TexasCHLforum.com

The port requires 12 vdc power to power up the conection. Check to see if a fuse is blown. Might feed off cigarette lighter or some other aux fuse. I do not recall which pin the power is on but a simple voltmeter to ground check on each pin will tell you if it has any power. If the other dude cut a wire to the radio and it feeds off the same circuit that might help lead to the cause.

Anygunanywhere

AndyC wrote:Aha - I'm not an electrician but that gives us a place to start - thanks, anygun :)

Found this:

[ Image ]

So we'd check pin 16 and 4 - then 16 and 5?

Yep. That will do the trick.

Anygunanywhere

If you have an Android phone there's an app called ElectroDroid that has pinouts for an OBDII as well as many others. Handy application to have for many things. I have no idea if there's a comparable app for the iPhone.

Larry

Wow! The interesting and valuable information you can learn on this forum.

Interesting problem. I did a little searching and came up with this. http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/aftermarket-radio.html. Maybe it will help?

Larry

lfinsr wrote:Interesting problem. I did a little searching and came up with this. http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/aftermarket-radio.html. Maybe it will help?

Larry

That's a good reference. Not OBD is useful, as all cars have to be compliant... But what you really want for a VW is VAG-COM. It'd likely have the same issue if the OBD port isn't functional.

AndyC wrote:This is on behalf of a young, broke friend of mine - the car is running rough (but driveable for now) but the OBD port won't connect to diagnose the issue (he took it to some VW mechanic, who can't/won't diagnose the OBD issue).

The guy he got the car from (another friend) says that he had to cut the wire from the car stereo to get the car to run - apparently that's a known issue for aftermarket radios in this series of vehicles, but that issue's already been taken care of. Anything we can check? Any suggestions appreciated.

Is the check engine light on?

Simple thing to do is check the coil packs. One could be out causing a misfire.

A more difficult but equally probable cause can be a bad fuel injector. Inquire about the last time they were serviced. The plugs should be easy to check,.

Also, you'd probably get a lot more help at a place like http://forums.vwvortex.com/forumdisplay.php?29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't take this the wrong way, but if the ground (#4) has 12v, I don't think you're going to get the answer on this forum, just being honest. If indeed it has battery voltage you likely have a problem that is not for a DIY'er.

When attempting to fix an electrical problem without the proper information it often leads to more problems (read expense) than if you just sucked it up and paid a knowledgeable tech to fix it.

It's been many years since I turned wrenches and I had no idea they were monitoring radios with the OBDII system. I guess the question I would ask is, why?

Larry