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I purchased a STAR/Xentry tool from Stardhul on this forum. My intent was to clear an SRS light I have on the dash which kicked on after my battery went dead.
When I connect the tool through the OBD2 port the system states that it cannot access the ABS module (note many other, but not all, modules are accessible).
I read on other post for a different model Merc that you need to connect through the STAR diagnostics port (14-pin or 32-pin) in order to access all the modules. Is there another port connection on the R230?
No, there is not. You most likely were sold a faulty multiplexer. Far less likely would be a faulty cable. The fact that there is currently no username "Stardhul" may be another indication you have faulty hardware.
If you can access some modules but not the ABS module makes me think that your Star tool and multiplexer are fine. I suspect your ABS module may be bad and not communicating. However, I thought you were having trouble with the SRS module.
When you buy a Chinese clone SDS, there several versions of the multiplexer you can get. There is "C3" which uses a hardwired RS232 serial port connection to the computer, or "C4" which uses a wifi connection to the computer. C3 is probalby the best as there are fewer compatibility issues, plus updates to SDS have "balcklists" that can refuse to communicate with known clones multiplers.
With the hardwired C3 multiplexer, there are two versions. The cheapest is a all flat box that looks like this:
The better version looks like this:
When talking to pre-MY2005 cars, the multiplexer uses a different protocol. In the cheap version of the multiplexer, there are capacitors that tend to ail and it wiill refuse to communicate with some of the pre-2005 systems. It will likely still function perfectly on MY2005+ cars. The systems that fail are ABS, SRS, EIS, ACC and instrument cluster. I think the SAMs and TCU and ECU usually still talk.
I'll give you something for it in the hope that I can repair it for use with my '03 car. If you like, send me a PM with what you need to ship it to Georgia.
After reading Rodney's post and a post of mine from 2010 I think it is likely that your multiplexer will work fine with an '05 or newer vehicle.
12-04-2016, 02:51 PM
