Toad 0 Posted August 10, 2007 Morning. Would quite like to get VAG COM as I have a temperamental VR, trouble is, I don't knwo tooo much about it. I know that you can buy the software with a cable from ROSS tech, for $300+, or there seem to be versions floating around ebay, such as this which is considerably cheaper, but I do wonder about the quality of the software, and the cable. Where have other people gotten the software from? I can't afford much at the moment, but I would quite like the software, however, i guess it'll have to wait if I can't afford it. I don't mind if I have to look up fault codes in a pdf etc to be honest, but will all versions of the software be able to delete fault codes, and allow me to monitor the engine/abs as I use the car? Cheers. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonedef 9 Posted August 10, 2007 My turn to help you a little Tom. The software is free to download from Ross Tech, I have release 409.1. All you need to do then is buy a cable, I got mine from a German seller on ebay for approx £20 inc P&P, there are loads cheaper although normally from the States and I thought I'd avoid any chance of having to pay some duty when it arrived. With that you can read and clear faults although it can be a little long winded as unregistered you can only apparently read one controller at a time. Next step is to register with Ross Tech for $99 lets you do more stuff, auto scanning, multi sensor logging etc. Good time right now with the exchange rate! Mine was registered but then I had a hard drive problem and have since not got around to redoing it, handy tool though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vwdeviant 0 Posted August 10, 2007 , handy tool though. Unless you're a valver owner and then it only tells you that yes you're ABS is shagged but no, not which bit! ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toad 0 Posted August 10, 2007 My turn to help you a little Tom. The software is free to download from Ross Tech, I have release 409.1. All you need to do then is buy a cable, I got mine from a German seller on ebay for approx £20 inc P&P, there are loads cheaper although normally from the States and I thought I'd avoid any chance of having to pay some duty when it arrived. With that you can read and clear faults although it can be a little long winded as unregistered you can only apparently read one controller at a time. Next step is to register with Ross Tech for $99 lets you do more stuff, auto scanning, multi sensor logging etc. Good time right now with the exchange rate! Mine was registered but then I had a hard drive problem and have since not got around to redoing it, handy tool though. Cool. All I had seen was the muchos expensive option. Think I will download the software and give it a try. Thanks mate. Glad yours is running now! Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toad 0 Posted August 10, 2007 Does anyone know if this cable would be suitable? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonedef 9 Posted August 10, 2007 Does anyone know if this cable would be suitable? No reason why not I'm sure. Mine is a serial port one, call me old fashioned but I like my serial ports! It says it's for 409.1 which is what you'd be getting to download for free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joebloggsVR69 0 Posted August 10, 2007 I did post a link a while back about a VAG COM group buy over on VR6OC, but no one seemed interested.. :? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toad 0 Posted August 11, 2007 I did post a link a while back about a VAG COM group buy over on VR6OC, but no one seemed interested.. :? I did go over and have a look at that, but although the right kit would be nice, it's well out my price range. Got out sniped on a usb cable last night, but was wondering if people prefer USB or serial connections? Tonedef said he uses serial, and I've heard that some USB cables don't connect to the ABS correctly (my ABS is shot so I would like to diagnose it). Can anyone confirm this. I do need to check the laptop to see if it has a serial port, so this could all be academic at the moment. Cheers Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Critical_Mass 10 Posted August 11, 2007 Does anyone know if this cable would be suitable? No reason why not I'm sure. Mine is a serial port one, call me old fashioned but I like my serial ports! It says it's for 409.1 which is what you'd be getting to download for free. I bought that one myself. Worked fine for me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toad 0 Posted August 11, 2007 I bought that one myself. Worked fine for me. Can you access your ABS ok? Was quite annoyed about missing it last night. Had a phone call at the wrong second. :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Critical_Mass 10 Posted August 11, 2007 From what i can remember (been a while since ive used vag-com) yes i could. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonedef 9 Posted August 11, 2007 I did post a link a while back about a VAG COM group buy over on VR6OC, but no one seemed interested.. :? I did go over and have a look at that, but although the right kit would be nice, it's well out my price range. Got out sniped on a usb cable last night, but was wondering if people prefer USB or serial connections? Tonedef said he uses serial, and I've heard that some USB cables don't connect to the ABS correctly (my ABS is shot so I would like to diagnose it). Can anyone confirm this. I do need to check the laptop to see if it has a serial port, so this could all be academic at the moment. Cheers Tom I'm sure USB is fine, I'm just stuck in a time warp I guess with serial ports! A lot of the software I use for work still uses serial cables so I had to make sure my laptop had one when I bought it as they seem to be getting a bit old hat these days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
