matk

Well the one I purchased has finally arrived and I'll use this thread to do an unboxing and a review of what it does. Give me a day or so to get started. Once I'm up and running if anybody wants me to try and see if there's something specific it can do, I'll try it and report back.......

Test car will be a UK Market, 2005 R230 350 SL.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

always interesting

Frederick NL

Yes, looking forward to that.
I have a 350 (M112) and an Icarsoft MB V2.0 scanner. Don’t know what I’m getting myself into, being a hobbyist, but perhaps certain comparisons between the two scanners can be made (albeit on two cars of course).

edit: oh hold on, we haven’t got ABC (presuming you don’t), much of the scanning relevance no can do...

matk

Well I have a Carsoft i980 so I can happily do comparisons

My 350 was ordered with ABC from the factory as a cost option so no problem to investigate how the Foxwell integrates with that.

matk

OK hit my first snag. The scanner needs to be registered through the Foxwell site and then you download an "update installer" to your computer. The Foxwell then connects to your computer to download software and install the Benz specific stuff.

Unfortunately I'm an Apple Man and the Foxwell stuff is Windows only, which I didn't realise until I tried the procedure. I'll need to borrow a friends laptop to get this all done. Not a major issue but not as smooth as I was hoping.

So........ if you're an Apple user, please note, if you want to get one of these you will need access to a Windows computer to initialise the Foxwell.

Dudeman

Most Apple users I know (myself included) install Windows 7 or 10 on a small partition using Boot Camp. You might try doing that, that way you have your own Windows installation and you don't need to wait on friends to help you.

bobterry99

Another member has one and used it to perform a Rodeo. Pretty impressive for a $130 piece of kit. I'm wondering what other ABC actuations it is capable of. For example, with Star Diagnosis you can control the throttle valve on the ABC pump and determine if it is working by observing the change in hydraulic pressure. And importantly, you can take full control of extending and retracting each of the four suspension struts.

Maybe Frederick's MBII can automatically poll all of the controllers and report all faults stored in each. My iCarsoft i980 can not, and I'm wondering if the Foxwell can.

matk

Good idea but it's personally simpler for me just to borrow a Windows laptop from a friend. I'd rather keep my Mac as is. This should just be a one off job to initialise the Foxwell.

I'm looking forward to finding out.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

one thing is sure, neither with the ebay, the Aliexpress, and any other device you will be able to to do online coding nor offline coding seriously. just the basic stuff you will get bored pretty quick
but it all depends on your budget and your needs

matk

I can’t speak for anyone else but I’m not that interested in coding, I just want to be able to fault find and diagnose problems. I’m quite happy to get bored with it if the car is running well lol.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

that is exactly the meaning of freedom

matk

OK then had a chance to have my first play with the Foxwell.

Initial Background.
The Foxwell cost me the UK Sterling equivalent to 117 US dollars and I bought mine from AliExpress. I have since seen some negative reviews of buying via AliExpress, but the only concerns I experienced was a delay in delivering and no updates on their website to explain anything. It still eventually arrived and in good order.

You get the unit, a carry case, some paperwork and manuals, a small USB Memory stick and a USB connection cable


Set Up

1. Firstly you have to go to the Foxwell site and register yourself as a user. Quite a straightforward process. You also register the Foxwell using its unique serial number.
2. Once this is done you then have to download a Foxwell "Software Updater" programme to your computer. As I've said earlier the programme is Windows only. It will not work on a Mac.
3. Then you connect the Foxwell to your computer with the supplied cable and can update the installed programs to the latest releases. At this point I have heard varying opinions so I can't state factually, but my belief is that the unit ships as a "Blank Canvas" with only generic OBD2 software. At time of purchase I bought "Mercedes" version and I think during the connection process and registration of serial number, it knows this is a Mercedes version and allows full installation of the Mercedes software.

All of the above process was clearly explained in the paperwork provided with the unit.

First Use

I hooked up the Foxwell inside the car via the OBD2 port underneath the dash. The unit powered up and provided the following display. Note it appears that a full range of Mercedes cars and vans can be catered for, but I haven't looked for a complete list as yet, as I'm only currently interested in the R230.


From here I selected "Mercedes" and got this option


And then "Benz" which took me here


I went for "Smart Vin" option and got this


And then it recognised my car and displayed the chassis number


Selecting "complete" took me to this screen for model year.


And then finally to the interesting stuff



I went for Quick Scan. the unit started working....... as you can see there are 59 modules that it is checking. As it runs it becomes clear that some of the 59 are not actually fitted on my car and when it reaches those it just moves on through




It quickly became apparent there were a large number of Fault Codes being generated and this is a big difference to my iCarsoft which only found a few.

I ended up at this screen


I then decide to explore the codes and entered "read codes"

Here's an example of what was coming up



Notice there is a "Save" option. I didn't explore this to far but if you take the option it asks you to name a file. I'm assuming from there the file can be downloaded so you can print off your fault codes.

I then went back a stage and selected live data on one of the modules and got this:


And a switch position test


I then tried clearing a few codes and retested and the fault clearance worked.

Then I thought I'll look at "Control Unit Adaptations". Got the following options which I'm not sure about so didn't go any further....





At that point I thought I'd see if a "Rodeo" option was available. Firstly I found the ABC module report, which happily shows no faults!!


Selected the module.....


Went for "Active Test" and hey presto there is the Rodeo option


I'll take a break at this point but it's clear that I've only just scratched the surface of what the capabilities are. Welcome any feedback or questions/suggestions of what I can experiment with next.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

Very nice review, thx for that effort for the community !
It is a real nice device for beginners with very basic functions and limited budgets

matk

I really like it as I'm a beginner at this sort of stuff and just dipping my toe in the water. My iCarsoft will be heading out on eBay lol!

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

yes I can understand that
When I got my first Escalade and discovered those devices I got one too
6 month later I was on the real GM software and discovered heaven. you can always sell it anyway

seven_out

You must be making a mistake with your currency conversion. {...Checking...} Damn, you're right! I just can't believe it's that cheap. Trump could slap a 100% tariff on these and they would still be a bargain.
.

JamesMitchell

matk - thanks for this in depth review of the Foxwell. I began with an Autel, which provided fault codes that I would then go to the internet and search for folks who had the same problems/parts/etc. Then I upgraded to the icaresoft II. It provided more info than the Autel, but was still very limited in what it could do. I considered the Foxwell as you've purchased, but I opted to get the Xentry system with a C4 duplexer from Aliexpress and laptop and proper software. I cannot tell you the difference getting the Xentry system has made as far as my diagnostics and understanding of my vehicles. For those considering various diagnostic tools, feel free to PM me. Thanks again Matk!

joeveto

I bought the same Foxwell unit shortly after I bought my SL, this past December.

You did a nice job of taking photos and documenting what it's like using it. I'm curious to get the rest of your impressions.

What I found is that it's very slow. I would like to see an option to just plug it in and then clear a check engine light without having to wait for it to go through all the tests (10 minutes compared to my scan gauge which only takes a few pushes of a button). Also, I've not found it to be good at saving anything, and I couldn't get it to output anything. It's like it does what it can do when plugged in, but every time I plug the unit in, I start all over. Sometimes it self discovers the VIN, other times I have to hunt and peck to enter it.

Also, there is no real guide. So when I see the various menus and data it's providing, I don't know what to do with any of it. Will it rodeo? Yes it will rodeo. But when it came to assessing the suspension issues I was having, I had no real reference points. And when it would ask for calibration entries, I didn't know what to enter. When it gave error codes and I tried to look them up - nothing came up. I was a blind man trying to navigate a hedge maze. Not good.

I've had other systems for my BMW that were far far more intuitive and far far faster.

So that's my $.02

matk

This thread has been kindly moderated and edited by the mods and its my intention to pick up now and continue to examine the functionality of the Foxwell.

I'd be extremely grateful if we could discuss here, the functionality of the Foxwell and keep it as a useful resource for anyone considering buying or utilising one and limit the discussions on this thread, to that subject alone. There's plenty of space elsewhere on the forum for anything else to be raised?

I'll update more experiences as soon as the weather gets nicer at this end to get my car cover off.

Dudeman

I just received my NT510 Elite. It came with the Benz software on it, but when I updated it, it also added the Sprint and Smart cars as well. I've only dabbled with it for about 15 minutes, but it seems to support just about every function you can think of. I also like how they grouped certain functions, so you wouldn't have to go searching through everything.

I was messing around with the TPS sub-functions which was pretty neat. It looks like you can define the thresholds at where the sensor's trigger the low pressure warnings, but I haven't yet made any changes. You can also get live data about you current tire pressure, but it's in BAR, rather than PSI. Also it would appear that you can read and reset your SBC number of actuations.

So far I really like it, it seems to be more complete than the iCarsoft MBII, in that it lets you make some modifications to the car behaviour, rather than just read codes. You can also view live data as numerical output, or as a graph. Pretty cool.

The only thing that was not intuitive was the update procedure. The manual tells you to plug the device in your PC using the provided USB cable, but that did not work. Yes you can power it up like that, but the FoxAssist software doesn't seem to se it. I then pulled the MicroSd card and plugged into a reader, and instantly the FoxAssist was able to see the data, the current software version, I was able to update it. Once I plugged the MicroSD back in the NT510, it immediately saw the updated software and new menu options.

@matk How did you update your software?

matk

Hi, you’re ahead of me with experimenting and the functions you’ve discovered seem really useful. I’m definitely going to look at the SBC counter on mine. I’ve always wanted to know how close to the “end of life” figure I am.

Mine updated seamlessly when plugged into the laptop, no problems.

Frederick NL

The SBC count alone would be an incentive to buy the tool. Makes you wonder if Icarsoft is planning a software update with added reading functions for its MBII.

Dudeman

I'll fool around with mine a bit more. My SBC is brand new as it was replaced about 3-4 months ago, but I'll check to see what I find.

So I just got done playing around a bit more with the Foxwell. I did a full scan, which took quite a bit of time, as it has to go through 59 separate systems, some of which are not present in my car. It found a few minor DTCs like this fault in my Driver Side SAM:
{"DID":"B1339-002","STAT":"Stored","DDE":"B14 (Ambient temperature display temperature sensor) :The component is faulty or the wire has Open circuit. At extremely low outside temperatures, i.e. below -40 °C (below -40 °F), a fault may appear although the component and the feed wire are OK. Then the fault entry should be disregarded and cleared."}

Talk about detailed and verbose description of error.

Anyway, I also thought I'd look into the SBC function in a bit more detail. I scanned for DTCs, and as expected there were none, then I tried to go to the extra functions, and read the number of actuations (I don't remember the actual name), but when I selected it, it said the ECU doesn't support it. Then I thought that, maybe the engine needs to be running, and sure enough, once I started the engine, it started to communicate. It took a long time to get a result (about 3 minutes), but it gave me a result of 365 thousand something remaining. When I pressed F3 (OK) to exit, it asked me if I wanted to recalibrate it, and it gave me percentage options 10% to 100% in 10% increments. It's here that I think you can reset the counter so to speak. By selecting a percentage you can basically tell the computer the wear level, so resetting to 100% for example, would make it think the system is new, and start all over again. That's not to say you now have a new SBC pump, but you can certainly eek out more life out of it.

One thing that was worrisome at first, is that when I select these tests, the car's MFD immediately immediately went into the Red Stop Car, reduced braking effect, ABS BAS off line, etc. Once you exit the SBC menu the errors go away. The same thing happened when I went into the ESP special functions and live tests menu.

Well enough for today. My car, with very few exceptions is working fine, so I don't want to push my luck and try something foolish that might leave me stranded, but Yes, this thing has quite a few options that get you close to the bigger boys.
I wonder if I can remove the 155mph limiter with this thing ??

joeveto

I want to weigh back in here. In my previous post I mentioned I didn't see a way to quickly clear codes, instead having to go through a "quick" scan that analyzes all the components and takes roughly 10 minutes.

Today, I plugged in and was able to navigate to the menu of the separate systems. In there, I was able to see how to see and clear the codes.

matk

OK time for a small update....

After plugging in the unit and going through the VIN No and model select process you come to this screen


I selected the "Oil Reset" option and got this option...


I stopped at this point as I didn't want to risk resetting service indicators, but it does seem that you are able to reset the service intervals in the car.

Next I thought I'd have a closer look at some of the control modules, so went back in the menus to here..


And selected "Control Modules" and got this.......


Selected "Drive" and up came the modules


Decided to look at "PSE Systems" as I'd recently fixed my PSE Pump with a new impeller...


Got this menu



And then a series of stored codes, which I was expecting as my pump had previously failed.



I cleared the codes but then had a look at "Active Tests"



The following options came up. I used them all and they all worked the appropriate functions in the car.


I also got appropriate safety info as well


Then I went back some stages and had a quick look at "Chassis" modules


And thought I'd look at SBC


There were a number of routines available...


I thought the brake counter reset was something that gets mentioned on the forum so I'll have a look...


Got this for my car. I'd be grateful for some advice on how much life I have left lol....


There were a series of options for resetting. I didn't take any as I would prefer to understand what these mean first, but the clear implication is that if you are reaching end of life on your own SBC, there's an option to reset history and get more life out of yours.


While I was running tests I got some scary error messages on the dash! They all cleared after each test though.


Thats all for now. I think I'm at the point though that in my opinion I've shown that for the money the Foxwell is an excellent piece of kit and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.

Rather than keep going for ever I'm at the point that I won't post any further updates here, unless, anyone specifically asks for me to establish a particular test or fault find. Over to you......