Coding Subsystem (Slave) control modules with VCDS

Status
Not open for further replies.
   #1  

Dana

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Ross-Tech Employee
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
5,970
Reaction score
8,954
Location
Western PA, USA
We receive Subsystem coding inquiries on a regular basis because this operation is required when performing numerous VW and Audi maintenance and repair services. The most common operations would include:

  • Battery Replacement on Audi (4E) A8/S8, (4F) A6/S6/RS6/Allroad and the (4L) Q7 chassis vehicles that use a diagnostic capable address 61-Battery Regulation control module.
  • Replacement Wiper (motor) module replacement on VW (1K) and similar Golf based vehicles.
  • Replacement 4th Generation UDS Protocol Rear door modules on VW (1K) and similar Golf based vehicles.
  • Tweaks. Obviously this is not a maintenance or general repair service but modifications such as Rain Closing windows (when supported) often require the RLS / RLFS / RLHS (the Rain and Light sensor using any number of wild acronyms) to be coded differently.

What is a Subsystem or Slave control module?

This is a control module that does not speak to or communicate to a scan tool (VCDS in this case) directly using a separate selectable address. Instead, a Subsystem control module is connected to a Master control module either via LIN (single wire communication), CAN (CAN High/CAN Low 2-wire communication) or in some cases that we aren't going to get into via Optical (MOST) Bus. The Master module communicates directly using a diagnostic capable address so all operations need to be completed within the Master module.​

How can I tell if I have Subsystem control modules?

Take a look at the saved Auto-Scan (because you saved one before removing parts.. yes?) For instance, the following master controllers happen to use code-able Subsystem controllers in my 2012 Tiguan:

Code:
Address 09: Cent. Elect. (J519)       Labels: 1K0-937-08x-09.clb  <- Master module
   Part No SW: 5K0 937 086 L    HW: 5K0 937 086 L
   Component: BCM PQ35 M    011 0048  
   Revision: BJ011001    
   Coding: 6E180A3BEC232EC4008800C130008DC448750006576D8DF0E4840000A040
   Shop #: WSC 01324 020 00200
   VCID: BD32786C2499A4D228-80E8

   Subsystem 1 - Part No SW: 5N1 955 119     HW:              Labels: 1KX-955-119.CLB  <- Subsystem 1
   Component: Wischer 20061  013 0203 
   Coding: 009795

   Subsystem 2 - Part No: 1K0 955 559 AH  Labels: 1K0-955-559-AG.CLB  <- Subsystem 2
   Component: RLS 170611 05  54  0403 
   Coding: 06304D

Address 16: Steering wheel (J527) Labels: 5K0-953-569.clb <- Master module Part No SW: 5K0 953 501 BL HW: 5K0 953 569 L Component: LENKS.MODUL 014 0140 Revision: FF010040 Serial number: 20110614101144 Coding: 110A140000 Shop #: WSC 01324 020 00200 ASAM Dataset: EV_VW360SteerWheelUDS A03004 ROD: EV_VW360SteerWheelUDS.rod VCID: F5A2A04C54293C9220-80A0 Multi Function Steering Wheel Control Module: Subsystem 1 - Part No SW: 5K0 959 542 A HW: 5K0 959 542 A Labels: 3C8-959-537.CLB <- Subsystem 1 Component: E221__MFL-TAS H09 0013 Coding: 820000
Address 55: Headlight Range (J745) Labels: 5M0-907-357-V3.clb <- Master module Part No SW: 5M0 907 357 E HW: 7L6 907 357 C Component: AFS-ECU H04 0100 Revision: -------- Serial number: -------------- Coding: 041E00010B000300 Shop #: WSC 01324 020 00200 ASAM Dataset: EV_HeadlRegulVWAFSPt 002014 ROD: EV_HeadlRegulVWAFSPt.rod VCID: B620674009AF778AE9-80E3 Left_headlamp_power_output_stage: Subsystem 1 - Part No SW: 4H0 941 329 HW: 4H0 941 329 <- Subsystem 1 Component: LeiMo links H02 0008 Coding: 140000 Right_headlamp_power_output_stage: Subsystem 2 - Part No SW: 4H0 941 329 HW: 4H0 941 329 <- Subsystem 2 Component: LeiMo rechts H02 0008 Coding: 140000

This vehicle uses a few control modules that do not support Subsystem coding so they were excluded from the above example.​

OK, so how do I code these Subsystem control modules?

Using the example vehicle above we may have a faulty Wiper motor module Part No SW: 5N1 955 119 (Wischer) due to premature mechanical wear caused by excessive ice on the windshield or bound mechanical wiper linkage that wasn't addressed early enough.

If 5N1 955 119 was replaced with a brand new wiper motor ordered by VIN at the VW dealer it may work when it is plugged in and bolted on (providing the hood is closed) - but this brand new controller would need to be coded. The technician would need to refer to her original Auto-Scan to determine what the original controller was coded to; this value happens to be 009795.

Next, using VCDS with the new module installed you would click:
  • [Select]
  • [09-Cent. Elect.]
  • [Coding-07] where a screen like this will appear
    coding-slave.png


  • Subsystem 1 would be identified as 1 -- 5N1 955 119 -- Wischer in this case and it needs to be selected from the drop-down list.
  • Copy the original Coding of 009795 from the saved Auto-Scan and Paste it directly into the New coding: field.
    If the WSC, Importer # or Equipment #s are all zeros it is strongly advised to enter non-zero values. In this case we know those were 20061 013 0203 so they can be used.
  • [Do it!]
The new wiper module is coded properly at this point but you would want to clear all DTCs that may be stored in this vehicle before running and saving the final after-repair Auto-Scan.




Wait, what if ..
  1. The faulty Subsystem control module did not communicate?
    You can't do anything about a brain dead control module but tapping on it or getting creative by heating/cooling it (i.e. using the freezer or placing in on a warm engine) and hope that the old one will communicate one more time couldn't hurt. In this case however you should be able to code a basic Golf based wiper module from scratch using the [Long Coding Helper].​

  2. The individual that diagnosed and repaired this vehicle did not realize that motor was a fancy control module .. and they tossed the original one in the rubbish?!?
    If the dumpster hasn't been emptied yet, you may want to go for a dive but a simple wiper module isn't worth it in my opinion because we have the [Long Coding Helper]. :)

  3. My car isn't broken at all and I'm tweaking settings?
    Use the[Long Coding Helper] to configure the desired configuration.

In all 3 examples the basic steps above will be used but the user will not copy and paste known coding into the New coding section. Instead, you would:

  • [Select]
  • [09-Cent. Elect.]
  • [Coding-07]
  • Select the Subsystem in question from the drop-down list.
  • [Long Coding Helper] A screen like this will appear
    coding-lcode-1-s.png


    Note to self, I should get a real PQ35 BCM Wiper coding screen shot and replace the interactive manual 01-Engine example...

    Click on each of the Byte numbers in row 3) and you'll see the selectable options below. Check or Un-check the boxes for the desired results. Close the Long Coding Helper by clicking the Windows X box on the top right of the screen or clicking the Exit button on the top left of the screen to send your altered Coding value back to the Coding screen.

    If the WSC, Importer # or Equipment #s are all zeros it is strongly advised to enter non-zero values.
  • [Do it!]
 
Last edited:
   #2  

Dana

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Ross-Tech Employee
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
5,970
Reaction score
8,954
Location
Western PA, USA
Reserved if I need to add more or split the Tweaks into a new post.
 
   #3  

DV52

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
May 16, 2014
Messages
5,469
Reaction score
5,934
Location
Melbourne, Australia
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=194404
I reckon that you have missed your calling! Being an ace Ross-Tech fixer-up-er is cool, but it seems that your real talents lie in education. Neat little expose into slave control coding - well done!

Just a small question please: In the bit about the usefulness of the Long Coding helper to aid in recoding the control module you say "Check or Un-check the boxes for the desired results". Given that it is likely in your example that the only coding information that will be available will be the original the autoscan report, I assume that the user will need to have some knowledge of binary conversion for this step.

In your example, the Autoscan coding from the old wiper motor was 009795. This means (I think) that the Byte progression for the Long Coding Helper would be something like:
Byte 0, Hex 00 - Bit sequence (bottom) 0000 0000 (top)
Byte 1, Hex 97- Bit sequence (bottom) 1001 0111 (top)
Byte 2, Hex 95 - Bit sequence (bottom)1001 0101 (top)
Is this correct and other than doing this hex-to-binary conversion off line, does the RT software have an easier way of reproducing binary values from the Autoscan report?

Again, thank you for opening up the world of slave controllers in such an clear way!
 
Last edited:
   #4  

Dana

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Ross-Tech Employee
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
5,970
Reaction score
8,954
Location
Western PA, USA
Hi Don,

Thanks for the kind words :)

The Long Coding Helper can be used off of a vehicle as described for another purpose by Jef with additions from NEtech (Niels Ezerman, the creator of LCH) in this thread: Long Coding Helper for Short Coding Decrypting .

In this case you could paste the Long Coding string to LCode.exe to view and/or modify the Hex and Binary values offline but the text descriptions that are available will only be shown when connected to the vehicle with VCDS running:

TiguanWischer.png


After looking at the known factory enabled bits in my example vehicle, and comparing those to the documentation we have available at this time, the coding helper descriptions aren't complete enough to configure a module from all zero scratch. We can take another look at that VCDS documentation but most brand new replacement controllers are not coded to all zeros out of the box.
 
   #5  

DV52

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
May 16, 2014
Messages
5,469
Reaction score
5,934
Location
Melbourne, Australia
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=194404
After looking at the known factory enabled bits in my example vehicle, and comparing those to the documentation we have available at this time, the coding helper descriptions aren't complete enough to configure a module from all zero scratch. We can take another look at that VCDS documentation but most brand new replacement controllers are not coded to all zeros out of the box.

Dana,
Just had a play with LCode.exe. Notwithstanding its limitations in your example, Mr Ezerman's software is still a nifty piece of code! Where does the Benevolent Dictator find all these talented people? I reckon that Uwe must have a big "RT" sign that he projects into the Pennsylvania night sky (like the Bat-signal). A calling to the software superheroes to come do battle with the forces of evil and badness! Yeah, the analogy is probably a little too fantastical but as I have never been to PA, I have no idea how similar it is to Gotham city!
Thanks for your response - the learning continues!
 
   #6  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,902
Reaction score
33,624
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
Most often, they've found me. The bat-signal was the original VAG-COM software. The part of PA we're in isn't very Gotham like at all. This link will show you a Google Streetview of or office.

-Uwe-
 
   #7  

mikeme

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
May 2, 2014
Messages
167
Reaction score
83
Location
Alexandria/fairfax county VA
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=99408
Most often, they've found me. The bat-signal was the original VAG-COM software. The part of PA we're in isn't very Gotham like at all. This link will show you a Google Streetview of or office.

-Uwe-

so who is that cop after across the street?
 
   #8  

DV52

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
May 16, 2014
Messages
5,469
Reaction score
5,934
Location
Melbourne, Australia
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=194404
The part of PA we're in isn't very Gotham like at all. This link will show you a Google Streetview of or office.

-Uwe-

Uwe,
Thanks for the link.
I agree that the area surrounding the RT building looks nothing like Gotham city, but I am troubled by the Bruce-Wayne-residence look of your headquarters (I've always suspected that the Batmobile was tuned with one of your early cables). But fear not, your secret is safe with me (and anyone else who reads this post)!
 
Last edited:
   #9  

h0ratziu

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
6
Location
Roeselare, Belgium
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=363916
Hello, everyone!
I have a question regarding the recoding of a slave subsystem... I’ve done, and undone, some tweaks on my car, and now, the LRHS is not accepting coding modifications anymore... is it possible that this modules have a limited number of recodings that they can accept?
Thank you!!
 
   #10  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,902
Reaction score
33,624
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
Hello, everyone!
I have a question regarding the recoding of a slave subsystem... I’ve done, and undone, some tweaks on my car, and now, the LRHS is not accepting coding modifications anymore... is it possible that this modules have a limited number of recodings that they can accept?
What is LRHS?

-Uwe-
 
   #11  

h0ratziu

Verified VCDS User
Verified
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
6
Location
Roeselare, Belgium
VCDS Serial number
C?ID=363916
Sorry, it’s RLHS ( rain, light, humidity sensor )...
 
   #12  

Uwe

Benevolent Dictator
Administrator
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
48,902
Reaction score
33,624
Location
USA
VCDS Serial number
HC100001
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top