Can't Add Remote Using VCDS

1854sailor · Sep 23, 2010

I followed all of the instructions to a tee, but the controller won't let me add another key. I went to controller 35-Cent. Locking then to Adaptation-10, Channel 01, and hit Read. It shows 1 key in Stored Value. When I push the "Up" button to increase the number of keys to 2, the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to try the option of clearing the one key that works for fear that I won't be able to reprogram that one.

thebigarniedog · Sep 23, 2010

1854sailor said:
I followed all of the instructions to a tee, but the controller won't let me add another key. I went to controller 35-Cent. Locking then to Adaptation-10, Channel 01, and hit Read. It shows 1 key in Stored Value. When I push the "Up" button to increase the number of keys to 2, the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to try the option of clearing the one key that works for fear that I won't be able to reprogram that one.

You referring to these instructions? for the car under your screen name or something else?

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vw-remote-matching.html

1854sailor · Sep 23, 2010

thebigarniedog said:
You referring to these instructions? for the car under your screen name or something else?

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vw-remote-matching.html

Yes, those are the instructions that I am referring to. I downloaded them from the Ross-Tech site. The car is our '01 Golf. One of the original keys died. The red light wouldn't flash even with a new battery. I got a new remote (same part no. as the kaput unit) and put the old key with the immobilizer chip on it. It blinks like the key that works, but I can't add it per my original post.

jetta 97 · Sep 23, 2010

1854sailor said:
I followed all of the instructions to a tee, but the controller won't let me add another key. I went to controller 35-Cent. Locking then to Adaptation-10, Channel 01, and hit Read. It shows 1 key in Stored Value. When I push the "Up" button to increase the number of keys to 2, the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to try the option of clearing the one key that works for fear that I won't be able to reprogram that one.

You have to clear all keys that was before reprogram in car.I have done it a lot of keys with no problem.
Here:

[Select]

[35 - Cent. Locking]
[Adaptation - 10]
Enter channel "00"
[Read]

[Save]

Then THIS:
[Adaptation - 10]
Enter channel "01" (May be channel "21" in some Audi models).

[Read]

This will display the number of currently stored remotes in "Stored Value".

Enter your total number of keys up to a maximum of 4(including any existing keys) in "New Value"

[Test]

Verify that the number in "Test Value" is correct.

[Save]

Then press and hold (for at least one second) the UNLOCK button on the fob, at which time it will be learned. If you're programming more than one fob press and hold the UNLOCK button on the second fob for one second, press and hold the UNLOCK button on the third fob for one second, etc. You have a total of 15 seconds to do them all.
The car may give you some sort of acknowledgement as each key is learned (lights flash, horn beep, etc.)

1854sailor · Sep 23, 2010

jetta said:
You have to clear all keys that was before reprogram in car.I have done it a lot of keys with no problem.
Here:

Yes, I have read those instructions, but since VCDS won't let me change the number of keys, I am wary about deleting the one key that works.

jetta 97 · Sep 23, 2010

1854sailor said:
Yes, I have read those instructions, but since VCDS won't let me change the number of keys, I am wary about deleting the one key that works.

It won't let you do that before you clear old keys.
Trust me I have done so many keys and remotes with no problem.

diredesire · Sep 23, 2010

If you disassemble your key, can you just swap over the immobilizer chip, and then pair the radio via the door? It's an alternative if you're willing

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

diredesire said:
If you disassemble your key, can you just swap over the immobilizer chip, and then pair the radio via the door? It's an alternative if you're willing

The immobilizer chip is in the switchblade part of the key assembly, and it works fine. All that I replaced is the remote control portion of the key, and VCDS won't let me add it.

jef@rosstech · Sep 24, 2010

VCDS is not the point of failure here... you need to follow the directions as spelled out by Jetta 97.

If you clear out the values and then the central locking module can not learn new remotes, then there is something already wrong with the central locking module (or maybe the remotes).

When adapting remotes via VCDS, I have always cleared out learned values first. If I've ever run into a problem, 99% of the time it is something with the remote (weak battery, remote run though washing machine).

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

jef@rosstech said:
VCDS is not the point of failure here... you need to follow the directions as spelled out by Jetta 97.

If you clear out the values and then the central locking module can not learn new remotes, then there is something already wrong with the central locking module (or maybe the remotes).

When adapting remotes via VCDS, I have always cleared out learned values first. If I've ever run into a problem, 99% of the time it is something with the remote (weak battery, remote run though washing machine).

Hi, Jeff
I was hoping that you or Uwe would chime in. I don't think that there is anything wrong with the central locking module because the one key works fine. The problem that I am having is that when I try to increase the number of keys in the "Stored Value" as described in my original post, both the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. BTW, both remotes have brand new batteries, and neither have been through the laundry

.

jetta 97 · Sep 24, 2010

1854sailor said:
The problem that I am having is that when I try to increase the number of keys in the "Stored Value" as described in my original post, both the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. BTW, both remotes have brand new batteries, and neither have been through the laundry.

I told you It won't let you do that before you clear old keys.

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

jetta said:
I told you It won't let you do that before you clear old keys.

I just can't decide whether to bite the bullet and give it a try, or just live with the one key that works

jetta 97 · Sep 24, 2010

1854sailor said:
I just can't decide whether to bite the bullet and give it a try, or just live with the one key that works

If you don't believe me and Jeff then I don't know what to tell you.
I have done over 100 remotes this way and never had a single problem.

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

jetta said:
If you don't believe me and Jeff then I don't know what to tell you.
I have done over 100 remotes this way and never had a single problem.

I don't doubt for one minute that you have done the remotes that way, all I'm saying is that I am probably being overly cautious. It's just a part of my je ne sais quoi

thebigarniedog · Sep 24, 2010

jetta said:
I told you It won't let you do that before you clear old keys.

jetta said:
If you don't believe me and Jeff then I don't know what to tell you.
I have done over 100 remotes this way and never had a single problem.

Sigh ...... I think you are wasting your time. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt. Ultimately, any home gamer has to be willing to take the risk of failure (whether replacing a turbo or a simple key fob). People that are this risk adverse will complain endlessly if it does not work for them and will look for people to blame (remember the "retard" thread where the guy could not even follow the simplest of instructions).

I am not saying that is the case here. I am saying that the instructions were provided. If he/she is unable or unwilling to follow those instructions and accept the potential consequences then further persuasion is unnecessary as he has accepted by default his current condition. Wish him good luck and move on --- avoid the O'Hanian Rule .......

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

thebigarniedog said:
Sigh ...... I think you are wasting your time. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt. Ultimately, any home gamer has to be willing to take the risk of failure (whether replacing a turbo or a simple key fob). People that are this risk adverse will complain endlessly if it does not work for them and will look for people to blame (remember the "retard" thread where the guy could not even follow the simplest of instructions).

I am not saying that is the case here. I am saying that the instructions were provided. If he/she is unable or unwilling to follow those instructions and accept the potential consequences then further persuasion is unnecessary as he has accepted by default his current condition. Wish him good luck and move on --- avoid the O'Hanian Rule .......

Yo, Arnie! I'm not at all adverse to replacing a turbo or rebuilding an entire engine for that matter. That's mechanical, and I'm pretty good with wrenches, sockets, etc. Been there, done that, and have the tee shirt, too! It is when the computer won't allow me to do something I generally defer to the computer. Hey, I've got one key that works, and that's all that I really need. When that one dies, I'll ramp up my courage and do the delete. Sorry if I wasted anybody's time other than my own.

Fudd's First Law of Data Processing: To err is human, but to really screw things up requires a computer.

aja8888 · Sep 24, 2010

1854sailor said:
I don't doubt for one minute that you have done the remotes that way, all I'm saying is that I am probably being overly cautious. It's just a part of my je ne sais quoi

Then take it to the Dealer!

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

aja8888 said:
Then take it to the Dealer!

Right!

Steve99 · Sep 24, 2010

Delete old remotes, add both new ones, job done.

jetta 97 · Sep 24, 2010

1854sailor said:
Sorry if I wasted anybody's time other than my own.
Fudd's First Law of Data Processing: To err is human, but to really screw things up requires a computer.

You did not wasted anybody time . We are here to help people and let them know how to do stuff that they don't know about.
By it get very annoying when you ask for help and you just don't believe to people on this forum. They why you even ask for help?

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

jetta said:
...We are here to help people and let them know how to do stuff that they don't know about.
By it get very annoying when you ask for help and you just don't believe to people on this forum. They why you even ask for help?

Yes, I know that and have learned a lot on these forums. So much so, that I haven't been to a dealer in over 6 years. I really do appreciate all of the advice.
However, I never said that I didn't believe anyone, just that I wasn't comfortable deleting the one remote that worked. That's all!

pbraunton · Sep 24, 2010

in the end though if you delete the remote and it ends up not working, (which it won't, then you are just stuck putting the key in the door to unlock and lock the car, so there is no realt "risk" involved as far as loosing control or not being able to operate the vehicle, ..............

and I just went through this same thing, trying to program the immobilizer part of my car, you MUST delete the old keys before programming the new ones, ...............and if that didn't work then i would 't even be able to start the car let along get into it using only the key in the door............................

to me you are risking nothing, if it ends up not working then you'll have to take it to the dealer for them to program it, ............but you'll still have full finction of the vehicle............

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

pbraunton said:
in the end though if you delete the remote and it ends up not working, (which it won't, then you are just stuck putting the key in the door to unlock and lock the car, so there is no realt "risk" involved as far as loosing control or not being able to operate the vehicle, ..............

and I just went through this same thing, trying to program the immobilizer part of my car, you MUST delete the old keys before programming the new ones, ...............and if that didn't work then i would 't even be able to start the car let along get into it using only the key in the door............................

to me you are risking nothing, if it ends up not working then you'll have to take it to the dealer for them to program it, ............but you'll still have full finction of the vehicle............

Boy, am I ever sorry that I opened this thread! I know all about how the keys are supposed to work, I just couldn't get VCDS to do what I wanted to do and I'm really O.K. with that.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the immobilizer. The key that works is all original. The new unit is the original key (with immobilizer chip) plugged on to a new remote. It was just something on my list that I was trying to do on my day off!

BTW, I like the convenience of the push button remote keys.

If the moderator is watching, it's okay to close this thread before I stir up more hornets.

P.S. If I lived in Dallas I would take our cars to Jetta,97 for the work that I don't do myself

P.P.S I've been around on these forums a lot longer than anyone else who has posted to this thread!
P.P.P.S Over and out!

aja8888 · Sep 24, 2010

1854sailor said:
P.P.S I've been around on these forums a lot longer than anyone else who has posted to this thread!

So, what are you implying? Us guys and gals that have only been around a few years are chopped liver?

1854sailor · Sep 24, 2010

So, what are you implying? Us guys and gals that have only been around a few years are chopped liver?

No offense intended.

dukku · Oct 6, 2010

1854sailor said:
I followed all of the instructions to a tee, but the controller won't let me add another key. I went to controller 35-Cent. Locking then to Adaptation-10, Channel 01, and hit Read. It shows 1 key in Stored Value. When I push the "Up" button to increase the number of keys to 2, the "Test" and "Save" buttons gray out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to try the option of clearing the one key that works for fear that I won't be able to reprogram that one.

When You tried to do the adaptation have made a small mistake my friend . You must delete the 1 and write 2 instead of pushing the "up" button to increase the number of keys . If you do what I say you will see that the "save" button won't gray out .
...this is the manner that all the adaptations must be made .
But I also think that deleting the number of keys in group 00 is the proper way to do the job... but you can try first to do it without modifying 00 .

Good luck .

C0rnholio · Oct 7, 2010

I have had a small issue of adding an extra key also ( remote part ) but I finally managed to do it with no problems. Anyway, the info on ross-tech website is a bit wrong, at least for the 409.1 version I have used.

Here's how I did it. I have a 2002 A4 B6 so my key adding is found under 46.Central Conv. / Adaptation / Chan 21 ( a friend's VW had it in 35-Centr.Locking/Adaptation/Chann 1 - so test to see where it is on your model ).
The number was 0 on the channel and according to ross-tech website that was the number of keys already matched. It was a wrong info as I already had my old key working fine so it wasn't possible for that 0 to mean that. After I deleted all the entries by saving 0 in the channel 00, I went to chan 21 and pressed the UP button once so the number became 1 instead of 0. It's normal for the TEST button to gray out because if you use the arrow keys it automatically TESTs the value ( only if you input it via keyboard you will have to press TEST as the software doesn't know if you want to TEST chan 1 or you input for example a 5 after that to test chan 15 - so it's NORMAL ). So ... having the 1 value automatically tested and working by only pressing the UP button once, the upper fields could read KEY and ADJUSTING - or something, I am giving this info from my memory, I don't have the VAGCOM in front right now. Ross-tech is telling us to PRESS SAVE and then the button on the remote but that is WRONG. So don't press SAVE at this point, just press and hold for 1 second the UNLOCK button on your remote and it will change from ADJUSTING to LEARNED ( or REGISTERED - I don't recall exactly ). Now you DO NOT PRESS SAVE as ross-tech WRONGLY says. You press the UP button again so the number will become from 1 to 2. The upper field will read ADJUSTING again and you press the UNLOCK on the 2nd remote and it will change from ADJUSTING TO LEARNED ( or REGISTERED of course ). If you have 3 keys you will repeat this step. Once you have ALL KEYS registered you NOW PRESS SAVE. So the SAVE button is pressed ONLY when all keys have been registered. Test all keys after that. It will work 100%.

Ross-Tech info found here: http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vw-remote-matching.html was wrong for my 409.1 VAG-COM version. It may work for other versions or other car models but as I said, mine worked like this.

Good luck.

jetta 97 · Oct 7, 2010

C0rnholio said:
I have had a small issue of adding an extra key also ( remote part ) but I finally managed to do it with no problems. Anyway, the info on ross-tech website is a bit wrong, at least for the 409.1 version I have used.

Here's how I did it. I have a 2002 A4 B6 so my key adding is found under 46.Central Conv. / Adaptation / Chan 21 ( a friend's VW had it in 35-Centr.Locking/Adaptation/Chann 1 - so test to see where it is on your model ).
The number was 0 on the channel and according to ross-tech website that was the number of keys already matched. It was a wrong info as I already had my old key working fine so it wasn't possible for that 0 to mean that. After I deleted all the entries by saving 0 in the channel 00, I went to chan 21 and pressed the UP button once so the number became 1 instead of 0. It's normal for the TEST button to gray out because if you use the arrow keys it automatically TESTs the value ( only if you input it via keyboard you will have to press TEST as the software doesn't know if you want to TEST chan 1 or you input for example a 5 after that to test chan 15 - so it's NORMAL ). So ... having the 1 value automatically tested and working by only pressing the UP button once, the upper fields could read KEY and ADJUSTING - or something, I am giving this info from my memory, I don't have the VAGCOM in front right now. Ross-tech is telling us to PRESS SAVE and then the button on the remote but that is WRONG. So don't press SAVE at this point, just press and hold for 1 second the UNLOCK button on your remote and it will change from ADJUSTING to LEARNED ( or REGISTERED - I don't recall exactly ). Now you DO NOT PRESS SAVE as ross-tech WRONGLY says. You press the UP button again so the number will become from 1 to 2. The upper field will read ADJUSTING again and you press the UNLOCK on the 2nd remote and it will change from ADJUSTING TO LEARNED ( or REGISTERED of course ). If you have 3 keys you will repeat this step. Once you have ALL KEYS registered you NOW PRESS SAVE. So the SAVE button is pressed ONLY when all keys have been registered. Test all keys after that. It will work 100%.

Ross-Tech info found here: http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vw-remote-matching.html was wrong for my 409.1 VAG-COM version. It may work for other versions or other car models but as I said, mine worked like this.

Good luck.

I have very good friend of mine worked in Audi dealer and he told me that all Audi cars up to 2005,remote need to be reprogram manually.
Here is for your car:

a. Open the vehicle mechanically with the key.
b. Press the unlock button of the remote control key.
c. Insert the key into the ignition lock and switch on the ignition.
d. Switch the ignition off again and remove the key.
e. Press the unlock button or the locking button of the remote control key.

I did few of them this way and it worked for me very good.

wolfsburg_de · Oct 8, 2010

FYI, the Ross-Tech Wiki has a different remote matching procedure for the B6 A4:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Audi_A4_(8E)_Comfort_System

jetta 97 · Oct 8, 2010

wolfsburg_de said:
FYI, the Ross-Tech Wiki has a different remote matching procedure for the B6 A4:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Audi_A4_(8E)_Comfort_System

Good to know.

Can't Add Remote Using VCDS

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