To activate VW ACC:
You should have a decent VAS 5054A head, ODIS, and ODIS online account.
You need FEC code for ACC.
If your car didn’t have that from factory, ODIS is useless.
You need radar with special patched firmware that will accept non-official generated FEC code.
Or put round LRR radar and just remove CP, which if you have a new 3Q0 windshield camera wont communicate with it.
The quest for the exclusive USA ACC retrofit…
Well it’s been some time since I decided to tackle something… but I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge assuming I have the time to submit myself to the proper research.
Having been many years, since first thinking about retrofitting ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) or otherwise known as “Automatic Distance System” or “Cruise Radar…” I gave up for a while having realized it was going to be a painful experience trying to switch out the entire ABS block with an ACC Programmed device, plus then the retrofit of all the pieces… The new grille badge, the radar bracket assembly, the Radar itself, the wires, and then the ABS….
Well… I had to do some maintenance on the ol’ girl this weekend anyways, and replaced the subframe bolts underneath as well as tightening up everything (which btw… ECS at one point said the factory torque spec is 81NM + 1/4 turn on these bolts, and while that may be true on other vehicles that is incorrect for the CC). The correct Torque spec is 70NM + 1/2 turn… but i digress….
I decided to pull off the front grille and take a closer examination at the ACC project…. then I took off the old VW Badge on the front, and put in the special “ACC” VW badge and looked at the mounting for the radar itself to understand how it all fit together. Turns out you need 6 brackets to mount the radar
3x – 3C0-907-179-A and
3x – 3C0-907-179-B
In addition to the radar unit itself.
Well I had 1 of each bracket, and decided to do a sample fit, and it worked. Then I looked up all the wiring, and already had a harness made from before… wasn’t the complex. A Fuse wire, a Ground, CAN Hi, CAN Low, and a wire to the ECM or the Steering Column Control Module (either or).
Ok… well what about the ABS??? (Remember…. the ABS software has to be able to support ACC).
As it turns out, it appears that you can trick the ABS into believing it’s “a different ABS” by over writing to the EEPROM of the ABS a few key HEX values, and then using an official VAS-5054A device, flashing a firmware to it. This can be done with any “revision 25” software ABS in the USA.
I have not done this yet, but I plan to…. the trick will be removing the “electronic” portion of the ABS module, without removing / disconnecting the ABS itself. This will be done by carefully removing 4 torx screws from the plastic electric housing side, and then gently prying off the cover to reveal the board and solenoids of the unit. From here… I am uncertain if the EEPROM will be exposed at this point, or if de-soldering the board from the housing will be required to access the other side of the control board. I will update once I make it this far. I am then also uncertain if I can use my special programming tools to read the EEPROM while it’s still connected to the board, or if i will have to de-solder it to read it. Thankfully, I purchased a high powered electronics lighted magnifying glass for this type of work. From there, it will be a matter of saving off the original EEPROM in case this doesn’t work (i can just reflash it)… and then flashing the ABS with an official VAG update, then adjusting some settings with VAGCOM.
If all goes well, I will have finally solved this puzzle, and figured out a way to adapt ACC on a USA model that never had it available , which at that point, the only final thing left for me to adapt will be the lane keeping camera.
Part 1
I would want an EEPROM dump of your 17, but since I’m sure you don’t have the tools for that, I’m guessing that’s not an option. Also I don’t think it would matter much. I’m adapting to a 2010 VR6 4Motion model, that has already been upgraded to a 2013 Gateway and IMMO combination with no errors.
In any case I have another ABS unit lying around so I decided to take it apart before I mess with my own. Turns out that I will in fact have to de-solder the plastic housing connection points in order to expose the ECU Programmer to get a read.
Part 2
Serious tools have arrived….
Not messing around anymore….
Ok, got the ABS electronics desoldered from the frame door, and able to expose the EEPROM (this is from the spare ABS complete assembly The was 3C0-614-109-P which I was told had previously been updated to support ACC). Sure enough, I de-soldered the EEPROM in almost no time flat with my new hot air and SMD station. Like literally heated the sucker in up in 5 seconds and bam…. came right off nice and clean.
Popped it in my programmer and read out hex.
Sure enough… it was already programmed to 3C0-614-109-E and flashed. I checked out the offsets 0x2BA – 0x2BF and there It was… the bits were already changed to 33 CC 33 CC 33 CC which is the necessary witchcraft needed to trick the EEPROM to take a flash of the “E” ABS.
In any case I’ve now walked through the procedure and saved off the EEPROM in case I need it. In theory I could just take this EEPROM chip and solder it onto my ABS board. But I think I’ll go through the whole thing.
Who knows… maybe someone will want to buy this extra chip off me and convert their own? In any case here’s a few pictures.
I am now waiting on the final brackets to arrive for the rest of the radar install, and then will need to hook up the harness, disassemble my actual ABS unit, Desolder the EEPROM, write the hex, re-install it, then flash it with a VAS-5054a, then check the programming in VAGCOM programming. Fun stuff.
Part 3:
Ok Folks – I finally got this working. A few bugs yet to workout that I believe are related to the fact that I’m using a B6 Platform ABS with a B7 Platform Gateway, and B7 Platform Radar. I’m in the process of acquiring a B7 ABS Module that I’m going to see if I can simply just add on the B6 Hydraulic unit rather than replace the whole thing….. but all of that isn’t necessarily required, I’m just trying to be a perfectionist mostly.
A few things to note before I go further, You MUST have professional tools to do this retrofit. A simple CAN+HEX VCDS / Ross-Tech Cable (though useful) will not cut it for completion of this. You need:
1 – A REAL Official VW VAS5054A Head /other decent VW Diagnostic Tool – A chinese knockoff you can get on http://www.obdii365.com/ will not cut it here. These go for anywhere between $500 – $1000 at legitimate places. You need this tool to update and flash your controllers properly. This is what the real deal looks like and should come packages as:
2 – Legitimate VW Diagnostics / Engineering Software – I’m not going to discuss ODIS Engineering or how you get it. But you need access to this, along with VW Official module flash files in order to code your stuff.
3 – A Chip Programmer – I use an ELRASOFT USB Programmer. It works flawlessly – You can see previous posts above where I use this and what it looks like. It will READ / WRITE Electronic chips.
4 – Wiring Diagrams – For your convenience I’ve posted the 2 below for a B7 Platform (2011 and Up CC) ACC diagram. For 2010 and below, you have to add in a special relay… and honestly if you’re doing the ACC upgrade, you should probably be considering upgrading your Gateway and everything else before doing this retrofit in the first place.
5 – Some special very thin tools to get the electronic module off the ABS without taking out the whole hydraulics unit – I used the grey ratchet pictured here and found this the easiest for me to gain access to the back lower torx screw. Specifically their are 4 T20 bolts you need to take off before the electronic module will come off the ABS.
The result of your fine work will be the culmination of this:
Here’s some fun facts…. You don’t need to replace your entire ABS Unit. Whether it’s a 3C0 (2010 and under model) or a 3AA (2011 and Up model) each of them can be flashed and upgraded to support ACC + Front Assist + Full Follow Stop.
For 3C0 ABS Pumps – You must first disassemble the Electronics module from the ABS Pump via the 4 torque screws, remove it carefully from the vehicle around the brake hydraulic lines, de-solder the 42 soldering points holding the plastic housing connector to the control board, flip the board over, heat the ST EEPROM chip soldering points up using “Hot Air” to remove the 8 pin Chip, put it in your programmer, read it out and save it (so you have your original settings for safe keeping). THEN
Modify the HEX range – 0x2BA-0x2BF to 33 CC 33 CC 33 CC
Save the new value and write it to the chip with your programmer. Hot Air or Solder the chip back to the board, Put the board back on the plastic housing and re-solder the 42 soldering points, put the control module back into the ABS Hydraulic unit, plug it all in, then using ODIS Engineering navigate to your ABS Module and
Flash the ABS with the file – 3C0698109__0017.sgo – This will convert your ABS Unit now to an E Version which supports ACC. You will need to go back through the basic settings
Using ODIS Diagnostics or VAGCOM (though not entirely sure how to do this in VAGCOM) go through Guided Fault Faulting, and let it go through and self correct and set everything for your ABS Pump – Steering, Longitudal Access, etc. When you’re done with that you should no lights on your dash indicating you have an issue with the ABS.
For 3AA ABS Pumps It’s the EXACT same procedure as above except
Modify the HEX range – 0x2BA-0x2BF to 45 BA 45 BA 45 BA
and
Flash the ABS with the file – 3AA614109__0023.sgo
Now using VCDS, you can start messing around with your coding. You will need to adjust a few things:
01 – Engine Module
The engine Module, I forget if you go to security access or coding. Whichever it is, you’ll get a little popup with some available codes. I first applied the code 16167, to remove the normal cruise, and then applied 13377 to activate the ACC (Note that 13647, although listed and tried, never worked). I had to dig for the correct code listed above.
03 – ABS Brakes Module
This is the guy you just changed, and in “coding” will still have your “basic code” applied to it. Write this down, everybodies standard equipment is different, but the code applied here is your basic coding without ACC enabled. To enable ACC:
B6 Platform Take your Base Number (mine was 0000413) and add +8192 to it which adds (ACC + Front Assist). Example Math: 0000413 + 0008192 = 0008605
B7 Platform Take your Base Number (mine was 0000413) and add +0016384 to it which adds (ACC + Front Assist + Full ). Example Math: 0000413 + 0016384 = 0016797
16 – Steering wheel Module – At the moment I’m using the standard cruise control steering stalk, but I am replacing it with the ACC Variable switch stalk. That being said, I got the normal cruise control stalk to work with ACC regardless. Whether you replace it or not, you need to use the following coding: 099AA70002
19 CAN Gateway In the installation List, make sure you tick the “13-Auto Dist. Reg”
13 – Auto Dist. Reg – This one you might have to play around with a bit. This is basically the radar you installed in the front of the car you’re interfacing with. VCDS has listed all the security codes (when you go to security access) which will pop up with the codes to enter in the adaptations. If you bought a used radar like I did, it’s possible everything’s already turned on. But maybe not. So Check Channels 1 – 13 individually supplying the security codes as written in VCDS, and enable all of them.
Note – 3AA Radars can be FLASHED (downgraded) to 3C0 Radars if necessary. However, if the Hardware was a 3C0 radar, it “may not” be able to be flashed upwards to a 3AA version. Do this at your own risk if you must
The above is the most complicated stuff which I’ve outlined, and which most people who have the proper tools should be able to tackle. The rest, is literally just the parts and wiring. Get a radar, the radar installation brackets, a wiring harness, and hook it all up.
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