Just looked at these on ebay and if they work with SDD they are a bargain. Is THIS the kind of thing?

 

No. VCM 2 is for Ford and Mazda.

Here's a list of approved Jaguar VCM's

 

Nope

 

Do you need a computer along with these units?
If so just what would one need to make things work?
Know enough to know what i do not know, on occasion.

 

Yes you need a laptop + SDD + cable. I got my V130 SDD from another jaguar forum and the mongoose cable is a non-genuine one from a UK supplier sourced in China, it appears to be of very good quality, not a 'cheap knock off'. Things get complicated from there on. Genuine Mongoose cables go for around £500.

 

Sounds like a $1,800 investment.
Does this enable you to avoid going the dealer, except for parts???????
If so, i will have to start saving my money.
Have been very lucky so far, avoiding their service dept.
But from what i've heard,& observed.
One avoided visit, could easily pay for it.

 

Depends what you want to do with it. Something like this for less than £5 will scan for codes and clear most which helps with diagnostics. SDD software is about for free if you do some googling/searching Jaguar forums. Something like this for £75 is the correct laptop. Note that earlier versions of SDD require XP. You'll then need a cable. If you can stretch to it a genuine jag approved item is best, I've been lucky and my copy mongoose has always been reliable. YMMV. Before doing any reflashing etc ensure you have a good battery and a fully charged Booster/Starter connected - low voltage is a car killer.

Then expect to flounder around for a while.

 

Hi Wingrider. Yes you need a laptop and IMO it should be dedicated. You can get an old laptop off Craigslist. Don't bother with software that uses VMware with windows XP. There is no reason to be so archaic. SDD operates on Windows 7 32 bit (not 64 bit). Use a fresh install on a dedicated laptop and you should be fine. Specifically:

• 1.06 GHz Dual Core Processor
  1GB Ram
• 160GB Hard Drive

These specifications are equivalent to the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK® CF-19 Mk2.As you can see from the specs written in 2/2012, most laptops far exceed these requirements.

For cars the age of the X350, SDD version v123 will do fine. Newer versions for newer cars etc....

Always have you laptop plugged in while using SDD and always have a power supply on your car as well. Power supply isn't critical for reading and clearing codes but is a must have for programming.
Overall you can spend a tidy sum and it's most beneficial for those who do complete DIY, including programming and replacement module installation.

For the other 80% of us, iCarsoft i930 or its successor will do just fine, allowing people to read Jaguar specific codes (the first 5 digits, not the 6th or 7th) which his enough for most troubleshooting. It will allow you to clear codes as well. I understand they produce live data too but have no firsthand knowledge of that tool.

Last, here's some info on power supply as required by Jaguar. I use an Astron RM-50 for my XK You want low noise (ripple)

 

Thanks to MotorCarMans post in this thread I have managed to get the car started. Now that the ECM is talking properly I'll reconfigure the other modules.
Some things to note:

Ensure you have a good battery. Buy a new one if you are unsure.
Ensure you have a good 'power supply'. I used a 300AMP Booster/Starter pack, fully charged.

The rectification procedure in the post mentioned above MUST be completed in good time. Unless you are very athletic you are unlikely to be able to complete the reconnection task and turn the ignition on in the 10 seconds allowed.

There are 'bugs' in my version (v130) of SSD. Nothing serious but annoying in the interface for a piece of software that by 2012 had been in production for 9 years. The two things that made the difference for me were:
The on-screen instructions for the rectification DO NOT tell you to turn the ignition on.
The programming process for the ECM DOES NOT have a progress bar. A couple of times I let the process run for 30 minutes but as I had no progress bar I aborted the process. On the final attempt I went for a long walk (1 hour) to think things through as I still had no progress bar. When I got back the process had completed and I finished off the process and the car started.

I'll complete the thread tomorrow after I have finished the configuring.

 

Were you using a clone tool? Taking so long is usually a sign of that.

 

Yes but as I'm not paying £135/hour it's not important. Normal modules take about 20 minutes.

 

After the weekend final module updates I'm back to normal. Thanks for the help (past and present posters)

 

This sounds exactly what happened to me. I was reflashing my ECM and it failed halfway thru. I retried 3 times, and nothing happened. the 4th time the reflash took. No progress bar was shown. and the instructions on the SDD were not clear at all.

Glad you figured it out