VCDS (VAG-COM) codes and programmable options for Golf Mk7

[DV52]

Ryan_R
That's great news! I've looked at quite a few of your posts about VCDS on this forum. Although much of what you have said on your posts goes over my head for the moment, your deep understanding of the subject matter is clear. I had thought that I would need to start my learning by looking at the actual signal traces and by undertstanding the protocal policies that ODB2 uses. Your admission means that I don't need to fill the limited space in my head with such arcane stuff. Very good news indeed!

[Ryan_R]

Anyone who can use a computer by intuition can use VCDS. Just read the PDF manual to see the software does and what sections to steer clear of unless you know what you're doing. The long coding section however couldn't be easier. Just make notes of the defaults in case you wish to revert. There's not much more to it than the screenshots you've already seen.

[winchy]

Agree totally Ryan_R, although when I had a quick play on my daughters Mk 7 there was quite a bit written in German. I'm sure I'll sort it, just need time.

[DV52]

Anyone who can use a computer by intuition can use VCDS. Just read the PDF manual to see the software does and what sections to steer clear of unless you know what you're doing. The long coding section however couldn't be easier. Just make notes of the defaults in case you wish to revert. There's not much more to it than the screenshots you've already seen.

Again, thanks for the advice. Not sure if you (or Winchy) can answer this question;
Does VCDS allow me to change the degree of dimming on the rear vision mirror? I've read quite a bit on various forums and the Ross Tech website about the software, but I can't find any mention of the rear window dimming function. I'd like the dimming to be stronger on my Golf. Can you help?

[Ryan_R]

Can't say I've heard of anything like that. Supposedly you can manually turn the dimming on/off by pressing under/behind it somewhere - not something I've ever tried.

[Idle]

Just ran the first scan on my new Mk7 TDI110.

Seemed to work OK with MicroCan, but couldn't access a couple of areas, which might well be because Rosstech are still working on it (or maybe I've still something to learn.)

All areas scanned bar one reported no faults (car has 33 Kilometers on it, so didn't expect any — the one it reported was from the factory startup and of no importance, but I'd have expected them to clear it in predelivery.)

So yes, I'd expect MicroCan to suit it fine.

However, there's little to be found on Rosstech as yet (the Mk7 doesn't hit the US market until next year, so that's no surprise.)

[winchy]

Have a look at the Ross tech website and go to Ross tech wiki. They give a link to a golf gti Mk 7 forum that has a few tweaks listed. Haven't checked them on the car yet, so don't know how they'll work.
Cheers

[DV52]

Anyone who can use a computer by intuition can use VCDS. Just read the PDF manual to see the software does and what sections to steer clear of unless you know what you're doing. The long coding section however couldn't be easier. Just make notes of the defaults in case you wish to revert. There's not much more to it than the screenshots you've already seen.

Ryan R: got my VCDS cable a few days ago. Bought the Ross Tech unit as you suggested (thanks for the advice). I got it from a local dealer in NSW (very friendly chap).
Had all sorts of trouble getting the cable to talk to my laptop when I connected it to the car. Eventually found the problem which was due to earth current flow between the AC adaptor for the laptop (weak laptop battery) and the vehicle's 12 volt system. The Ross tech site mentions this as a potential issue, but when I measured the current flows with a multimeter the reading was micro-amps (Ross Tech says that milliamp flows are acceptable). In any event, I removed the AC adaptor and the cable began to sing!
A bit disappointed in the support that software version 12.12.0 has for mk7 Golfs. When I did the autoscan, I found that my vehicle has 14 controllers, but only 9 controllers had labels in the SW library. Is a copy of the autoscan file of any interest to anyone?
The other disappointing feature in the SW is the proliferation of German language in many of the drop-down screens (for those controllers that are supported by the SW). Is this common for VW vehicles?
I traded a few emails with Uwe Ross about these issues, but I didn't get much joy from his responses.
Anyhow, My first task is to see if I can find a way to turn-off the stop/start function (ideally to have it default to the off position, but if this is not possible, to disable the function completely). Have you any advice that you can pass-onto a fledgling "grasshopper" regarding how I might tackle this task ?

[Ryan_R]

You did remember to turn the car ignition on before running VCDS?

[DV52]

You did remember to turn the car ignition on before running VCDS?

Ryan R: Yes, the ignition was turned-on but the motor wasn't running. I had read somewhere (not sure where) that it wasn't important to have the motor actually running for the autoscan activity. Is this correct?
Apropos of the German language in the pulldown menues, I just had an email back from Uwe Ross (what a nice guy he is!). I sent him a screen short of the German language. His response was that something was incorrectly pointing to a german language table (instead of English). If this is true, then he indicated that the problem was fixable.