safety69 Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 hello there, i have a 8l 1.6 a3 and just wondering is there software you can buy to run your own diagnostic from your own laptop, am i being stupid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 try www.digimoto.com I have the PocketPC version - running on an Ipaq. It actually works quite well - and they have updated their product range to include a more complicated PC version since I bought their setup 2/3 years ago. they have an email address on their Contact page so you can find a UK distributor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Vag-com. http://www.ross-tech.com/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 how much would it all cost to set up, i have a laptop with all new software to install software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 What software should i download from ross-tech confused with about interface, how would i know this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 depends on what ross-tech lead you buy. an official ross-tech lead will use the latest version and be fully unlocked. if you chose to try a third party lead, from elsewhere, then it will only work with older software, not the latest, and will be in shareware mode, which doesnt have all the features, or decribe all the fault codes. you can still register your copy of vagcom for a fee of $99, but the third party leads will hold you back to the older version of the software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 I understand it all now, apart from one thing, do you have to register your copy of vagcom to ross-tech to be able to work the program, can i not just use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 If you get a current Ross-Tech lead, it doesn't need registering - the lead acts as a dongle. Older leads and non-genuine leads can use the software in restricted 'share-ware' mode but require the software to be registered for full functionality ($99?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 where can i buy a ross tech lead, and how much would it cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 http://www.ross-tech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=VAGCOM Ross-Tech are extremely easy to deal with, and very fast in delivering the goods. Payments by credit card or paypal will take care of the currency conversion. alternatively you could use one of their UK distributors http://www.ross-tech.com/distributors.html but ive always gone direct and had excellent service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 Having bot used a UK distributor and bought direct from Ross Tech, I would advise the latter every time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 I know ross tech are very good, but them leads aren't cheap. All i want to do is read the faults and clear them. Will a ebay cable work, and will i need to register with ross tech even though i only want to read faults?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 ebay leads are a can of worms unless you can get a personal recommendation of a particular one. There are drawbacks (if you get one that works) They restrict you to older versions of the Vag-com software. Only Offical ross-tech leads work with the latest software. You may use shareware/free version of the software with your lead, but it will have limited function, including not giving you all the fault code descriptions. Differences between shareware and fully registered. You may of course pay $99 to register it, so you do get full function, but your 3rd party ebay lead will still hold you back to old versions of the software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 i can see why theres the price difference. very tempted to invest in the ross-tech lead. I can understand the advantage of being able to read fault codes yourself and clearing them. But lets say you got a fault that keeps showing, and you know what it is, the garage you take it to will only want to do there own diagnostics to see for themselves costing you more money. Unless i'm being stupid, will they just look at your diagnostics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 Really depends on your garage. Ive often thought about putting my Vag-com "to work" and charging for it. as it cost me £200 for a lead and £600 for a laptop, so it owes me £800. There are alot of people like yourself that dont like the idea of the cost of vag-com to purchase, or the dealer rates for a diagnostic scan. which can be 0.5 to 1 hr labour and anything upto £100 from Audi. Im very tempted to charge £20+ a scan and everyones happy. but more often than not its done for free, or maybe for a pint, and the person who you done the favour for doesnt realise the cost to have bought it in the first place. £20+ a scan would be nothing, an Audi dealer recently was charging £49 + vat to enable Autolocking. What the average punter doenst realise is, the facility is already in their car, ie they already own/paid for it, its just turned off. Its only a five minute job to enable. Its abit like selling ice to the Eskimoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 That sounds like a plan to me, some easy money to be made . Only thing that would concern me is what would happen if the laptop crashed during a fault scan, would it lead to anything?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 I dont think anything would happen, didnt on my car when i tripped on the lead and pulled it out mid scan Just plugged it in and restarted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 Apart from not being able to use the later versions of the software, all USB third party leads (and how many laptops still have a serial port?) have the disadvantage that they have to use a driver emulating a serial port - this can lead to problems, particularly with timing and especially where some of the in-car modules are fussy about their protocol timings. Current Ross-Tech leads have a good deal of intelligence built into the lead, handling all the timing issues in a much more satisfactory way than your Windows box will ever manage. Also, I'm not aware of any third-party lead which can cope with a car which uses CAN Bus diagnostics (which I think is all current models, starting with the second generation A3). I bought the VAG Com lead primarily for my own use - I have never had any thought of attempting to recoup my outlay by charging other people for a scan. Okay, I'm happy to accept a glass of lemonade, but a couple of people have embarrassed me by making a more significant gesture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Do you guys use vag-com for the purpose of fault reading, or do you advance and start adjusting things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 fault code read and rest, setting up locking options and the odd logging of sensors etc. you pick bits and pieces up along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee_ Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 On the off chance does anyone know what communication busses the non can-bus vag com uses? i.e j1708? And do the can-bus vehicles solely operate on can-bus or are there other networks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 So is it possible to remap the ecu using vag-com. Or am i being stupid, do they use seperate software for this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Sorry, its not possible to remap the car with Vagcom. tuners use the same port, but diffeent software/hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safety69 Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 not that i would remap 1.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolDave Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 [ QUOTE ] On the off chance does anyone know what communication busses the non can-bus vag com uses? i.e j1708? And do the can-bus vehicles solely operate on can-bus or are there other networks? [/ QUOTE ] According to the on-line manual on the Ross Tech website - KWP-1281 and KWP-2000. On the B7 the K & L lines are used as well as the CAN bus, not sure about the new A3 and A6/A8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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