My engine is starting to make a funny noise. I've had no dashboard lights light up. Is it worth me getting a fault code reader or are they money down the drain? Not sure I want to pay for something like VAG COM (or whatever it's called) yet.

All input welcome - thanks in advance,

Simon

they do a fault code reader on ebay, got one for around £22 quid. pretty useful for putting out abs or airbag lights, or even engine management if its not de-cat related. will come with a booklet giving you all the codes so may be worth a shot. where are you from? if your anywhere near swindon i can read them for you if you dont fancy paying for it

they do a fault code reader on ebay, got one for around £22 quid. pretty useful for putting out abs or airbag lights, or even engine management if its not de-cat related. will come with a booklet giving you all the codes so may be worth a shot. where are you from? if your anywhere near swindon i can read them for you if you dont fancy paying for it

Forgive my ignorance but what's "de-cat"? I'm not near Swindon. I'm in Lincolnshire about 15 miles in land from Skegness. Thanks for your kind offer and advice though.

De-cat means catlytic converter is out, for instants I'm running a stainless sytem manifold back so no cats so my engine check light is on constantly due to egr and emmissions. no probs mate, worth a check

De-cat means catlytic converter is out, for instants I'm running a stainless sytem manifold back so no cats so my engine check light is on constantly due to egr and emmissions. no probs mate, worth a check

Cheers for the clarification.

I got a mac tools ET50 ( i think ) code reader off eBay for £30... Reads all ECU's and can erase as well

I got a mac tools ET50 ( i think ) code reader off eBay for £30... Reads all ECU's and can erase as well

Thanks for the details. Will have a look for it.

If you have a lap top, the best thing you could get is vcds lite, the software is free (unregistered) and a cable will set you back a Tenner off eBay, iv found code readers won't always show all the codes stored.

If you have a lap top, the best thing you could get is vcds lite, the software is free (unregistered) and a cable will set you back a Tenner off eBay, iv found code readers won't always show all the codes stored.

Thanks for the info. My laptop is ancient, it's a IBM T20, pentium III around 700Mhz - is that sufficient? I'm concerned about connecting a PC - can I do any damage to the car if my laptop crashes or my battery dies or something? What sort of cable do I need?

I think you can get away with Windows 98. It's a USB cable you get off eBay and you get the freeware software - that's why Luke's saying it doesn't always reset codes - cause it's freeware. But if you know how a torrent works..

Nothing happens if the laptop crashes - the ECU just looses connection and forgets the laptop. If you do a bit of work they're handy man, well worth the tenner!

If you have a lap top, the best thing you could get is vcds lite, the software is free (unregistered) and a cable will set you back a Tenner off eBay, iv found code readers won't always show all the codes stored.

Thanks for the info. My laptop is ancient, it's a IBM T20, pentium III around 700Mhz - is that sufficient? I'm concerned about connecting a PC - can I do any damage to the car if my laptop crashes or my battery dies or something? What sort of cable do I need?

My old Panasonic CF27 600Mhz toughbook running WinXp gives more reliable connections than my 2Ghz Toshiba

I have no idea about mghz and gigahertz an all that some one else might be able to help lol.

And vag-com is really simple tbh, it would be very hard to brick your ecu with it, and the shareware version will be more than enough for what you need.

I wish I knew how this torrent thing worked tbh.

Thanks for all the advice - it's appreciated.

So it sounds like the freeware version and a cable is a no-brainer vs a stand-alone fault code reader.

Sounds like I should be OK with the laptop too - even though it's only running windows 2000.

Have to have a look at these cables then. Presume it's USB? In the car the socket is 16 pin. Will check out ebay.

VAGCOM Is £7.50 on eBay and comes with the software. It's shareware but will do what you want it to do. But you will need a laptop or a very long USB extension from your desktop.

Also worth having a look on eBay for "car diagnostic" as you will find some used sets for a few quid.

Edited 17 June, 201214 yr by dixy

VAGCOM Is £7.50 on eBay and comes with the software. It's shareware but will do what you want it to do. But you will need a laptop or a very long USB extension from your desktop.

Also worth having a look on eBay for "car diagnostic" as you will find some used sets for a few quid.

Thanks for the info - I'll have another look on ebay.

just be careful with "Very long" usb extensions. the maximum length you can use reliably (for the whole cable) is 5m.

if you need anything longer than that, you need an "active" extension which will let the total cable run be about 60m if you needed it.

I'm not trying to sell anything, but just to give an idea (it's also a pain in the ass to buy from us) but if you wanted over 5m, you would need a cable such as this - http://uk.insight.com/en-gb/productinfo/us...bles/CGO8165600 which is 12m and won't have the signal problems (and you can use up to 5 of them if you need the distance)

just be careful with "Very long" usb extensions. the maximum length you can use reliably (for the whole cable) is 5m.

if you need anything longer than that, you need an "active" extension which will let the total cable run be about 60m if you needed it.

I'm not trying to sell anything, but just to give an idea (it's also a pain in the ass to buy from us) but if you wanted over 5m, you would need a cable such as this - http://uk.insight.com/en-gb/productinfo/us...bles/CGO8165600 which is 12m and won't have the signal problems (and you can use up to 5 of them if you need the distance)

Yeah thanks. I've got some active cables but I shouldn't need em that long.