W220 diagnostics

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944S2cab

Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
41
Location
Ribble Valley, Lancashire
Car
1999 W220 S430
I have just bought a 1998 W220 S Class 430 petrol which has a 16 pin data link connector under the dashboard.
I already have a Gendan engine check diagnostic package which works on my car and gives me live data, graphs etc. even 'though it is for 2001 onwards petrol cars. When it communicates with the car it uses ELM327.
The icarsoft MB V2.0 looks interesting, and it has a lot of functions not covered by the Gendan engine check. Has anyone bought an icarsoft MB V2.0 for a pre-2001 petrol car and, if so, do all the functions work?
 
Well I think that the start point for icarsoft v2 is 2001,I am sure somebody will know for sure if it will work on you W220 be a shame to spend the money and not get all the functions.
 
Has anyone used an Autel MD802 on a pre-2001 petrol Mercedes? It is described as being suitable for most vehicles from 1996 onwards. If so, did all the functions work?
 
I eventually bought a Carsoft MB Sprinter Ultimate Home V12 Software package (not iCarsoft which is for 2001 onwards). This is an excellent kit which has already paid for itself. I will not go into the product details here. Check it out at www.carsoft.com.
I can recommend this kit for pre-2001 cars.
 
mercedes has always been very advanced what comes to new technology, and S-class is their flagship where new and best equipment is introdouced.

Personally I wouldn't recommend any other device that SDS. C3 clones are pretty cheap nowadays.
 
Don't forget that although OBD compliance became mandatory in Europe from 2000, it was introduced in the US from '96. So anything that was likely to be exported to the US will have the socket and most code readers will work. That's why you'll see some advertised as working on vehicles from '96 onwards while others say they won't work on anything pre-2000.
 
OBD does not guarantee diagnosis access to all vehicle features, mainly emissions (MOT) related stuff only. Often OBD readers can do more but anything more complicated like the W220 ABC suspension rodeo test or things like that can hardly be handled by simple OBD readers.
 
Your car uses OBD2 for its diagnostics. While it became available in 2001 in the UK. It was a mandatory requirement in the US since 1996 which is why your car has it. I don't believe that the W220 ever had the 38 pin connector so you should be able to get a decent amount of information out of an icarsoft or higher end scanner that can read MB specific codes.

Hope this helps.
 

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