cavkic

I was kind of hoping of making my own home diagnostic station for my clk...
Nothing too serious, just to play around a bit with the settings, maybe cancelling some errors after changing some stuff in the car...

I have an old laptop with a serial port, and an oportunity to buy a Star Diagnosis software.


What else do i need, just http://www.ebay.com/itm/MB-Star-C3-M...#ht_753wt_1396 or something else?

Glyn M Ruck

You need a full multiplexer to talk via the OBDII port to all systems on the car. Vakity who is in Bulgaria might be able to tell you how he sourced his "pirate" Star cost effectively. https://mbworld.org/forums/members/86742-vakity.html

Otherwise PM Karo or Johnand from the W203 forum for advice on SDS. They both have units & can give you what you need to do it cheaply & all the warnings about internet interfaces that will render your unit inoperable.

Good luck!

You need the multiplexer, Serial cable, & Multiplexer to OBDII cable - Plus obviously a laptop & software.

cavkic

Tnx m8, will do.

...so nothing like this would do? http://www.dealextreme.com/p/obdii-b...-12v-904442825

P.S. just read this review there:
Posted by benzcruiser on 12/24/2011
Involvement:Expert (understands the inner workings) - Ownership:1 day to 1 week
Price:
Ease of Use:
Build Quality:
Usefulness:
Overall Rating:
Pros:
-no fake (some german pages tell it would be one)
-tested with jimny, ~1999 focus, 2004 w169
-> works well, however especially mercedes-benz cars don't tell you a lot unless you have the quite expensive star diagnosis
- no surprise, it works also with torque (android app) like a charm.
Cons:
-You need the cd in order to find out the Bluetooth key (6789)
-the tools on the CD are useless. get a working copy of elmscan and you'll be happy.
Other Thoughts:
on some cars (e.g. a-class w169) you have to start the engine to read out data


And here's a video: it's basically the same device

Glyn M Ruck

No. That just turns your laptop or smartphone into a clumsy OBDII scanner.

Rudeney

I don't know how inexpensively others have sourced their equipment, but I bought my "Chinese Clone" version of C3 SDS on eBay. It was a "buy it now" with "make an offer", so I made the offer at $475 and it's been just fine - it does everything I need - check and reset codes for all systems, adaptation coding, etc. It also can do some very dangerous things - like "test" airbags! And yes, that would mean deploying the airbag if you don't put the proper test equipment in place!!!!

I also have Carsoft (picked it up fro $100), but that's only good up to MY2004. It will read and reset codes on all systems, but it won't program anything.

Glyn M Ruck

Yup! - the chinese clone route is what Karo, johnand & vakity did. Don't know what they paid but they are happy. Samaritrey has also bought one recently but is still learning the ropes.

My dealer lets me use one of their portable roadside assistance units when I need to so I've never invested in one.

Rudeney

Just as an FYI, for those contemplating this, the Chinese clone comes on a USB portable had disk as a VMWare virtual machine. Basically, it runs as its own Windows XP virtual computer on your host PC. In the past, SDS was very finicky about hardware - it only worked on certain machines, like the IBM ThinkPad T-series. With virtualization, it will run on most any computer. The caveat is the host PC needs plenty of RAM - 4GB at least. I have mine running on a Dell Latitude D630. It has the required RS232 9-pin port, and with a Core 2 Duo, it has enough CPU power. The real issue is that it comes with no documentation. You really have to dig to find all the configuration options. You have to run key generators to get it to work, and the diagnostic system requires setting the date back (it doesn't like being more than 6 months out of date).

I guess the bottom line is that this is not for the casual user. You'll need some technical skills to get it working, some MBZ mechanical skills to use it, and some common sense not to kill your car with it.

Glyn M Ruck

+1 - and even with enough CPU power expect it to be a little slow. It's the nature of the beast.

Rudeney

Yeah, I always laugh when someone complains that they have to pay the dealer $50-$100 "just to hookup the diagnostic tool for a few seconds". Honestly, by the time they pull the car into the shop, hookup the connector, and get SDS to read all the systems, it's easily 20 minutes of time. Even the "real deal" tool is slow. It just takes time for it to establish protocols and process the data.

Glyn M Ruck

+1