Cheap Star Diagnostic Kit ?
Hi Chaps!
Anyond bought a Star diagnostic device?
One thats not too pricey and reads majority of the deep codes
Etc. Not generic OB2 stuff
Anyone?
Thanks
Gooch
Sorry to be a damp squib, but there is a good caution here:
I don't know, but I assume a MB dealership STAR unit connects online with a licence to MB DBs directly. So the diagnostics and guidance are not stored with the unit. All the clones can do is make a half decent copy of MB data, at least the more common results, and present you with those. Hopefully that is good enugh, but unlikely to be quite as good as the real thing.
An actual C3 STAR scanner appears to be about £600 (but again won't give you the online access for which you need a MB licence key)
https://mercedes-enthusiasts.co.uk/blog/mercedes-star-diagnostic-review/
Thoughts.
For the W163 ML I have icarsoft unit (£120) which does read and clear codes. It is buggy getting things like ABS sensors to read which are hidden in the dashboard codes and trip every now and then and refuse to show them until rebooted. It lives in the car and is good enough for most things. It also does OBDII for other cars.
I managed to snag a C3 with IBM laptop from an MB ownersclub advert for about £280. Had to replace the screen in laptop due to transit damage but that was only £30. It is far nicer as it does DAS for codes and WIS for workshop. The interactive fault finding is not bad for it's age. Not sure when it stops being usefully.. I would guess 2010 or so. I used it to recode the fuel gauge to stop being predictive (car is LPG so fuel gauge use to presume fuel sensor was broken and then drive fuel guage down based upon fuel being used) - that sort of thing cannot be done with icarsoft etc. I was tempted before that to get one from China but there seem good and bad .. and you also need to get the right old IBM laptop to put the hard drive into; there are some that will work on an emulator (MB software only works on a particular Windows operating system). Newer cars need the online systems..
The 460 does not need these fancy toys!
For the W163 ML I have icarsoft unit (£120) which does read and clear codes. It is buggy getting things like ABS sensors to read which are hidden in the dashboard codes and trip every now and then and refuse to show them until rebooted. It lives in the car and is good enough for most things. It also does OBDII for other cars.
I managed to snag a C3 with IBM laptop from an MB ownersclub advert for about £280. Had to replace the screen in laptop due to transit damage but that was only £30. It is far nicer as it does DAS for codes and WIS for workshop. The interactive fault finding is not bad for it's age. Not sure when it stops being usefully.. I would guess 2010 or so. I used it to recode the fuel gauge to stop being predictive (car is LPG so fuel gauge use to presume fuel sensor was broken and then drive fuel guage down based upon fuel being used) - that sort of thing cannot be done with icarsoft etc. I was tempted before that to get one from China but there seem good and bad .. and you also need to get the right old IBM laptop to put the hard drive into; there are some that will work on an emulator (MB software only works on a particular Windows operating system). Newer cars need the online systems..
The 460 does not need these fancy toys!
Good old 460’s, to be honest the early pre 97’ w463’s were pretty reliable too....it was when they bought in more gadgets etc
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Hi mate, thanks for the update. Good info on there.
On your other post did you mention you use a Star for your G wagon too?
Ive owned x3 Ob2 readers snap on etc but want a hand held version instead of carrying bulky seperate items.
If anyones had experience on the latest stuff or what to buy let me know thanks