Arcing at the top front coil wire (#6)

In foggy weather I get arcing at the top front coil wire boot (#6)
to the coil pack housing. That's about 1/4 inch. The arc does not go
thru the boot; the arc is from the non-wire end of the boot, and it
hugs the surface of the coil pack's potting compound. Coil pack was
replaced long ago. '95 VR6.

Would packing the boot with dialectic grease potentially solve this?

Would getting new plug wires as a way to get a new boot be the
normal solution, and is it usually successful?

Other?

Search the web for vr6 and coilpack and you'll find a mess of
information and options.

Tom's VR6 wrote:
> In foggy weather I get arcing at the top front coil wire boot (#6)
> to the coil pack housing. That's about 1/4 inch. The arc does not go
> thru the boot; the arc is from the non-wire end of the boot, and it
> hugs the surface of the coil pack's potting compound. Coil pack was
> replaced long ago. '95 VR6.
>
> Would packing the boot with dialectic grease potentially solve this?
>
> Would getting new plug wires as a way to get a new boot be the
> normal solution, and is it usually successful?
>
> Other?

Here's a good link

chris.quietlife.net/passat/coilpack.html

I did the 'epoxy' fix myself a couple of years ago on my 1995 VR6 using
JB Weld epoxy. It lasted until the following spring (1 year ago).

This year, I had the exact same symptom you describe and I decided to
do something a little different. After cleaning (use alcohol, not
water!) the coilpack and roughing the surface with fine grit emery
cloth, I applied a thin layer of Black Silicone RTV to the surface of
the pack at the base of the six boots, being careful not to get RTV
where the boots need to go. Additionally, I 'caulked' all around the
snap-on plastic cover where the arcing was occurring. You can see this
if you take the coil pack out. There are three bus bars underneath the
snap-on plastic cover and that is where the arc was shooting to.
good luck!