I never seem to see it mentioned, but wiring diagrams, and this page about diagnostic protocols suggest to me that VCDS Lite (the freeware version) ought to work for those built before 2011, given a suitable third-party cable.

VAG Protokollkompatibilität (blafusel.de)

 

Ross-tech suggest that it only works on pre-2006 cars: 

"VCDS-Lite is our low cost solution for older (pre-2006) VW-Audi Group cars that do not require a direct CAN diagnostic connection. "

 

It seems to me this shouldn't exclude early mk2s up to the end of 2010, going by the German link above.

 

Who's tried it?

Anyone near me (Oxon) that wants to try it, for nowt? 

 

 

 

 

That list is unequivocal, <2010 cars are K-line so VCDS lite will work.

I agree, which is why I chose the title I did.

So you have a cable ? or you are hoping to try one  on yours or another vehicle ?

 

 

I don't have access to a suitable mk2 amongst friends, neighbours or workmates.  

I do have a cable, keen to know that it can and does work on early mk2s and for owners of such cars to be aware, if it isn't common knowledge.  

Perhaps worth adding that a suitable cable for VCDS Lite can be had for very little cash, compared with the cost of the full version. <£20.

Registering the free software to unlock more functionality is only a further 99USD.

yes thats what I did about 16 years ago when I had my first Audi A8 which was pre-can, a "dummy" interface from Gendan (which are VCDS dealers) and 99USD was worth every penny imo..............had to upgrade later on, but my early cable still works I just don't need it anymore.

 

Now the HEX+CAN-USB I have now is technically "out of date"................It was quite dissapointing to read when "Vagcom" went VIN based, thats was one difference I felt kept them above and not as greedy as all the other diagnostic tool manufacturers.

I'm very interested in this as I have an 07 mk2 that I want to do a small amount of coding on, I've not found any local garages willing to do this.

 

Happy to help test this on my vehicle If i've understood correctly that it falls in to your test bracket. just direct me to suitably cheap cable + links to the software.

 

That said, I'm a newbie here so I don't fully understand all the different coding protocols yet.

Cable example: VW Audi Seat Skoda USB Interface for VAG-COM 409.1 or VCDS Lite - most VAG 1996-2003 (gendan.co.uk) (what I have).

 

Cheaper ones can be had via ebay, but can't make any specific recommendations. Avoid ones that come with software on CD, likely to bring spyware with them, and the software is a free download!

 

Software Ross-Tech: VCDS-Lite: Download

 

Ross-tech's function chart (Functions - Ross-Tech Wiki) suggests that Lite can do coding even in its unregistered state, but I can't personally confirm that as I have registered mine and never tried beforehand. Well worth trying to do what you need on the unregistered version, it'll just be greyed out if you can't do something, I guess.

 

11 minutes ago, Wino said:

Cable example: VW Audi Seat Skoda USB Interface for VAG-COM 409.1 or VCDS Lite - most VAG 1996-2003 (gendan.co.uk) (what I have).

Nice thanks, I've ordered one of these 🎉

Will have to wait till next week for it to arrive and try it out.
That gives me the weekend to resurrect an old Windows laptop 😬

 

See you on the other side 👋

Oh Windows XP how i've missed you.

VCDS Lite ready and waiting for the cable to arrive.

Hopefully we'll have an answer to this one by the end of the week.

 

Edited 26 October, 20214 yr by WezFab

It works under windows 10 as well.

5 hours ago, WezFab said:

Oh Windows XP how i've missed you.

VCDS Lite ready and waiting for the cable to arrive.

 

Let me know how you get on with it. I've got a Windows XP-era laptop sitting spare that VCDS-Lite could go onto. Even if it does work under 10, I'd like to give this laptop another use too.

I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of the cable so I will update asap.

 

12 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

It works under windows 10 as well.

 

Yes indeed, and I was impressed by the range of VCDS supported OS versions.. I think for this little netbook anything more than Windows XP would be a bit sluggish tho and not needed since i only need to run one program.

 

Whilst clean installing XP it was also nice to reminisce about how this installer is only ~500mb and used to fit on a single CD!

Windows 10 in comparison is ~5gb!

@AnnoyingPentium I'm not sure maybe @Wino could confirm, but possibly based on the model and age of your vehicle being a mk1 might mean it's even more likely to be a KL protocol. so this should work great for you.

 

Edited 27 October, 20214 yr by WezFab

1 minute ago, WezFab said:

@AnnoyingPentium I'm not sure maybe @Wino could confirm, but possibly based on the model and age of your vehicle being a mk1 might mean it's even more likely to be a KL protocol. so this should work great for you.

 

 

I've been looking into it for a wee while as it would be a nice thing to have about. Thanks!

Oh yeah, all mk1s play nicely with VCDS Lite.

 

One thing I would mention at this point @WezFab is that it can take a bit of messing about with ports and settings to get the cable/software combo working once plugged into a car.  Don't give up at the first error message, by any means.  Help info will come with the cable I expect; and I also seem to remember there are some de-snagging FAQ bits and pieces on the ross-tech site; their search function is not bad, I think.

 

9 minutes ago, Wino said:

Oh yeah, all mk1s play nicely with VCDS Lite.

 

33 minutes ago, Wino said:

Don't give up at the first error message

 

I won't! - I'm no stranger to a little debugging 😃 Thanks for the pointers.

 

Assuming cable/drivers/software are setup correctly, what should I expect to see if the car is/isn't supported?

You'll be fine then. 

Not sure what you would see if it genuinely can't communicate; I vaguely remember trying to scan workmates' cars that needed the CAN-based interface and it just being clear that it wasn't compatible. Don't recall the exact error messages though.

 

As per the function chart, the unregistered version won't do autoscan, but you can just select each module of interest individually and scan/tweak once you're connected.

 

Don't make any changes to anything before making sure you have a record of the pre-change value. 

 

 

Edited 27 October, 20214 yr by Wino

So, with a little help from Gendan support, (many thanks and kind regards) - I installed the correct xp drivers and got the com port setup.

 

I only had limited time to play over my lunch break but I did manage to:

• plug it in to the car
• select control module
• 01-Engine
• VCDS-Lite showed me the engine screen and some numbers that i don't yet understand
• I hit fault codes and it loaded a screen that said 'no fault codes' or similar
• Going back to the Engine view the buttons were suddenly greyed out and the status in top left suggested that there was a connection issue and it was trying various baud rates?

Possibly I need to adjust the baud rate in the options to get this working more stable? any suggestion?

I hope to have another play with this after work and take some screenshots, but despite the above it does seem to work if badly, with my 07 mk2.

15 minutes ago, WezFab said:

• VCDS-Lite showed me the engine screen and some numbers that i don't yet understand
• I hit fault codes and it loaded a screen that said 'no fault codes' or similar

Very promising.

16 minutes ago, WezFab said:

Possibly I need to adjust the baud rate in the options to get this working more stable? any suggestion?

Sounds familiar. I think once you get this sorted all will be well. 

From the ross-tech site: 

• If when you try to connect to a control module, you get the error message "Can't Synch Baud Rate", go to the Options Screen and try setting the Start Baud to 9600.  If 9600 doesn't work, also try 4800 and 1200.    Turn the car's ignition OFF and back ON after each failed attempt to connect!

5 hours ago, Wino said:

If when you try to connect to a control module, you get the error message "Can't Synch Baud Rate", go to the Options Screen and try setting the Start Baud to 9600.  If 9600 doesn't work, also try 4800 and 1200.    Turn the car's ignition OFF and back ON after each failed attempt to connect!

 

Thanks for this, I tried all three of those Baud Rates.

 

Actually I don't think any of them made any difference but I did discover that all the control modules I tried other than engine seem to work just fine with any baud rate set (which seems odd).

I started a Control Module Finder scan but bailed out after watching it for 20mins then reading the manual that states it can last 45mins, here is the output after i cancelled the scan:

 

Address 01: Engine
   Protocol: KWP2000
   Controller: 03C 906 024 B
   Component:  MARELLI 4HV        0896
   Coding: 0000071
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 03: ABS Brakes
   Protocol: KWP2000
   Controller: 6R0 907 379 C
   Component: ABS 8.0 front   H05 0002
   Coding: 0002127
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 08: Auto HVAC
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 5J0 820 045 
   Component: Klimaanlage        X0850

Address 09: Cent. Elect.
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 6Q1 937 049 F
   Component: 0000 BN-SG.         2S36
   Coding: 25742
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 15: Airbags
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 1C0 909 605 K
   Component: QN AIRBAG VW51 Q5   0010
   Coding: 20814
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 17: Instruments
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 5J0 920 910 B
   Component: KOMBIINSTR.    V2823466
   Coding: 17403
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 19: CAN Gateway
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 6N0 909 901 
   Component: 000E GATEWAY CAN    2S36
   Coding: 00014
   Shop #: WSC 13765

Address 25: Immobilizer
   Protocol: KW1281
   Controller: 5J0 920 910 B
   Component: IMMOBILIZER    V2823466
   Coding: 17403
   Shop #: WSC 13765

 

Again my lack of knowledge here will show but, it appears to have a CAN gateway, might this mean I can also connect with a newer protocol? 

 

Is 4HV my engine code?

 

Accessing the Engine Module is where the connection gets temperamental, it seems to drop connection and then reconnect quite sporadically, i took some video of this. Also eventually it decides to give up connecting to the engine module with the error in the screenshots below "Too Many Communications Errors To Continue".

 

 

The last two screenshots are just showing the connection test results and also a screenshot of what I think is the central convenience module.

 

 

Edited 27 October, 20214 yr by WezFab

Since you've already established that the PCM has no stored faults then you can safely ignore the engine for now. The Marelli ECU goes to sleep very quickly when the engine is stopped so you may need to cycle the ignition or start the engine to communicate with it.

The engine ECU is probably the one you most want to be able to chat with/recode in order to enable the cruise though, right?

I don't think the CAN wiring comes out to the diagnostic connector, but will check later. 

4HV is the engine ECU type, I think, not engine code. See link in my sig for how to find that.

 

Is it the original engine ECU?