpg" />
<img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fww2.justanswer.com%2Fuploads%2Febrock63%2F2010-01-01_185033_2010-01-01_114804.png&f=1&nofb=1" />
Here's a decent video that I found:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gSTJthDpeTU?start=288" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Related External Links:
- [https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4223032-Ford-Coil-Pack-on-VR6-with-Pics](https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4223032-Ford-Coil-Pack-on-VR6-with-Pics)