Suggestion for improving controller display screen (fault codes)

Hello All:

I have a suggestion that I think will enable the controller display screen within the VCDS application display more information (in other words, additional useful information).

I suggest that if a fault code is present in a controller, the text that reads "Fault Codes - 02" within the Fault Codes button on the controller screen be displayed in red, rather than in black. Doing this would alert the user that a fault code is present within the controller. It would save the user the trouble of having to press the "Fault Codes - 02" button to determine if a fault code is present.

Respectfully, Michael

So you want us to go read fault codes before the user tells us to do so?

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

So you want us to go read fault codes before the user tells us to do so?

Click to expand...

I wasn't thinking of it in that context - I was thinking of it in the following context: User runs an auto-scan (hence the application already knows where the fault codes are), and then, after running the auto-scan, the user opens a controller. In that case, it would be helpful if the display was presented in red text, thus reminding the user that there are faults in that controller.

But... if it does not take too much time to poll the controller for fault codes once the controller is already opened (as is the case when the screen shown above is presented), then why not proactively poll the controller for faults? The only reason I can think of that a user would open a specific controller would be if they "have concerns" about it. Maybe their intention is to go look at MVBs, or recode it, or do some adaptation... but in any of those cases, if there are fault codes present, it would certainly be very useful information to provide, kind of like saying to the user "Hey, there are some faults in this controller, we thought you might want to know that before you press one of the eleven other buttons".

So, I guess the answer to your question is this: If you can poll an open controller for faults quickly and easily, without delaying implementation of any other actions the user might be planning to do, then sure, go ahead and proactively poll it when the controller is opened up.

Michael

Uwe said:

So you want us to go read fault codes before the user tells us to do so?

Click to expand...

Now that he mentions it... yeah. It's not a bad idea. Optional, naturally.

Once opened, I've never had a module take more than 1-2 seconds to report faults. I haven't scanned quite as diverse a set of vehicles as you though.

PanEuropean said:

So, I guess the answer to your question is this: If you can poll an open controller for faults quickly and easily, without delaying implementation of any other actions the user might be planning to do, then sure, go ahead and proactively poll it when the controller is opened up.

Click to expand...

I think they can get a fast YES/NO on faults quickly and globally on CAN diagnostic vehicles ~2008 and forward. On K-line vehicles such as ours, I think there's no shortcut around opening each module and pulling the list.

I recently had an interesting discussion with Uwe on a similar topic, something else that might improve the user's experience and speed things up. Like here, Uwe didn't feel it was appropriate to have any interaction with the car without an explicit user request. I respect the viewpoint but I don't understand the motives behind it. I don't know if it stems from a technology concern, or from a concern about owner's privacy, or PTSD from the VW dealer tool's attempts to be "smart", or what the FreeBSD guys like to call Principle of Least Astonishment, or simple inertia.

At the risk of being annoying, out of genuine curiosity, in the context of Michael's suggestion I ask again: Why not?

Speaking generally, I think more intelligence is always good so long as the user can push it aside when they don't want it. I would never want Ross-Tech to take away my ability to get down close to the bare-metal, but VCDS and HEX-NET can be much more than a pretty VAG 1552 with a wireless remote.

I'll give an analogy about Windows 8 and the much-maligned loss of the Start menu. I love the fact Microsoft now has a shared platform between their desktop and mobile stuff. I love the fact you can run the same apps on either platform, with the same UI. This is a great idea and a great capability. However, I hate the idiot in Marketing that decided it was mandatory, that they needed to murder the old stuff over the near-universal outcry from their customers. I like choices. I hate handcuffs.

Jason

Building on what Jason has said, perhaps the answer is to put a choice (a tick box) on the options page that says "Check for Fault Codes automatically when a controller is opened". To preserve the historical consistency of the VCDS user interface, you could leave this box unchecked during the installation process.

By doing this, you give the user the option of enabling this feature, and thus making VCDS a more powerful tool that provides all the benefits of the original suggestion with none of the potential drawbacks that have been identified in this discussion.

Michael