What exactly is VAG-COM ?

is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot of
features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.

Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go play ?

Be grateful of some info on i.

Cheers

"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot of
features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com

"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot of
features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go play
?
Be grateful of some info on i.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com



Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it from ?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.

GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot of
features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go play
?
Be grateful of some info on i.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com



Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it from ?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.


There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off ebay
and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is cheapest.
To get the latest version and all features, you need an official cable
and a licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle, which makes
licencing easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as
direct from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.

"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot
of features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go
play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com



Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it from
?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.
There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off ebay
and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is cheapest. To
get the latest version and all features, you need an official cable and a
licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle, which makes licencing
easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as direct
from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.

Ok, thanks for that explanation Chris, sounds like an invaluable tool to
have and could save a bundle in dealer visits! I'm going to go for it, I
love this kind of stuff.

"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...

"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot
of features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go
play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com



Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it from
?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.
There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off ebay
and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is cheapest.
To get the latest version and all features, you need an official cable
and a licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle, which makes
licencing easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as
direct from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.

Ok, thanks for that explanation Chris, sounds like an invaluable tool to
have and could save a bundle in dealer visits! I'm going to go for it, I
love this kind of stuff.


Forgot to add is this the right one to go for ?
http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCKC.html

GreasyFingers wrote:
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a lot
of features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go
play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com


Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it from
?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.
There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off ebay
and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is cheapest.
To get the latest version and all features, you need an official cable
and a licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle, which makes
licencing easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as
direct from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.
Ok, thanks for that explanation Chris, sounds like an invaluable tool to
have and could save a bundle in dealer visits! I'm going to go for it, I
love this kind of stuff.


Forgot to add is this the right one to go for ?
http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCKC.html


I'd have the USB interface if your PC supports it.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_1.html#1.5


Which cable you need depends on the cars you have. If you intend using
it on very new cars you need one that does a CAN bus. If it's something
older, you shouldn't buy the CAN-only cable (Micro-CAN).

Have a look here.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/what_to_buy.htm

and here

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/interfaces.html

and compare prices for buying direct with Gendan's. Remember you might
get stung for VAT if you buy from the US.

I bought my HEX+CAN USB cable in December 2005, and went for that as at
the time I had a 1999 Audi A3 and a 2000 Lupo, but knew I might change
my car in a year or so, so buying a CAN-capable cable future-proofed it
for a while. I'm not sure if my current car (a Skoda Fabia) is CAN only
or not, but it just works. The HEX+CAN should work on everything, with
the proviso that it needs the 2x2 adaptor for pre-1996 cars. Of course,
that's the most expensive too.

A lot of people get by with the serial cable off ebay and either the
freeware version or by buying a licence key for VAG-COM 4.09

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/download/

Which is the cheapest route, but like I said, the genuine cable acts as
a dongle so don't have to activate the software (and remove the licence
from your PC if you upgrade!), and they're supported by Ross-Tech. The
freeware version won't do data logging and some other functions:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_2.html#2.2


What car do you have, and what do you plan to use VAG-COM for?

"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
k...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a
lot of features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go
play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com


Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it
from ?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.
There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off ebay
and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is cheapest.
To get the latest version and all features, you need an official cable
and a licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle, which makes
licencing easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as
direct from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.
Ok, thanks for that explanation Chris, sounds like an invaluable tool to
have and could save a bundle in dealer visits! I'm going to go for it, I
love this kind of stuff.


Forgot to add is this the right one to go for ?
http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCKC.html
I'd have the USB interface if your PC supports it.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_1.html#1.5


Which cable you need depends on the cars you have. If you intend using it
on very new cars you need one that does a CAN bus. If it's something
older, you shouldn't buy the CAN-only cable (Micro-CAN).

Have a look here.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/what_to_buy.htm

and here

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/interfaces.html

and compare prices for buying direct with Gendan's. Remember you might get
stung for VAT if you buy from the US.

I bought my HEX+CAN USB cable in December 2005, and went for that as at
the time I had a 1999 Audi A3 and a 2000 Lupo, but knew I might change my
car in a year or so, so buying a CAN-capable cable future-proofed it for a
while. I'm not sure if my current car (a Skoda Fabia) is CAN only or not,
but it just works. The HEX+CAN should work on everything, with the proviso
that it needs the 2x2 adaptor for pre-1996 cars. Of course, that's the
most expensive too.

A lot of people get by with the serial cable off ebay and either the
freeware version or by buying a licence key for VAG-COM 4.09

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/download/

Which is the cheapest route, but like I said, the genuine cable acts as a
dongle so don't have to activate the software (and remove the licence from
your PC if you upgrade!), and they're supported by Ross-Tech. The freeware
version won't do data logging and some other functions:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_2.html#2.2


What car do you have, and what do you plan to use VAG-COM for?



Thanks for that Chris, spent a lot of the evening reading up at ross tech, a
lot of stuff there

I have a golf 1.6 16v 2001. I'm a bit of a budding DIY mechanic (if I an
call myself that) and well VAG-COM on a VW seems like a nescessary purchase
for anyone who likes to alter settings, clear codes, re-align the throttle
body after a clean etc, reset service reminder at the most basic level all
of that. Then I belive there is a bucket load more things to explore and
play with on VAG-COM. This is purely for fun and the maintenance of my car.
It would be nice to have and probably a long term investment as I'm very
likely to stick with Vw's\audi's in the future so it should easily pay for
itself when comparing to what a dealer charges. Yeah so really just to see
what I can alter, maybe make a backup key sorta of thing and whatever else
looks interesting to have a go at I usually regret those words

It looks like I wouldn't need the CAN bus as I'm only going to be using it
for a 2001 golf for the time being, so no need to spend more on something I
don;t really need.

Cheers

"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...

"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
k...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
"Chris Bartram" wrote in message
...
GreasyFingers wrote:
"Homer" wrote in message
news:45f88e8c.0@entanet...
"GreasyFingers" wrote in message
...
What exactly is VAG-COM ?
is it a sofware or a lead ? Bit confused as I belive it opens up a
lot of features of your car to play with, which I would love to do.
Is it just a case of buying the software and lead and plu-in and go
play ?
Be grateful of some info on i.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vag-com


Thanks for that, interesting stuff.

By any chance do you know how much it costs or where I might buy it
from ?

from the sounds of it I need to find some kind of port on the car and
connect up to laptop.
There's several ways to get VAG-COM. You can buy a cheap cable off
ebay and use an older, shareware version of the software, which is
cheapest. To get the latest version and all features, you need an
official cable and a licence. The latest USB cables are also a dongle,
which makes licencing easy- plug the cable in and it works.

I bought mine from www.gendan.co.uk. At the time it was as cheap as
direct from ross-tech.

Location of the diag socket varies by car.
Ok, thanks for that explanation Chris, sounds like an invaluable tool
to have and could save a bundle in dealer visits! I'm going to go for
it, I love this kind of stuff.


Forgot to add is this the right one to go for ?
http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCKC.html
I'd have the USB interface if your PC supports it.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_1.html#1.5


Which cable you need depends on the cars you have. If you intend using it
on very new cars you need one that does a CAN bus. If it's something
older, you shouldn't buy the CAN-only cable (Micro-CAN).

Have a look here.

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/what_to_buy.htm

and here

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/interfaces.html

and compare prices for buying direct with Gendan's. Remember you might
get stung for VAT if you buy from the US.

I bought my HEX+CAN USB cable in December 2005, and went for that as at
the time I had a 1999 Audi A3 and a 2000 Lupo, but knew I might change my
car in a year or so, so buying a CAN-capable cable future-proofed it for
a while. I'm not sure if my current car (a Skoda Fabia) is CAN only or
not, but it just works. The HEX+CAN should work on everything, with the
proviso that it needs the 2x2 adaptor for pre-1996 cars. Of course,
that's the most expensive too.

A lot of people get by with the serial cable off ebay and either the
freeware version or by buying a licence key for VAG-COM 4.09

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/download/

Which is the cheapest route, but like I said, the genuine cable acts as a
dongle so don't have to activate the software (and remove the licence
from your PC if you upgrade!), and they're supported by Ross-Tech. The
freeware version won't do data logging and some other functions:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_2.html#2.2


What car do you have, and what do you plan to use VAG-COM for?



Thanks for that Chris, spent a lot of the evening reading up at ross tech,
a lot of stuff there

I have a golf 1.6 16v 2001. I'm a bit of a budding DIY mechanic (if I an
call myself that) and well VAG-COM on a VW seems like a nescessary
purchase for anyone who likes to alter settings, clear codes, re-align the
throttle body after a clean etc, reset service reminder at the most basic
level all of that. Then I belive there is a bucket load more things to
explore and play with on VAG-COM. This is purely for fun and the
maintenance of my car. It would be nice to have and probably a long term
investment as I'm very likely to stick with Vw's\audi's in the future so
it should easily pay for itself when comparing to what a dealer charges.
Yeah so really just to see what I can alter, maybe make a backup key sorta
of thing and whatever else looks interesting to have a go at I usually
regret those words

It looks like I wouldn't need the CAN bus as I'm only going to be using it
for a 2001 golf for the time being, so no need to spend more on something
I don;t really need.

Cheers



You don't really need one of the expensive cables. Get yourself one off
ebay about £20. I bought a serial one off ebay last year for my 2000 V6
4mo. Fantastic tool.