Just wanted to pass on some information that might be useful to others.
I have recently been working with a 2003 mk4 golf, the problem was a check enginge light and my Delphi/Autocom diagnostic interface which is a dealer level tool used in all dealerships I have worked in here in sweden where I live on trade ins. However the interface could only communicate intermittently with the ECM, all other systems worked fine.
I have been thinking about getting VCDS for a long time so I got a VCDS Lite license and a cheap interface cable called Autodia 409 from ebay.
Still no luck so I assumed the ecm com portion was toast since the vehicle ran.
I also got a new computer and VAG Tacho as to retrieve the codes from the intrument cluster to reprogram the new (USED) ecm to the car.
The new ecm could communicate with VCDS lite but the version of vag tacho I got wouldnt retrieve the code from that ECM so still no fix.
I ordered a newer version and whe it arrived it turned out it was VAG CAN Pro and not vag tacho with a cable using the same MCU (FT245RL). For kicks I tried that out to se if it would communicate with the old ECM on the car. It wouldnt, in fact it would not communicate with anything. I found an internet post about how these cables can suffer from bad soldering so I opened the OBD connector up reflowed the pins soldered directly to the board. When trying to solder pins that were connected with flying lead the leads just melted away because they were indead lead (solder metal). I replaced them with copper jumpers and went back to tha car.
Darign as I am I went directly to the ECM to test it again and to my amazement it now communicated with the old ECM and I could clear the lean code that was probably caused by the previous owner working on the exhaust in a less than expert fasion. (It also told me that the cluster could not communicate with the ECM)
When I came back inside I also checked the Autodia cable and I also had solder metal jumpers so I resoldered that to and am now waiting to try it out again with VCDS. The cars owner took the keys back so I have to wait to get them back.
Does anybody else have experience of VAG cars being picky when it comes to diagnostic interfaces? I do becasue when I was a school some car wouldnt even comunicate with their own dealer interface that my school had through sponsorship. The delphi interface has worked on every car I have worked on with it so far and that's quite a few.
I don't work on VW's day in/day out, but I see enough to make it worthwhile. Just used it today on a '98 Cabrio, airbag light. Tried the Autel and my Snap-On - the Cabrio laughed at them. :lol: VCDS talked to it without hesitation.
I work on quite alot of VW's because they and the other vag brands ar popular here in sweden. It's kind of like when sailors get stranded on the Island of reluctant but inevitable homosexuality.
I will get a VCDS for modern cars too when I feel it's needed. Right now I mostly work on pre 2005 models so the VCDS lite is sufficient for most things I do.
I had a vw like 15 years ago and got one that I believe was call micro can? Single license deal. Later I ended up getting the hex-can. This was a long time ago, but I think those were the names. The biggest thing for me was the easy code feature that made sense of all those channels (long code) that my launch doesn't decode, and I'm not messing with them without knowing what's going on.
Topic Author
Late 90's and early 2000's, especially.
