OBD II Software Recommendation

I have researched 2 different Windows based ODB II diagnostic solutions. One from Auterra, Dyno-Scan for $239. The other from AutoTap for $179. Now I never like to spend 33% more for a same-as product and thought I should check with you to get your opinion on these products. I'm not in the repair business but have done significant maintenance over time. I will appreciate most if not all the functionality the products deliver. Is there a better story here with Auterra or should I pocket the $60 difference and buy some new air filters ? Thanks for your help.

JB

88 300E 99 E55
Reply to
JB
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I do not recall exactly, but I believe the code scanners you mentioned only provide the standard OBDII power train trouble codes. not the manufacturer specific codes for MB To get the whole enchilada you need to spend a lot more bucks. I bought this interface to a PC type computer a couple of years ago and I have used it on a couple of american cars and my SL 320. I think it was around $ 70 and It has saved me a bundle, especially on my SL320. The software and updates are free. It paid for itself the first time I used it on an elusive problem on a 2002 Explorer that developed the CEL disease right after the warranty expired. On my SL320 it led my right to the problem.

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also ran across a web site that has a lot of good info on scanners andTC's
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Peter

Reply to
Peter W Peternouschek

I gave about eight different OBDII systems a try several years ago. Hand helds, laptop programs, etc.

They all did basic OBDII data pulls. They have to, it's US Federal law, the reason OBDII is there at all.

What they imply, in these product ads, is that it will pull the additional info that makes it interesting and helpful beyond the OBDII basics (which are already vague and amazingly inaccurate in reporting some problems), and that the user can access and control the internal systems with their product. If I were driving a Ford or Chrysler, I could possibly see what my A/C line pressure and air intake temperature would be, but whatever is available for US cars is clearly not there for MB on these products.

As an example, I wanted to test my speedometer accuracy (*cough* speeding ticket *cough*), but I was unable to locate a speedometer shop that could run both front and rear wheels simultaneously. Why wouldn't it work? The speedometer display is a calculation of electronic data pulled from all wheels (or so I was told), and the only verification was to access the MB diagnostic port with a hand held tester and do a road test. Apparently, the tester would display rpm, vehicle speed, etc. and that would verify the dashboard display speed.

I spent a week checking out products, naively assuming they'd report more than just basic OBDII codes (like intake manifold temperature, RPMs at shift points, etc.) but in fact, none of the eight models I bought, upgraded, tested, downloaded, connected or configured would do anything more on an MB than the $35 OBDII plug-in tools you can borrow for free at AutoZone or Schuck's. Any OBDII reader will work on an MB, and any OBDII reader will give the same OBDII codes. If you were hoping for the added features and detail for MB autos, you'd need to go to a professional hand held tester.

Your E55 has a CAN bus, for example, and while it's got internal MB diagnostic systems that are nothing short of spellbinding to watch (sitting in the car during a test, I saw the A/C controls cycle through every possible function setting, blower speed and air vent output combination; the audio system turned on, turned off, raised volume, lowered volume, changed CD tracks, tested radio stations, even opened and closed the tape door), all those functions are not OBDII systems, they're MB diagnostic systems. Like the fiber-optic system that requires an MB CD deck, or the MB integrated telephone system that only works with fiber-optic MB proprietary phones, it's accessed through the MB diagnostic port in the engine bay, not the OBDII connector under the dashboard.

I ended up not even keeping the most basic OBDII tester I found; instead, I borrow one for a quick data pull while in the parking lot at Schuck's, and if I want something from the MB system, I can first ask my independent mechanic to see if his Snap-On hand held will get it, but failing that, the dealer will connect and report from the STAR Diagnostic laptop for around $90.

Hope this helps.

Rugbyguy

04 SLK32

Reply to
Rugbyguy

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