This thread is going to be a bit of a "work in progress". The goal is to educate new users, to give them a foundation of knowledge to build upon.
New to using VCDS or VCDS-Lite?
How to post your Auto-Scan on the forum!!!!
Setting realistic expectations
VCDS mainly does two things, sends a request and shows the response. I'll admit this is a paper thin veneer over the complex things going on in the background, but pretty much everything you do with VCDS is to send a request and then get a response back from the control module. VCDS, or the factory scan tool, can not force changes to happen, only request them.
What kind of request you can send and what kind of responses you get back is based on how this given control module was designed to behave under these current operating conditions. In other words, if you send a request that is not supported by the control module, your request will be ignored or rejected. Of flip side, you send a legitimate request to the control module, but the car is currently on fire, the control module again may ignore or reject the request under those current operating conditions.
It is common for cars with the same sheet metal to have different versions of control modules. Thus, you will find information online for a car that looks like your car, but that doesn't mean that information always applies to your car. Everything you can do with VCDS is based on how is this control module designed to behave under these current operating conditions.
VCDS requires a successful port test!
When VCDS is first installed or updated to a newer version, you will be required to have a successful Port Test. VCDS is looking for 3 things for the test to be successful:
Once the firmware update is complete, you are no longer required to have an active internet connection and can do another Port Test once plugged up to the car.
If using the HEX-NET wireless, please verify HEX-NET and computer are using the same wifi after you've done the firmware update.
Ross-Tech offers free product support over the phone for our registered customers to make sure you are up and running. Contact info here.
No Response from Controller!
This post is a work in progress....
New to using VCDS or VCDS-Lite?
How to post your Auto-Scan on the forum!!!!
- More information about using Auto-Scan
- How to post your Auto-Scan here on the forum.
- How to post photos on the Ross-Tech forum
Setting realistic expectations
VCDS mainly does two things, sends a request and shows the response. I'll admit this is a paper thin veneer over the complex things going on in the background, but pretty much everything you do with VCDS is to send a request and then get a response back from the control module. VCDS, or the factory scan tool, can not force changes to happen, only request them.
What kind of request you can send and what kind of responses you get back is based on how this given control module was designed to behave under these current operating conditions. In other words, if you send a request that is not supported by the control module, your request will be ignored or rejected. Of flip side, you send a legitimate request to the control module, but the car is currently on fire, the control module again may ignore or reject the request under those current operating conditions.
It is common for cars with the same sheet metal to have different versions of control modules. Thus, you will find information online for a car that looks like your car, but that doesn't mean that information always applies to your car. Everything you can do with VCDS is based on how is this control module designed to behave under these current operating conditions.
VCDS requires a successful port test!
When VCDS is first installed or updated to a newer version, you will be required to have a successful Port Test. VCDS is looking for 3 things for the test to be successful:
- The HEX interface is found by VCDS.
- The firmware in the HEX interface is up to date.
- The HEX device is plugged up to a car.
Once the firmware update is complete, you are no longer required to have an active internet connection and can do another Port Test once plugged up to the car.
If using the HEX-NET wireless, please verify HEX-NET and computer are using the same wifi after you've done the firmware update.
Ross-Tech offers free product support over the phone for our registered customers to make sure you are up and running. Contact info here.
No Response from Controller!
This post is a work in progress....
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