NSW Ross tech (or simillar vag-com) cable for MKIV golf

[McDub]

I need to do some of my own logging, and was just trying to see if anyone is selling one before i go and get one brand new from the states.

I presume i need this one for my MKIV gti? KEY/KII-USB:
Ross-Tech: KEY-USB Interface

the micro-can i think is for the MKV, and the HEX appears to work for both if i've read correctly.

any other options?

thanks

[Golf Loon]

How much is that in the states?? There is a local RossTech distributor, which helps if you need any afer sales care.
I have bought a couple of genuine cables from Mount Instruments in Brookvale. They were helpful and even burnt me a disk as I did not want the VCDS install to go near the net. Might not be a cheap, but it supports the local guys and might work out cheaper in the long run.

[McDub]

ah k thanks mat. they charge USD$259+ $57.99 shipping. Ridiculous shipping for a cable!
was just hoping someone had a second hand one they no longer needed

howbout the ebay options, do they work? for $20, seems like worth a shot!
Not sure what software the ebay ones use though...
VAG-COM USB KKL OBD 2 Cable AUDI VW Skoda Seat VAG.COM (eBay item 120630625941 end time 05-Dec-10 20:35:38 AEDST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats

[McDub]

just purchased this from an aussie seller for $20
will let you know how it goes
VAG-COM USB KKL OBD 2 Cable AUDI VW Skoda Seat VAG.COM (eBay item 110597229944 end time 10-Nov-10 19:55:19 AEDST) : Computers

[The_Hawk]

I have a very simlar (if not the same) eBay knock off. It runs on and old version of VAG-COM and doesn't allow for lots of things... like an auto scan, you have to scan modules one by one. That said it does *most* of the things that my Mk3 is capable of That said I don't know that it does much of what you would want for the MkV.

[McDub]

so you can select mulitple blocks to record and log? eg MAF etc etc?

[The_Hawk]

so you can select mulitple blocks to record and log? eg MAF etc etc?

*some* From emory you can't select anything past block 10 without a proper cable and I'm not sure about logging.

[McDub]

well i've spent all morning trying to get the cable to communicate with the car.
i tried a "dodge" copy of vag-com409 with no luck, then tried the software linked in the ebay ad, no luck, then tried the VCDS-lite (for 3rd party cables) and no luck.

In program options it seems to be fine when i select COM 3.
But when i go into the engine controll module for fault codes etc, the communication status goes for a while trying to do stuff... then i get an error saying "cannot find controller" or something.

not sure what the problem is. i've messaged the ebay person so hopefully they can work it out.
the connection onto the car though is quite dodge, its very tight and you really need to force it in, so i've got a feeling the pins are not going in correctly...

should it go on pretty easy or are they often a bit tight? (and yes i'm not trying it upside down...)

[noone]

USB cable? If so, you need the serial emulator driver. If you get stuck, shoot me a PM and I'll send you a link to something I found usefull.

[The_Hawk]

If your round the campbelltown area with your laptop and your cable I can have a look see for you (and show you what a real cable does instead ).

[McDub]

ha, thanks for the offer. ebayer got back to me with some more software to try, but one thing they asked was "does the cable light up"
and it doesn't! the light on the obd side of the cable doesn't light up, so i think i've just got a faulty cable.... unless it only lights up when it makes a proper connection??? or should it light up as soon as it's trying to do stuff, even without connection to the car?

[The_Hawk]

The genuine calbe lights up when you plug it into the car, even if it's not plugged into the USB. From memory the knock off's do something similar, but I can't recall.

[h100vw]

Paul, if you don't get it working let me know tomorrow and I'll send you mine overnight on Monday. I am thinking of flashing my AQ ECU and sending that as well to see if the snag is in your ECU. Are you up for trying that?
Gavin

[McDub]

Paul, if you don't get it working let me know tomorrow and I'll send you mine overnight on Monday. I am thinking of flashing my AQ ECU and sending that as well to see if the snag is in your ECU. Are you up for trying that?
Gavin

hey gav. thanks for the offer, i'll see what the ebay seller of the cable says first. though i'll try plugging just the cable into the car and see if it lights up as the hawk says, though i have a feeling it's just not getting the pins in as it should as it's very tight.
I don't know yet what to log though, cc got back to me and basically said it's not really possible to diagnose the car properly due to the lack of wideband and boost map sensor (although i have millions of dyno runs showing that data, though only in 4th), so prob not much point at this stage in sending the cable unless you can think of particular blocks i should log?

but if you flash another ecu, i'd DEF love to try that out to see if it fixes or rules it out as the possible problem.
it's just a weird thing with the car, as i think mat and beau first thought, it feels quite mechanical. though the only areas i can see significant powerloss in the drivetrain is in an unusual clutch slippage... but i've had a new clutch put in after i first thought there were problems so i doubt that is it. only other thing i can think of is maybe the gearbox is stuffed... if that was the case, it could explain why it is quite di@ky in changes, but i really doubt that would be the problem... (ive also had the gearbox fluid changed in the time that i've had this "problem" so once again another very minor thing that has been sort of ruled out... well not really)
and outside of the gearbox/dif, you are then dealing with two differnt driveshafts, and as no wheel seems any better than the other, i doubt there is a mechanical issue after that point. pretty much just leaving the combustion process as the possible problem (or just my head)
hmmm

one thing i never did confirm for you was that my car has the correct FPR, will make sure i check that. short of all this if I was over it all (which i pretty much already am ) and just wanted to try new things for the sake of it not expecting it to fix the issue, i'd prob consider changing coilpacks, and perhaps the injectors. other than that, i give up, no idea! new hobby. been thinking of insects.

[McDub]

^^a slightly off topic 4am post!!!

I checked out the cable again, the light does turn on when i plug it into the car.
i tried a different laptop this time, this time the drivers seemed to install properly, first the high speed usb serial converter, then after that installs, a serial port or something installs. but yep just doesn't seem to work properly with the cable. in the options section of vag-com, i get:
Port status: ok
interface: found!
Opto/iso: no

i think it's the opto/iso thing that is going wrong. all the install tutes seem to show that it should show up as a yes.