Power Loss + Check Engine Light Flicker Then Stalling

[DSM AWD TSI]

I recently bought a 90 TSi AWD and I have been having some weird problems lately. It has happened about 5 times now, once while driving around 50 mph on a windy road, once while driving uphill on a freeway at 70 mph, once while driving from stoplight to stoplight, once while revving from idle to about 2,000 RPM, and once while just plain idling. What happens is, all of a sudden there is a loss of power (RPM's drop drastically), the check engine light flashes and there is a clicking sound coming from what I tracked down to be some sort of induction magnet switch box right next to the ECU. I took the cover off of it and found that the right coil switch is the one that rapidly switches and makes the clicking sound (by right I mean if the switches are facing up and the coil is facing you, with plug facing away from you). The check engine light flashes in accordance with the clicking. While this is happening, if I floor the gas, the engine will SLOOOOWLY rev up to 2.5K RPM and the engine has extreme loss of power. If I let off the gas, the car will die and may or may not start back up right away. Also, one time it jumped out of this state while taking a corner and sprung back to life (boosted right away since it was being floored). It seems to only happen when the engine is warm, and it seems to be random (not RPM, speed, or gear based or specific road conditions). Any suggestions on what to check or how to go about diagnosing this are welcome and if any more information is needed please ask. Also, something that may or may not be related, the keyless entry electric door lock system is all screwed up. It randomly locks and unlocks itself anywhere from 1 to 10 times in a row anywhere from 1 to 10 times per hour. And again, thanks for reading and helping!

 

[stevo911]

Pop out your ecu big cap in center is leaking.

 

[steve]

Sure sounds like the caps have leaked in your ECU and it's crashing.

 

[DSM AWD TSI]

Awesome! I hope this is it because that would be an easy fix! Thanks guys, ill look into that cap this weekend. Any suggestions on what kind to replace it with? (I'm thinking the highest temperature rating one I find at Fry's.) Of course I might as well replace em all while I'm in there.
Edit: Would the leakage damage the ecu components and what to clean it off with? Rubbing alcohol? Electronic parts cleaner spray?
Thanks again! I'll report back what happens.

 

[stevo911]

Chances are its not gunna be fixable and you will need another ECU the chemical that leaks out is extremely corrosive everytime it clicks it restarts which means its shorting out. Im willing to bet your gunna find a leaky cap that leaked all over the components. The CAP fix is to keep a working ecu working not to fix a broken one.....most times.

 

[steve]

Chances are its not gunna be end user fixable

Fixed.

Short of being burned up or having bubbled chips I've had good luck repairing them. It's not always cost effective to fix them but they can be fixed.

 

[stevo911]

Sorry about that thanks for clearing it up Steve.

 

[DSM AWD TSI]

Well, hopefully it's salvageable since the problem is only intermittent and the car runs nicely otherwise. My friend has an extra '90 ecu just in case, but the condition of it is questionable. Hopefully I can just go in and do a removal / cleaning / installation and it will be golden.