how to use VCDS

I will simply note that I tend to do a lot of my own maintenance, so with that in mind I bought a VAG cable several months after I got my car.
When I got the cable I scanned the car, and found a serious (class 2) fault. Which according to the mileage was present when the car went in for it's 30K service and apparently the dealer either didn't check it or couldn't find it. The data link was working in single wire mode, IOW, it had already lost it's redundancy. This with the car at 32K and warranty set to expire in about 4 weeks at the rate I was running up mileage. Took it to the dealer complete with the error printout and a week and a half later, after techs were flown in from Germany and jumper wires had been run all around the car ($$$ in labor) the fault was finally identified as the radio head unit. Replacement cost for that alone was $1,000 add in the labor costs, never mind airfare and so on for those factory techs.

So tell me, was $250 a good investment, even if I never used it for anything else?

Besides, I could pretty much sell it at any time for at least 75% of what I've got into it.

That said however, if you have a means to borrow or at least use a cable that's a better option for the occasional use.

I would also recommend you do a full scan and save the results (which includes the software settings (ie coding) of the various units. It may be information you never need, but if you do having it can make all the difference. Also I would recommend you document any changes in the coding that you make so you can restore things if you need or want to.

met up with a guy today off kijiji, he was selling the cables and a disk for 90$.

im pretty sure its just the same cheap stuff off ebay for 40$ but he guaranteed it works, and installs it/teaches you how to use it.

I didnt bring my laptop so he wasnt able to install it and teach me, but im pretty sure I can figure that part out.

going to play around with it tomorrow, ill post some pics too. the cable has the ross tech site link sticker on it.

When I received my VCDS, I scanned the car. I found a fault in the CECM regarding "adaptation" in the sunroof. (I knew that the sunroof wasn't working right.) A little Internet searching and I found a simple sequence (using the sunroof switch) for the adaptation of the sunroof. It's worked like a champ since.

I also changed a setting on the Hill Hold Assist to cause it to release more easily. I like the car much better now. I went into it expecting to just disable the HHA (I've hated it since new) but the adjustment suits me fine.

I'll use it to run the fuel pumps after changing the fuel filter every 20k miles; I'll also use it to run the ABS pumps when bleeding the brakes every two years.

Wednesday,10,February,2016,16:52:06:62939
VCDS Version: Release 12.12.0 (x64)

Address 01: Engine Labels: 038-906-016-BEW.lbl
Control Module Part Number: 038 997 016 R HW: 028 101 114 6
Component and/or Version: R4 1,9L EDC G000SG 0282
Software Coding: 0150031
Work Shop Code: WSC 91515 999 999999
VCID: 2D51EF3FB7E4E5760F5-5072
6 Faults Found:

17055 - Cylinder 1 Glow Plug Circuit (Q10)
P0671 - 000 - Electrical Fault - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 882 /min
Torque: 66.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Voltage: 12.84 V
Bin. Bits: 00101100
Temperature: 21.6°C
Bin. Bits: 10110000

16785 - EGR System
P0401 - 000 - Insufficient Flow
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1827 /min
Torque: 58.0 Nm
Speed: 15.0 km/h
Load: 21.2 %
Duty Cycle: 14.6 %
Mass Air / Rev.: 240.0 mg/str
Mass Air / Rev.: 460.0 mg/str

16791 - EGR Sensor 2
P0407 - 000 - Signal too Low
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 0 /min
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Lambda: -7.6 %
Mass Air / Rev.: 1000.0 mg/str
Mass Air / Rev.: 0.0 mg/str
Bin. Bits: 00000000

16512 - Coolant Thermostat Valve (N214)
P0128 - 000 - Temperature below Control Range
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1848 /min
Torque: 86.0 Nm
Speed: 64.0 km/h
Temperature: 64.8°C
Fuel Consump.: 3.60 l/h
Temperature: 58.5°C
Temperature: 58.5°C
Absolute Pres.: 1397.4 mbar

19558 - Motor for Intake Manifold Flap (V157)
P3102 - 000 - No Signal
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 63 /min
Torque: 304.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Voltage: 10.34 V
Bin. Bits: 00101100
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Torque: 94.0 Nm

17056 - Cylinder 2 Glow Plug Circuit (Q11)
P0672 - 000 - Electrical Fault - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 0 /min
Torque: 246.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Voltage: 12.01 V
Bin. Bits: 00101100
Temperature: -8.1°C
Bin. Bits: 00110000


Readiness: 1 5 0 0 0

so I obviously need new glow plugs, indiciated by the rough morning starts when its not even cold.

I tried to clear all codes, and they all went away except for "16791 - EGR Sensor 2
P0407 - 000 - Signal too Low"

why is that? my EGR is deleted and unplugged. why wont that code go away? anything else seem concerning to you guys?

seems like some of these values need to be determined while the car is running. is it ok start the car while hooked up to VCDS?

Yes you can start it with VCDS plugged in. You have to for some things, like you said.

The intermittent glow plugs might be a loose harness, check them with a multimeter before you replace them.

For the EGR fault, you may need a Malone tune to convince the software to stop complaining. The P0407 is telling you to plug your EGR back in.

For the other codes, it would depend if they came back or not. They also sound like sensors were unplugged at one point.

yeah I seen a nice glow plug thread, I will check them out on days off. wouldnt surprise me if they needed to be replaced. theyre cheap (120$ USD) for a full set and dont look that hard to replace. with 130,000 miles im sure theyre due for a change. (funny.. a set of 4 costs 125$. If I buy the individual ones one by one, it comes out to 118$... I thought buying in bulk was cheaper )

http://www.idparts.com/glow-plug-oem-7v-ceramic-ngk-a4-bew-p-2178.html

how does that malone tune work if I were to order it online? it plugs into the OBD port also?

the 2 glow plug ones are fine.
the 2 egr ones are fine.

but the 2 that kinda worry me is 16512 - Coolant Thermostat Valve (N214) and 19558 - Motor for Intake Manifold Flap (V157) seem a little weird. car runs great though so maybe I should overthink it and "dont fix it if it aint broke"

also, what do you guys think of this...

for the last month ive been having problems with my door ajar light. I narrowed it down to the passenger door. when you pressed on the inside of the door, the light came on for sure. sometimes the light went away, sometimes it flickered, but is was on 90% of the time, and would flash off for a split second once in a while. very annoying.

today after hooking the vag com up to it and doing a few scans, erasing a few DTCs, I took it for an hour drive to supper, and the door ajar light didnt come on once. why is that? I was positive my door lock module was shot, like tens of thousands of other VW owners. but maybe its not?

I purchased a registered version of vcds lite from ross tech for $99. Bought the cable off an ebay seller from USA for $27. Make sure its the one thats got the R232RL chip, then most likely no problems.
Anyway, mine works great. Didnt want to spend big bucks because most likely this cars my last VW TDI. Ross Tech got a video on their site on how to set it all up and how to read the vcds.

fossill said:

Didnt want to spend big bucks because most likely this cars my last VW TDI.

Click to expand...

I think I might be in the same boat.