Vag-Com 'lead not found'

Rusty911

Rusty911

A2OC Donor
Ages ago a friend (having sold his A8) gave me a CD with a 'beta' VAG-COM and what I assume is a Chinese lead. It's been fine for pulling the odd code but I've rarely needed it as the Passat has been a paragon of reliability.

Fast forward to buying Lasi last month (late 2001 build, Feb 2002 registered) 1.4 petrol which has had EML up for ages according to PO. Remember the old laptop with VAG-COM and dig it out. It pulled the codes which I won't go into here, but as I was about to clear them it lost communication with the cable and hasn't been able to see it since.

From pulling the codes to attempted delete nothing changed: ignition remained on, laptop remained on and running VAG-Com, cable not knocked or unplugged. Have tried starting again booting laptop with cable in, different USB outlets etc. Main thing is something has changed as it was reliable until then. Car battery absolutely fine.

Laptop hasn't made contact with the outside world so no invasions or updates or known changes of any sort since, well, probably years ago.

What I haven't done is try the set-up in the Passat for fear of doing something to that. I.e. the 'is it the car, is it the laptop/cable/software' question.

I'll always be an owner of something VAG so happy to get something legal assuming not lots of £100's, if that's what it needs: I can't see it being likely I'll ever get a very late car. My absolute top limit would be a 2016 Passat possibly but for now it'll just be early (2005 and backwards) cars. Even so, that doesn't explain why this set-up should work fine and then just stop: is there anything that the car could have done to the lead/software/computer? If that's the case, clearly I'd be reluctant to spend out on a 'real' setup only for it to get spiked.

BTW, looking at Ross-Tech site, looks like the 'VCDS HEX-USB+CAN Interface Package' (£369) has been removed, leaving HEX-V2® USB (3 (£225) or 10 (£299) Vin limit) or HEX-NET® from £430.

All I need is the ability to troubleshoot, reset codes and perhaps code in cruise or whatever (which I did on the Passat with above set-up thinking about it).

Any advice / ideas?

Many thanks indeed.

Oh yes, I have an iCarsoft CR Plus, but interestingly, that lists 3 fault codes but will not bring up any form of number or description saying car not OBDII compliant, let alone clear codes. Is this a clue to the above possibly? Frankly the thing's garbage, so I'm not hugely surprised it failed to do much. Not tried my Volvo DICE or £7 eBay OBDII dongle / iPhone yet!
 
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Rusty911 said:
All I need is the ability to troubleshoot, reset codes and perhaps code in cruise or whatever (which I did on the Passat with above set-up thinking about it).

Any advice / ideas?
Click to expand...

VCDS-Lite with an appropriate lead is the cheap option, although you do need to pay a registration fee (around £75) for full functionality. Better in my opinion to go for the Hex-V2 USB cable - the 3 VIN cable should be fine as you can use it for most things on any number of cars.
Gendan are the main UK supplier:

For clarity, here's Ross-Tech's webpage setting out what you can and can't do with a limited VIN cable:

VIN-Limited Interface FAQ

Why sell VIN-Limited interfaces? Because it allows us to charge for the product in a manner that's somewhat commensurate with how the product is used. A professional workshop that's in and out of several vehicles a day with their VCDS gets considerably more value from the product than a...
forums.ross-tech.com forums.ross-tech.com

You can also buy an older used Ross-Tech cable - the HEX+CAN USB - that has no limit on VINs on sites like eBay. They can be good value but make sure that you get a genuine cable.
Here's a sample eBay listing:
www.ebay.co.uk

Genuine Ross Tech VCDS HEX+CAN USB Unlimited VIN CABLE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine Ross Tech VCDS HEX+CAN USB Unlimited VIN CABLE at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
likely to finish a bit over £300, but maybe slightly less in view of the early finish time.
 
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Before you think about changing your set up, have you checked the OBDII socket fuse. No power to socket would also make the lead invisible. Fuse 28 a 10Amp fuse on my car.
 
set the baud rate to initially 9600 in windows control panel for the 'dummy com port' that the cable is setting up
also se the baud rate to 9600 in the vagcom / VCDS setting page forr the SAME COM ports
Then try it
if it still does not work repeat the above but setting the BAUD rate to 4800 in both

I found my £5 ebay cable was quite picky about the BAUD rate particularly when connecting to the Engine control unit on the 1.4 petrol, from memory (and its a few years ago) 4800 got me connected every time, 9600 was miss far more than hit

Paul
 
Thank you all for the replies: very much appreciated as once I'd left for work (and the availability of the interweb) I thought what a lazy posting it was. I hadn't even looked at the light on the lead!

Will work through the suggestions towards the current set up. If no joy, I'll try current set-up on the Passat (or I guess by end of Sunday, the TDi75). If still no joy I'll cross-check the cars with my other readers and assuming everything then points to lead failure I'll replace the set-up with a genuine Ross-Tech one.

Audi-Fan, thank you: I haven't checked it so obviously will in light of your post, but the iCarsoft uses the car's OBD socket as its power source and it powered up fine.

Paul, will do, thank you!

Steve: Thanks, I'll give Gendan a call if the above fails and have a chat with them. If genuine leads on eBay are getting within 20-30% of buying new then I'd probably rather do that (unless there's a club member with something of course).

I will, as they say, report back ...
 
I always run vcds in this order.
1. laptop booted up to windows
2. Cable into OBDII port.
3. cable into USB port on laptop. At this point laptop beeps as it finds the cable.
4. Ignition switched to on but engine off.
5. Start VCDS

Turn off in reverse order.
Make sure that both the car battery is in good condition and the laptop has sufficient charge to last about 45 minutes. Scans generally only last upto 15 minutes but if you are adapting they can get lenghty. I also turn off the radio and a/c unless I want to test them.
 
audifan said:
I always run vcds in this order.
1. laptop booted up to windows
2. Cable into OBDII port.
3. cable into USB port on laptop. At this point laptop beeps as it finds the cable.
4. Ignition switched to on but engine off.
5. Start VCDS

Turn off in reverse order.
Make sure that both the car battery is in good condition and the laptop has sufficient charge to last about 45 minutes. Scans generally only last upto 15 minutes but if you are adapting they can get lenghty. I also turn off the radio and a/c unless I want to test them.
Click to expand...

Ahh, that's very useful, thank you. Will have a bit of a go tomorrow.
 
Well, I can't seem to find the ports on Win7 pro, but I've tried plugging the lead into the desktop and although it makes 'the noise' (as does the laptop) there's no evidence it can see the lead. Might be a red herring as perhaps it needs to be powered up by the port first? Not taking the desktop to the car (or the other way round either!).

The fuse is fine on the car, the Chinese VAG_com lead does light up, as does my cheap OBDII dongle and the iCarsoft tool.

The computer settings 'did' work for years on the Passat and initially worked on Lasi which does make me wonder if the basic computer settings are alright: like I say, nothing's changed. At the very least you'd imagine I could switch everything off and start again and as a minimum get back to where I was before: codes read fine and about to reset.

Hmm ... not a massive problem for today as doing non-engine things (and preparing for Devon tomorrow).

I'm wondering if there's an issue within the lead (chipset?). It looks like new throughout, no nasty bumps in the cable, no dinks or damage to the connectors: one moment caller ...

... right have just taken the case of the lead apart at the OBD end and it does look like there's some distress in some of the soldered joints.


P1020404.JPG
P1020405.JPG
 
I think it's a two layer board so I don't think it'll re-flow with new solder and anyway I don't really want to be wondering if it's failing if I have trouble with a car. Known unknowns and unknown unknowns and all that.

Time for an investment do we think?
 
Not the best soldering I've seen. Old juice may not be worth the squeeze trying to give it CPR. Ditch that lead and get another one. Normally the cheap ebay leads are ok as long as vcds compatible. Or go full fat with a genuine one.
 
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