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Long winded Background.
When I bought my MK6 tsi118 a year ago I noticed the sports pack option included indirect tire pressure monitoring. This works by way of an ABS system sub mode. I supposed that non sports pack cars like mine that did not have the TPMS option fitted, would have the same ABS controller. The only difference would be the lack of a reset button and appropriate coding in the controller. I doubted my local VW dealers assertion I would need a new ABS controller to activate the system. So I got someone with the Sports Pack and TPMS to send me their ABS info. (Thanks Mr Gee.) http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f112...tml#post392596
Sure enough same ABS hardware and different coding. The problem for me at this point was the coding differed in at least 5 places between these two cars and potentially up to 40:
Coding: 163B600D21280003680C06E7841D0080B500 with TPMS
Coding: 163B600D212A00FC681106E884220080B100 without TPMS
I had no idea how to ascertain which the applicable byte was and which bit therein to change. The cars have different suspension and wheel sizes and I did not want to root around trial and error with the ABS controller long coding, which was largely undocumented at that point. So I put the project on the back burner until I found more time.
Can it be Activated?
A year later I have just revisited the problem. I started out by investigating the long coding for the newer MK60EC1 brake controller. Trying to ascertain which bit activated the TPMS system. Interestingly I looked at ABS long coding for 60 individual cars and no two were the same. Then I stumbled across the fact that in the interim, Ross-Tech have actually published the appropriate bit to change to activate 7K6 TPMS in the MK60EC1 long coding. It was well hidden in their long coding helper. 16,2 . Turns out in the coding above it is the last difference. B5 vs B1.
So now I had the correct bit it was theoretically easy enough to activate it.
Next problem was –
Would it work and far more importantly,
Could it be reset without the switch being fitted? I read that people had attempted to run TPMS sans button, in the previous MK60 controller and found they could not get rid of the orange TPMS light via VCDS if it came on. This would not do.
So I activated it via VCDS. I could see it was active by virtue of the orange TPMS light (beside 180kph) momentarily displaying when turning IGN ON. Also doing this made various new VCDS measuring blocks materialise relating to TPMS. All Good.
Does it Work?
So I drove around and watched with VCDS as these new measuring blocks populated while the “teach-in” process occurred.
Next step was to see if it worked.
Let a rear tyre down from 32 to 22 psi. Drove for ~15km before getting the TPMS light, warning chime and fault message.
1 Fault Found:
02214 - Tire Pressure Warning
002 - Lower Limit Exceeded - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100010
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 104
Mileage: 15791 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2011.14.29
Time: 02:17:04
Excellent. So the warning system definitely works. (In the above test I dropped the pressure by the relatively large amount of 10psi to ascertain the system was actually working. Later on I established a 5 or 6 psi drop is all that is required for a warning.)
Can it be reset without the button fitted?
Next issue was to see if TPMS Light could be reset without having the button fitted to my car. As mentioned, I read reports that with the previous MK60 controller and short coding you could disable the system to remove the light, but re activating it again would bring the solid warning light back. Hopefully the MK60EC1 would do better.
Reset method 1
So using VCDS, I disabled TPMS by un checking the applicable bit. This removed the orange TPMS warning light. This also hid all the TPMS measuring blocks from VagCom and flushed some but not all of them out. Some remained populated but hidden.
Then I immediately rechecked the bit to re-activate the system. Bingo. The IGN ON, short orange TPMS light flash has returned to indicate the TPMS is active again. More importantly the solid TPMS warning light has gone. So this shows the TPMS system can readily be activated and cleared using VCDS VagCom coding. There appears to be no need to have the TPMS button fitted to the car if you have access to VCDS. At this point I also re inflated the low tire back to normal pressure.
But - has the system truly been reset? I drove around for a bit and then let another tire down and then drove on it. No Warning. Bad. So I took a closer look and noticed the measuring blocks, that cycling the system off and on again had flushed, had not repopulated at all. This indicated to me that the “teach in” process had not recommenced or progressed sufficiently to re enable monitoring. So I cycled the system off and back on again, reinflated the tire and left them inflated correctly until I had done a decent drive. ~200km. Re inspected the appropriate three measuring blocks and observed they were all populated again. Good - this mean the system should work again.
So let another tire down, drove 7km, the last two of which were on the freeway at ~ 90kmh and TPMS Warning came on again.
1 Fault Found:
02214 - Tire Pressure Warning
002 - Lower Limit Exceeded
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100010
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 70
Mileage: 16154 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2011.14.31
Time: 23:34:21
So the system can definitely be used on multiple occasions without the button being fitted.
Reset method 2 (recommended)
In the interim, between the first warning and this second one, I discovered another Ross-Tech suggestion. Instead of cycling the system Off and back ON to clear. There was an “unofficial procedure” to apply basic settings to a specific measuring block 042.
Doing this with the MK60EC1 turns out to be a much better way to go. It resulted in
1) a chime,
2) the orange tpms light instantly going out,
3) a response in the Vagcom blocks of "Tire Pressure - EEPROM – reset - Done", and
4) ALL and not just some of the TPMS calibration blocks resetting.
5) KMs value transferring from current warning to previous warning block.
Beautiful – This method would appear to more accurately emulate the missing button.
To confirm this is indeed the case, I asked another forum member (Thanks CameronP) who has the factory fitted 7K6 option, to reset by way of the button and record the changes with VCDS. I then compared the results. Changes to the measuring blocks were identical so it would appear it has the exact same effect.
So now I reckon I have proven I can do without the missing button and enjoy the benefits of having the system activated.
In the process I have ascertained the following which is applicable to cars with the factory fitted button as well:
1) Which measuring blocks need to be populated before the system can switch from teach to monitor mode.
2) Which measuring blocks will increment as it recognises and monitors a fault prior to deciding it is genuine and warn you.
3) I created a custom VagCom label file to monitor these values, as the current VCDS MK60EC1 label does not document any of them.
4) Also got a heap of logs of the various measuring blocks capturing their stuff during the learning process and the fault detection phase which I can post if anyone wants.
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