Help with Ebay vag-com!

[sCeRaXn]

Im still trying to figure out which 02 is bad and i planned on using this POS ebay vag-com to check the codes, but its fighting me tooth and nail. I installed the 409 software that came with the cable and everything seemed to go fine. I went to scan for codes and they didnt have an option for the s4, but i read that you can use the b5 a4 setting for it. Then everytime i tried to do a scan it would start then say something about it not being connected...even though it was connected to the car with the ign on. So i checked to make sure it was on the correct com port, and it was. So i figured it was my computer that was the problem, but i tried it on a friends laptop and it did the same thing. I just dl'd the version from ross-tech and its still doing the same BS.

Now when i open vag-com it acts like its the first time its been opened and wants me to set the com again, but when i try it says that it cant find the interface. The cable is on com2, but its not registering in the program for some reason.

Am i missing something? Any ideas on what the problem could be? Ill buy a real one from ross-tech when i have the spare cash, so telling me to get a real one wont help me out right now and will serve no real purpose. Any other comments are welcome and greatly appreciated!

[gointoscott]

I bought the cheap ebay vag-com as well. I had a little bit of a hard time at first as well.

What it sounds like is happening is the vag com is grabbing a com port that is already in use on your computer so its not letting it connect. I think it has 4 to chose from so try each one to see if it works on each one.

Again I think I did this and it still didnt work. So I went into the bios of my laptop and checked what each com port was on, and changed one of the settings so it had one of com 1-4 open.

You will be able to get it to work, just keep working at it.

[sCeRaXn]

I checked to make sure they were on same com port and they were. But what youre saying about vag-com trying to use a port thats already used makes perfect sense. I just tried changing the com port on my computer but i couldnt figure out how to do it. I right clicked on my computer and went to properties then device manager, but all it does is tell me which port its on and it doesnt actually allow me to change it. Im using an old computer to do this, so does anyone know how to change com ports using Windows ME?

Thanks for your help man.

[gointoscott]

You have a laptop with windows me wow that sounds like an old boat anchor

But hey it will do the job.

I'm pretty sure to change the com settings you have to boot the machine into bios.

To do this shut it down and restart, when its first booting up before it gets to windows watch the screen closely and it will tell you to hit F2 or another function key to boot into setup (bios) you may need to boot it a few times because it goes fast and sometimes you miss it.

WHen you get it booted into setup go through all your options and you can usually find a tab under advanced that shows your com ports. Then you can change them to a different com port.

Try that and let us know how it works

[sCeRaXn]

OK i booted it into bios, but i couldnt find a way to switch the com ports. I did, however, figure out that i could "unlock" that feature through bios. I did that and when i went through the device manager it finally let me change the com ports. So now its recognizing the interface and everything on com3, but im gonna have to wait a while before i can check and see if it works. Ill let you know how it turns out.

[sCeRaXn]

OK now im starting to get annoyed with this thing. Last night Scott sent me the 311.2 version and it seemed to fix the problem. Coms 1 and 3 found the interface, but it was too late for me to go out there and try it out. So i wake up this morning and hook it up to my car...NOTHING! Coms 2 and 4 say "inaccessible" and com 3 will say the same thing sometimes. Com one says the port status is ok but the interface cant be found or is not ready. Sometimes com 3 will say the port status is ok, but the interface status says "5-modem". None of the com ports will do anything at this point. Its almost like the interface just disappeared or something. Anybody have ANY clue what the problem could be?

I havent even made the first payment on this thing and my repair bill is already up to $600. I really cant afford to drop another $200-300 on a real ross-tech unit right now. Im averaging less than 20mpg and the car runs like shit, so i need to get this figured out asap. Thanks for all the help.

[my01s4]

anyone else have a problem with vagcom and vista. i cant seem to get it to work for the life of me. it works good until i ask it to do any commands then it just freezes. any updates that vista might need. thanks

[2000 A6 2.7t 6m]

I have the ebay cable. Here is the trick that works for me. I don't know why, but its the only way I can connect. OK, so first make sure they are both using the same COM port, mine are both on 3. Turn the key on, connect the cable to the car, then to the computer, then boot up vag-com, try to connect - it will fail, pull the cable out of the computer, wait 2 secs, put it back in, try to connect with vag-com again, and it connects. I have to do this every time.

[sCeRaXn]

Thanks for the tip man. Ill try that out a little later when i have more time. Thats pretty weird that you have to go through all those steps just to get it to connect...but at this point i dont care what i have to do to get it working lol.

[kjr7888]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ht=ebay+vagcom

[pdq 5oh]

I got a cheap cable and downloaded version 409.1. It'll test and recognize the cable ok. It won't communicate with the modules, however. Anyone run into this? I tried version 311 and the message "5 Modem" came up when trying to test the cable.

[sCeRaXn]

Thanks for the link man, thatll be really helpful in the future. Unfortunately, my trans took a shit on me yesterday so i now have bigger fish to fry. I saved that link for future reference though. Thanks again for the help!

[sCeRaXn]

When i installed version 311 and got that "5-modem" message i ignored it and kept trying. Later on when i tried to get online it wouldnt let me because my computer had switched the modem to com6 for some odd reason. So if you have problems signing on just make sure your modem is on the correct com port. Sorry i couldnt actually help, but im in the same boat as you right now so my knowledge is limited. Try that link that kjr posted if you havent already...it seems like its be really helpful. Good luck man.

[pdq 5oh]

Thanks for the reply. I couldn't get by the "5 modem" message. I have broadband so I'll try disabling the modem.