Lite interface ?

[basil brush]

hi , up until now I've been using a cheap obd code reader which to be fair has helped me no end however I would like to move on !
i have dusted off my old windows laptop and downloaded "lite" !
What I would now like to know is will any of the cheap "bay" interfaces do or do I need to look for certain numbers etc etc etc ?
I should only be using this on my 1999 1.8t sport a3 and her 2001 1.8tqs a3 .
regards baz​

 

[@udi A3]

Buy genuine, worth its weight in gold

 

[cjsuk]

Buy genuine, worth its weight in gold

So is my ebay one lol

 

[basil brush]

Thanks chaps but that doesn't really help much !
Whats better about a genuine one ? And if I go cheap eBay route , which one do I need ?
Baz

 

[Sandra]

The genuine cable has all future updates to download as part of the owning of the ross-tech cable. Yes its a lot of money for the initial outlay, but it will be a useful tool that can pay for itself as you can scan other vag cars with it. x

 

[basil brush]

Thank you for the reply Sandra , which Ross tech cable do I need ? Going to weigh up the cost :0

 

[Sandra]

Thank you for the reply Sandra , which Ross tech cable do I need ? Going to weigh up the cost :0

Vcds. Send nigel (user NHN) a pm, he is a site sponsor, he will give you a price and tell you exactly what the genuine cable does Baz. x

 

[basil brush]

Thank you
so you know which cheap copy cable I would need if I can't justify the price difference ?
Sorry to keep on but I'm green where this stuff is concerned !
Basil

 

[Sandra]

Sorry Baz, i dont know much about cheap cables and what there limitations are, you also have to watch out for counterfeit cables. x

 

[basil brush]

Why is nothing EVER straight forward ?
Arrrrgggghhhhh :0
baz lol

 

[Sandra]

Why is nothing EVER straight forward ?
Arrrrgggghhhhh :0
baz lol

Its called Life Baz, lol. x

 

[@udi A3]

I suppose 'any' cheapo £10 cable would do the job but i dont know. I have previously bought stuff from total diagnostics in slough though, through ebay. worth seeing if he has anything you need i suppose.

I use my cable all the time on other peoples cars, worth knowing its not going to fail in use, and that there is full support if things do go wrong, or if you generally get stuck fixing things.

 

[basil brush]

Mmmmmmmm , from what I can make out on Ross techs web site the k line obd interface is $249 !!!!!
as opposed to £6 for an eBay one !
I think for £6 I will give it a go and bin it if if it starts causing aggro , remember I'm not having this to fix others cars , it's for personal non commercial use on two old cars !
Would still like to know if there are any specific ones I need if anyone knows ?
Baz

 

[epox]

have a look on the rosstech site it tells you what lite does with a cheep ebay cable

mark

 

[Mikemc]

Mmmmmmmm , from what I can make out on Ross techs web site the k line obd interface is $249 !!!!!
as opposed to £6 for an eBay one !
I think for £6 I will give it a go and bin it if if it starts causing aggro , remember I'm not having this to fix others cars , it's for personal non commercial use on two old cars !
Would still like to know if there are any specific ones I need if anyone knows ?
Baz

At the end of the day buy cheap buy twice. And if you get a cheap copy and need help nobody on here will be prepared to give it to you as the site does not support it. I only use my genuine cable on my own car, have popped it on mates a few times but on my own car it's paid for itself 3 times over in 6 months

 

[@udi A3]

Some examples of work I have carried out with a genuine cable, and sometimes other cables along side:
Replaced and recoded my abs module £60 quote from indy
Replaced my dash with full dis £90 quote
Replaced another cluster for a member £90
Replaced an ecu that failed £60
Reset several airbag lights and scanned for faults in random cars from people who approached me at £10-20 a time maybe £200+
Add auxilery heater functionality on a pheaton £40
Lower an A8 on airbags (didnt charge for this as was experimental and he did the work himself )
Forced regen on an A4 tdi saving the customer hundreds, I asked for £20 he paid £80.
Supplied and coded a new key for a seat alhambra £60

I wouldnt even attempt to use light software on these cars, and people have travelled or asked me to travel upto 150 miles to do some of this work! Generally i will ask fuel is covered, and payment is 'what its worth to them' anything is bonus as i treat cars as a hobby

Do the maths, save up, buy genuine, thank me with donations to the website later

 

[ScottD3]

Some examples of work I have carried out with a genuine cable, and sometimes other cables along side:
Replaced and recoded my abs module £60 quote from indy - Done with Copy.
Replaced my dash with full dis £90 quote - Done with copy.
Replaced another cluster for a member £90 - Done with copy.
Replaced an ecu that failed £60
Reset several airbag lights and scanned for faults in random cars from people who approached me at £10-20 a time maybe £200+ - Done with copy.
Add auxilery heater functionality on a pheaton £40
Lower an A8 on airbags (didnt charge for this as was experimental and he did the work himself ) - Done with copy on Touareg.
Forced regen on an A4 tdi saving the customer hundreds, I asked for £20 he paid £80.
Supplied and coded a new key for a seat alhambra £60 - coded new key with copy.

Personally, having used bout 6 different copy cables from 409 to 12 beta and using genuine cable several time.
I would recommend the full version but if you are using it just for your car or the odd car from a family or friend with nothing to taxing, like air bag lights or the or odd simple code, the eBay lite version is fine.

If you want to take it a step further like @Audi A3, then go gen.

I think it all comes down to use + Wallet = Cable.


I've used a copy cable of different versions on Touareg, A4, A3, Octavia, LCR and my fellow copy cable friend has used his copy on several cars.

 

[@udi A3]

Personally, having used bout 6 different copy cables from 409 to 12 beta and using genuine cable several time.
I would recommend the full version but if you are using it just for your car or the odd car from a family or friend with nothing to taxing, like air bag lights or the or odd simple code, the eBay lite version is fine.

If you want to take it a step further like @Audi A3, then go gen.

I think it all comes down to use + Wallet = Cable.


I've used a copy cable of different versions on Touareg, A4, A3, Octavia, LCR and my fellow copy cable friend has used his copy on several cars.

Personally wouldnt use a copy to touch airbags on any car. I have had examples where genuine has refused to reset and gone through other guided checks to prevent airbags popping, wouldnt risk it with a copy.
Also when it comes to replacing clusters and ecus, writing any data to the ecu/cluster could result in fried chips if the cable fails. Copy cables are not very well made with cheapo components.

That said my chinese clone of vag tacho is as good as the genuine other than it wont work on windows 8 lol

 

[ScottD3]

Personally wouldnt use a copy to touch airbags on any car. I have had examples where genuine has refused to reset and gone through other guided checks to prevent airbags popping, wouldnt risk it with a copy.
Also when it comes to replacing clusters and ecus, writing any data to the ecu/cluster could result in fried chips if the cable fails. Copy cables are not very well made with cheapo components.

That said my chinese clone of vag tacho is as good as the genuine other than it wont work on windows 8 lol

I don't think it would ever fry a chip.
I've seen some errors and odd displays but never heard of anyone frying a chip.

 

[@udi A3]

anyone wanna buy my genuine cable 20% cheaper than rrp and ill buy scotts fake

 

[ScottD3]

anyone wanna buy my genuine cable 20% cheaper than rrp and ill buy scotts fake

Never.
my fake is epic of epic proportions.
It can't read my HVAC unit though but everything else is fine. lol

 

[HibiscusS4]

Sorry for a late reply. The ebay £6 ones are not copies they are genuine cables which work with the lite software. I bought one to reset my airbag light which cannot do any harm as its just doing the same as 101 other different fault code readers. The limitations of the dongle are only what VCDS imposes on them through the lite version which is a pretty decent business model, they let you do a lot through the lite and $99 upgrade version (EDIT:- apart from the CAN BUS limitation which is a bit of both, for CAN BUS cars genuine cables are the only way to go).

To me the full version will only be worth it when I need it, I am to busy to do work on the side for cash so that is of no interest to me. I will buy the full version when the cost of it justifies itself with whatever job I need done.

This sort of cable will work with Lite and is not a copy of anything

VAG GROUP USB COM PORT OBD2 II KKL ECU DIAGNOSTIC CABLE LEAD WORK VCDS-LITE /409 | eBay

 

[bree9482]

Sorry for a late reply. The ebay £6 ones are not copies they are genuine cables which work with the lite software. I bought one to reset my airbag light which cannot do any harm as its just doing the same as 101 other different fault code readers. The limitations of the dongle are only what VCDS imposes on them through the lite version which is a pretty decent business model, they let you do a lot through the lite and $99 upgrade version (EDIT:- apart from the CAN BUS limitation which is a bit of both, for CAN BUS cars genuine cables are the only way to go).

To me the full version will only be worth it when I need it, I am to busy to do work on the side for cash so that is of no interest to me. I will buy the full version when the cost of it justifies itself with whatever job I need done.

This sort of cable will work with Lite and is not a copy of anything

VAG GROUP USB COM PORT OBD2 II KKL ECU DIAGNOSTIC CABLE LEAD WORK VCDS-LITE /409 | eBay

I just bought 1 of these last night, can this cable and lite do the throttle body adaptation ??