My 1985 380 SL needs an OBD system

[Okiihero]

Everyone, Thanks for all your responses. Here's a little more information on my situation;
The country I moved to is South Korea. What the OBD systems needs to detect specifically are the emissions. They have mandatory safety inspections which include emission testing every two years. For some reason they seem to think that if every car is equipped with a OBD system it will improve the air quality. They ( meaning the Korean Government) believe when the check engine light comes on people will rush into their mechanic shops to find out if the car is failing emissions and promptly correct the malfunction in effort to do their part in preserving clean air. I'm sure people here do want to do their part, in fact they are so sure people here want to do their part that all Korean citizens who import older cars can get a waiver for the OBD law where as foreigners can not get this waiver. Personally, I hardly think if a persons check engine light comes on it will prompt them to re-prioritize all their responsibilities and repair their cars before meeting their other personal needs. However, My car is still in customs and once I give the word it goes to the inspection department where they will run it through their safety inspection. If they can't connect a OBD code reader to it they will fail and I have 90 days to correct anything that fails. If I can't install an OBD system the import paper will be stamped the car is without OBD and it will not be allowed to be registered by me or anyone for that matter here in Korea.
Okiihero

[HalNineThousand]

Yeah, what are their standards? What kind of connector does it have to have (if any) and what is it required to check?

Technically an LED that goes off if your battery is dead could be an OBD system if the only requirement is to have one.

[tork'd]

they do not have a grandfather for car that did not have??
what would happen if not installed??
is that something you read or word of mouth??

[roncallo]

I thought all systems before OBD II were considered OBD at least the systems with a check engine light.

[abiby]

I believe the purpose of the O2 sensor light based on mileage in my sl was to meet that type of emissions requirement in the US.

Regardless, I'm sure if he identifies which country he has moved to, someone on this forum has experience there and will chime in with an informed answer.

[roncallo]

Originally Posted by abiby

I believe the purpose of the O2 sensor light based on mileage in my sl was to meet that type of emissions requirement in the US.

Regardless, I'm sure if he identifies which country he has moved to, someone on this forum has experience there and will chime in with an informed answer.

California cars used O2 Federal cares used check engine. From what I understand you can get the O2 light versions to blink the codes right at the O2 light. I'm sure there are other differences.

[abiby]

Originally Posted by roncallo

California cars used O2 Federal cares used check engine. From what I understand you can get the O2 light versions to blink the codes right at the O2 light. I'm sure there are other differences.

I might be wrong, but I believe the use of the O2 light ran through the 380sl is only linked to a switch in the odometer that trips it on at 30k mi, as the manual says the repair for it is to install a new sensor and remove the bulb.

Likewise, I believe the odb port appears in the 560sl.

[isthisdave]

There is a diagnostic terminal of some sort under the hood at the left front fender. What or how it interfaces I do not know, and whether SK customs will have a reader is another question altogether. I think it was Roncallo who posted how to make a flash code reader for the '86 to '89 560SL, but I don't know that's applicable to your car. I do believe that by 1985 all cars imported to the US had to have OBD, even if the data retrieval was rudimentary code flash. My Mom's '85 Buick had the old GM C3 OBD and the trouble codes were accessible both via a reader or by a flashing code sequence at the CEL after jumping two particular terminals at the data port.

[isthisdave]

Originally Posted by abiby

I believe the purpose of the O2 sensor light based on mileage in my sl was to meet that type of emissions requirement in the US.

In the early '80s, DOT, NTSB, NHSA, EPA, or some other cluster**** of an alphabet soup federal agency mandated a 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty for emissions control components. The mileage activated O2 light was so that dealerships would inspect and confirm proper operations of the air pump, sensor, etc. On some cars, MB included, there was no reset feature for the O2 light. The solution was, at the time of the inspection, to pull the bulb, hence the O2 light on 85 and earlier models doesn't work after 30K.

[bereng]

Hi,

the port reader thread is here:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r-c1...de-reader.html

Now you can start looking under you hood and looking around the internet to see if you've got one too.

Cheers