Hey guys,

So I am looking to order an OBD2 to USB wire so I can hook my car up to vag com. Now I heard that the ECS tuning wire sometimes doesnt work or is limited, is that true? Is it worth spending the extra money to buy it off the ross-tech site?

Also what am I able to do with the shareware version of vag com? Would I be able to cycle the ABS pump? Clear codes?

Thanks!

 

what's limited is the programming not the cable. the ross-tech cable is expensive but it's much more robust and made of better material. i bought my cable off ebay from a seller named alpha-bid. they have instructions on their page of exactly how to setup the software to work on xp. i've never heard of the cable not working on xp but i've heard of several cases where the software just won't work on vista. i have no news on windows 7 though.

the ebay cable will allow you to clear codes, check a limited number of measuring blocks, log, set certain comfort settings. i'm not sure about cycling the ABS pump although i will be trying that in the next 2 weeks or so when i have free time.

 

So what you're saying is a cable is a cable, either you can connect or you cant. I use XP so I dont think I will have any problems connecting.

Does anyone know if the shareware version of vag-com allows the option to cycle the ABS pump?

 

Anybody know?

 

After doing some research I found that the procedure to cycle the pump is as follows:


And then I consulted the table of functions available for each version: http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/vag-functions.html

And it would seem that "Basic Settings" are not offered on the free license so my guess would be that you cannot cycle the abs pump on the free version of vag com.

Can anyone confirm?

Thanks

 

well not all cables work but that specific seller's cable always work.

 

Good to know. But what about the free version of vag com?

 

If ross-tech says it isnt available in the free version, its not. The only way your going to get the full version is to buy thier cable, pay for the 'full' license and hope someone else's cable works, or hack it. The available hacks leave something to be desired and hacking doesn't support the makers of a fine program, so I don't recommend it.

 

Yeah if ross-tech says it's not available it's not. I have that same one from alpha-bid and works flawlessly in XP, 7 & Linux. Sometimes you can get lucky and find an actual ross-tech cable on ebay and just pay the $100 for the full version. Worth a shot anyway. All just depends on what you want to do with it.

 

you can use any of them but 409 works the best from what i'm seen.