amstel78

Not sure if this is the right forum to post this, but I just wanted to demonstrate how the iCarsoft MBII works in conjunction with a W220 series Mercedes (W220.179 S65 in my case).

I apologize ahead of time as the video quality may not be that great and it was all shot this morning using my phone while sitting in the car. Professional YouTuber with time to edit videos including fancy intros and background music I am not!

In a nutshell, the MBII is a very good diagnostic tool for the price. For $160 or less, you get far more than you ever would from a regular OBDII code reader. What it isn't is SDS/DAS/Xentry. You need to spend much more money, plus invest far more time studying how the system works in order to go that route. The advantage of the MBII is that it's mostly unidirectional meaning that it won't mess up your ECU if you do something stupid. You can very well brick your car's computer with SDS/Xentry if you press the wrong button. In the right hands however, the SDS setup wins hands down every time as you can actuate individual components as necessary. Programming is also available; something MBII cannot do.

FWIW, the MBII would be a perfectly fine tool for the casual car owner who prefers to do most maintenance themselves. At the very least, the MBII would have paid for itself if you can avoid just one diagnostic charge from a dealer.

Without further ado, the videos. They're in two parts.


Let me know what you think.

P.S. I don't work for iCarsoft or FCP Euro.

rottenrick1969

Thanks a lot for this review. I found it very helpful since i am trying to decide if I should get a cloned Star diag system or something a little easier and simple to operate such as this. And cheaper. It seams that it can check each individual system quite thoroughly but not complicated as well.
Now if i can figure out why my data port is not communicating i can hopefully figure this car out.

FCPEuro

Ha, says quick review and then posts the most thorough review I am aware of on the MB II. The community is definitely going to find this super useful, thanks James.

--Kyle

amstel78

LOL!!! Sorry, I'm usually pretty concise, but this device has a lot of functionality that simply can't be covered in 5 minutes.

Anyway, I hope it helps others out there. Bottom line: it's not SDS/Xentry. It won't program, nor will it be able to actuate individual components. BUT, it will give you access to a lot more modules than your basic OBD II reader will. It's the perfect device to keep in your trunk since you don't need a laptop, power supply, or multiplexer. It's a great diagnostic tool if you're driving somewhere and something goes wrong; it'll quickly give you a fairly detailed direction on where to start looking and troubleshooting rather than guessing. The way I see it, is if it saves you at least 1 hour of diagnostic time at a dealership, it's already paid for itself.

BTW and off-topic Kyle, but when is the front end suspension package (i.e. LCAs, thrust arms, and spindle ball joint kit) for my 65 coming back in stock???

wallyp

A question out of total ignorance on the unit - can it also be used as a good OBD-II scanner on non-Mercedes vehicles?

amstel78

Yes, it can. And presumably if the firmware and database were changed, it would work for other vehicle manufacturers as well. ICarsoft sells this device under different monikers, but with different software preinstalled for various applications.

maxandgrinch

I agree, the iCarsoft II MB in conjunction with this forum is a great combination. Some day I might even read the instructions for it.

When I used the basic OBDII diagnostic feature in addition to the year/model MB secret code designations, it brought up some different errors, so maybe check both - it only takes a minute. I use my semi-smart phone to take photos of the screen so I can run the codes through the forum for groupthink awesomeness.

Anything needing the Star system, is probably deeper into it than I want to get, and the price difference would be better applied to coffee, donuts, and bagels at either my independent shop, or the buyer at the scrap yard. The only problem I've had is that I shipped it to my father about 4 months ago so he could diagnose some issues on his SL and he keeps saying he has one more thing to fix. I guess he's getting me back for 50+ years of borrowing his tools, or maybe he's just forgotten.

My S has 198K, and the only two things that don't work are the cell phone, and the CD changer -mainly because I don't want to pay $35 for the cartridge to test it, because that is the day the family member I got the car from will find the original.

Bonus: it has the ability to prove to you that the glove box light does really turn off when you close the door. I'm still wondering if they make one for my refrigerator to answer the age old question....

amstel78

Take a look at your cluster in MBII... do you get a B110E "Fault in CAN communication with control unit TELEMATIC."
Also, what about your TPMS? I get all sorts of faults there, but that's probably because the sensor batteries are long dead, or the PO had them coded out. I don't even get the TPMS light to turn on in the cluster when first starting the car.

I think I mentioned the above two in my video.

Anyone have any ideas what the telematic error might be about?

wallyp

One possibility is that, since the Telematic system used the analog cell phone system that no longer exists, it is whining because it isn't getting any signal.

maxandgrinch

I pulled the phone out of the system before I bought the MBII, and don't recall ever seeing that error, and wallyp has a good point. I didn't buy anything extra to remove the phone, just took it out of the fiber optic loop, no extra parts needed.

2000 model year, and as far as I can tell TPMS wasn't an option. Plus, it had horrible DUBs on it with $80/each 20" tires when I adopted the car. Just because he's a good brother-in-law, doesn't mean he had taste in wheels.

amstel78

This is strange as this B110E error is a new one. Cannot be cleared by SDS or MBII; it just comes right back. This code was not present during initial SDS quick scan, but only after repairs were done to my AC compressor harness at the dealership. Even the tech at the dealership thought it was strange that it was there now but not before.