2.8 V6 Passat B5.5 Engine check light

[Herman Toothrot]

Was driving enthusiastically today and the engine light came on yellow, after a had corner I assumed it'd be oil warning as it has the standard cam cover leak and level was indeed was low on the dip stick, topped it up but the lights still on, engine sounds perfect (silent), temps perfect and drives perfectly. Any suggestions?

[Herman Toothrot]

I decided as i'd heard the words VAG COM mentioned look for a reader and found for £16 they are on ebay, is a VAG COM 409.1 KKL USB Diagnostic cable the correct thing?

[Herman Toothrot]

Right I got the VAG COM thing and connected it up and went to Auto scan I pick Passat B5 go to scan and the first time it worked its way through until it got to radio and then crashed. Subsequently it crashes on every option you try except the OBD2 tester and it did its thing communicated a bit then said that "this vechicle isn't OBD2 compatible".

Any one got any suggestions as to why it won't work?

[TooLateForAName]

Cheap chinese cable?

You could always buy a real one from Ross Tech.


Do you have an aftermarket radio or original? There is an issue with people wiring into the signal line.

[Herman Toothrot]

It was a cheap cable yes, I have the standard stereo.

Re Reading the advert my fault, it said it was compatible with Passat MK 3 16 Pin, Passat MK 4 16 Pin, but Passat MK 5 (B6) 16 Pin NO, Passat MK 6 (B6) 16 Pin NO I guess the mk5 is the B5.5 that I have.