Need help getting started with VagCom
 

I have a 2006 A4 Cabriolet, which is the last of the B6 in the cabriolet.
I want to purchase a cable to be able to read codes.
I'm not into heavy modding.
Currently I have a ABS and ESP light on that comes on after a few minutes of driving. This has been happening for about two weeks. Yesterday I changed the front and rear pads and rotors, and flushed/replaced the brake fluid I also replaced the brake light switch under the dash.
The light did not go out.
Now I have a check engine light!

Please point me in the right direction to read these codes. I am very comfortable performing maintenance (USMC helicopters, and now engineering technician) but need to get familiar with the reading of these codes.

Semper Fi,
Phil

many options u can buy a donegal from amazon and use the torque app on the playstore. That is the cheapest way to get codes and then u can just google the code and that will tell u what is wrong.

You can also buy a ebay cable and download vcds lite from rosstech. the program is free and can read codes but only to a certian limit. The cable is something like 20 dollars and the program is free.

If u want to scan u car clear your codes read and adjust parameters and log u will need a real deal rosstech cable. Just google rosstech and it will come up. The real deal cost something like 300.

I have the amazon route and ebay route and it is sufficent to scan and clear codes.

After using a $60 generic OBD-II scanner from AZO for several years, I finally bought the full VCDS/VAG-COM cable/dongle, and I have been very pleased with the more detailed level of information it provides. If you ever buy or borrow one, start w/ the Autoscan mode, then dive down for more detail in particular systems of interest. After a couple of uses it gets pretty intuitive and easy.