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- #VCDS ALTERNATIVE HOW TO#
- #VCDS ALTERNATIVE INSTALL#
- #VCDS ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE#
- #VCDS ALTERNATIVE CODE#
The commercial tools all know how to do that but it's not documented anywhere that I could find. That required performing a successful challenge/response with the cluster. The big thing missing was the ability to read/write the cluster EEPROM.
#VCDS ALTERNATIVE CODE#
Eventually I got it to the point where it could read/write bytes in the CCM EEPROM like VDS-PRO and retrieve the Safe code from a VW Premium V radio like Mike's tool. I was then able to write a program that could wake up a module and send simple commands over the K-Line. I bought a Saleae logic analyzer and was able to use it to spy on the K-Line while using various cluster tools and VDS-PRO in order to figure out which KW1281 commands were being used to read/write the EEPROM, reboot the cluster, etc. I was able to find a good bit of info about VW's proprietary KW1281 K-Line protocol here and learned some more by reading Mike's code.
#VCDS ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE#
So that got me thinking that maybe I could do something similar in software that runs on a PC and a generic cable. The only downside is that his software runs on a custom circuit board and that's a barrier to most people. He's made all the info available for free. Mike has done the amazing job of reverse engineering 8 (so far) VW/Seat/Skoda radios and has found various hidden commands and discovered ways to retrieve the Safe code from most of them via the K-Line and some open-source hardware/software that he created. I've had lots of trouble getting it to run at all on newer computers.įast forward to a couple of months ago: I bumped into Mike Naberezny's GitHub page: I've also always wanted to use VDS-PRO to enable the "Roll windows up/down with key fob" CCM feature and other options, but it only runs on DOS and hasn't been maintained in many years. If I set the odometer to 0, they can adjust it to the correct value with VCDS, but no VagTacho, no SKC, no start.
#VCDS ALTERNATIVE INSTALL#
If I sell a cluster to someone, they need to know their SKC in order to install it. And it's not only me that needs these tools. (I eventually did by a real copy of VAGdashCOM after having lots of trouble with flaky eBay VagTacho cables). You can find cheap pirated copies of many of these, but some still require special cables and you never know what malware might be lurking on the plain white mini-CDs that the software comes on. The problem is that legitimate copies of these tools cost hundreds of dollars and require special dedicated cables. Since I have a part-time "business" (really more like a hobby at this point) involving fixing up MKIV instrument clusters and reselling them, VagTacho or similar (VAG Commander, VAGdashCOM, VAG EEPROM Programmer, etc.) is a necessity.
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However there are things that VCDS doesn't do, such as pulling the SKC from an instrument cluster, changing the odometer of a used cluster, reading/writing bytes in the CCM, retrieving a used radio's Safe code, etc. I do think that VW uses inferior parts for the navigation unit, you read a lot of stories where they break down, shouldn't happen in a premium VW as the Touareg!So I've been a happy VCDS user since buying my Golf in 2003 (it had 65000 miles on it so it conveniently needed an immediate timing belt replacement, hence needing VCDS - though it was named VAG-COM way back then). So in the end it cost me close to 2 grand (including the diagnostics) but everything is working again! $1600 for a reconditioned unit is still extremely pricey, they probably repair the unit for $100 or so but they can get away with charging a lot as a new unit is way more expensive, I tried to find a shop that could repair it for me but no luck there. In the end the only charged $60 for the labor and programming which was nice. I brought it to stealer who did a diagnostics, turns out it was the navigation unit for which the wanted a whopping $2360 and $325 for labor! I found a reconditioned one online at Payne Volkswagen for $1600, so I ordered that unit and had the dealer install it as they also had to program it. I bypassed the radio with a fiber loop but that didn't really tell me much.
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VCDS gave me the same message as Texans2's car, Radio can not be found.