As i had a spare ten minutes thought I would go and give the car a quick Auto scan to make sure all is hunky dory....

However when I connect the Micro-Can dongle to the Purple port the light will not illuminate and VCDS reports

Status: Not plugged in Car.

Ignition ON?

Dont think the ignition needs to be on for the green LED to show, only to communicate.

I say this, cos I generally have to kneel outside the car to put the connector in and do so before the ignition is on and I see the green LED light up as it gets connected.

Steve

I say this, cos I generally have to kneel outside the car to put the connector in and do so before the ignition is on and I see the green LED light up as it gets connected.

Steve

That's what normally happens to me - i see the green light before i even connect to laptop....

I have tried with ignition on and car running

is it a faulty dongle/cable or dodgy socket ??

you'd need to confirm it on another car I think.

Good thinking - Iam not in the office until Wednesday so will have to wait to find a victim.

Normally it should light up as soon as it gets power from the port (which is terminal 30, means always on - no ignition needed so far). In a case like this there are several possible reasons...

- Interface not fully plugged in

- Diagnostic socket fuse blown

- Modifications (i.e. aftermarket radio)

- Interface faulty

...so for now my suggestion would also be to double check on a different car first.

Thanks for your replies - will be able to check the Fuse pretty easy....

Was thinking about the engine management light - that normally stays illuminated until the car has been started ?

Correct, but if in doubt your owners manual should explain that part too I assume.

Yeah... I am a computer consultant - don't do manuals, but on this count perhaps I should. Completely dark outside and getting cold so it will have to wait until tomorrow now.

just check there is nothing contaminating the connections like a bit of dirt and check non of the pins are bent/broken/damaged.

I tried it on a colleauges Golf yesterday and green light came on and worked perfectly.

Back to my car and worked perfectly too ???

Oh well all sorted by doing nothing - Excellent !