forddieseldoctor Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Shop bought another VCMII this week so now everyone has their own. New one shows up, they hand it to me and say make it work. So I plug it in and let it update/activate. Didn't bother to try the wireless part of it, threw it in the IDS cabinet. The guy who is supposed to be using it grabs it and uses it wirelessly and he said that the first two times he tried it kept telling him to turn the key on, but on the third try it worked and he did what he had to do. The next time he used it he got the same crap, except this time he whined about it. I took a quick glance at it and told him to try it with the cable. It works perfectly with the cable and he does what he has to do. I tried it after he was done with it and I go the same message about turning the key on, tried a different wireless adapter, still same message, grabbed the VCMII that I always use and it works perfectly with the wireless. Service manager walks by and I hand the new VCM to him, explain what it's not doing, he goes and starts to deal with trying to get it warrantied. He comes back out about 10 minutes later and hands me a sheet with VCM self test directions on it. So after work I plug the bad vcm in and figured I'd quick run the self test and see what's going on. The one in the VCM manager outside of IDS ran and said no issues. I fired up IDS and told it to run the self test in the troubleshooting tab. It launched into some test with a blue bar scrolling across the screen, I got sick of waiting for it after 10 minutes and I had some parts to go pick up, So I left and came back almost an hour after I started the self test and it's still thinking hadn't changed one bit from where I left it, at this point I unplugged the VCM and turned off the laptop and went home. Anyone ever run that test for the VCM II's? I'm thinking that it froze and that it's not supposed to take that long to run. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 If I recall correctly there is a reset button on the VCM-2 you might want to try that. I personally have not had any issues with our shops (only) VCM-2 but I do recall that we like many others had big problems with the wireless and simply don't use it anymore. Ironically Ford was initially promoting the "improved wireless functionality" but apparently fell short on that promise. In all fairness though there are many other factors that can affect the wireless operation. But if you are still having issues with the unit completely wired up then I would contact the Hot-Line for the diagnostic tool support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 We got 2 other VCM II's and they work wonderfully with the wireless. Except for ficm testing on a cold 6.0 or anything else with a super weak battery on cold start. I'm gonna have to look and see if I can find the reset button. Don't recall there being one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Peel the cover off the end where the USB cable plugs into the vcm. The button is below the wireless adapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Did the reset thing, it worked for about 3 uses. Then started doing all of the tests that hotline told me to do. Ended up being a bad d-link adapter on the vcm II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 All the D-links are sub standard and Ford has even admitted it when we called with wireless issues. The VCM II is designed to only work with the crappy little things, but aparently D-link has changed the source company that makes them and they are hoping for better results. Ours work for a few months, then go stupid for a week, then back to normal for a few months. We are not to sure what is the cause, something in the shop, perhaps the Airport across the highway, it's an issue we deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 All the D-links are sub standard and Ford has even admitted it when we called with wireless issues. The VCM II is designed to only work with the crappy little things, ... You telling us that you can't go out and buy something better/different and use them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 All the D-links are sub standard and Ford has even admitted it when we called with wireless issues. The VCM II is designed to only work with the crappy little things, ... You telling us that you can't go out and buy something better/different and use them? That is correct. I've tried and it did not work. I tried another D-link adapter, but a smaller one and I couldn't make it work. I even let my cousin who deals with networks for a living try it and he couldn't hack it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 You can't buy them any more, most places don't stock them because they are crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Well whe I do finally buy a VCM 2 I hope they have this straightened out - I like the wireless at times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.