grabo

Hi,

I've got my hands on a stock 1998 A4 (B5) 2.8 quattro that's showing the AIR BAG light. I tried to go the cheapo route with an ebay cable, and after first discovering that it wouldn't work at all unless I yanked the fuse for the radio, I then discovered that the cheapo cable wouldn't do anything more than pass the "test".

It's not my car, and I haven't decided yet if I'll be keeping it, and I'm wary as to whether or not the OBD port even works. So purchasing a Ross-Tech cable for myself isn't something I'm ready to commit to. That'll be a different story

Anyone in the area willing to give me a hand and try scanning this thing?

logicalloonatic

Fairly new to the site myself so i dunno where you are located. I drive a 98 a4q and my mother has a 99 new beetle. I also tried the ebay route first and the stupid thing would never even sync up. My mom got the bright idea of buying this lil reader, thinking hell, its $15 why not. worked on hers, then amazingly worked on mine as well. a4b5 is notorious for having short wires that run under the seat for the seat side airbag. one wrong seat adjustment and bam, airbag light. so grab you some zipties and zip the connectors together. then plug in this dinky lil device. it will show all code numbers. most described in booklet included. and will clear both engine and airbag codes!!

link below:
2015 Top Rated High Quality U480 CAN BUS OBD OBD2 Code Reader Scanner U480 Code Reader for VW U480 Scanner U480 Free Shipping-in Code Readers & Scan Tools from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

$

grabo

I sent back the first cheapo cable and bought another - which was advertised to have the FTDI chip. Worked flawlessly, scanned everything, and cleared the light as expected.