[Aerosurfer]

Im trying to figure out how best to diagnose my faulty Parktronic system. I have a 99 CL500

My own OBD 2 reader doesnt work well with basic Mercedes engine parameters and no system specifics.

I was going to buy a 38 pin LED blinker, which is being advertised for OBD1 up to '95. But on all the PDFs im seeing no specific troubleshooting on how to diagnose the PTC. I may buy the OBD 1 blinker tool just to have, but does the 38 pin port still work on later model cars.

 

[MAVA]

Go here first, and near the bottom it is, and follow the diagnostics to troubleshoot the system...Go through the entire set of documents

Martin

 

[TimeCapsule]

I may buy the OBD 1 blinker tool just to have, but does the 38 pin port still work on later model cars.

The short answer is YES, it does work. All work using MB Star SDS will have to be done through the 38-pin.
The 17-pin OBD-II connector is only for basic engine and transmission work.

The LED blinker tool for your MY '99 CL500 will not be useful. It works with the analog codes, which you have none. Therefore, the blinker is always specified for the Gen-I cars (up to MY '95)

 

[jal1224]

The limitations of the OBD II connector on the W140 have been discussed many times previously, but I'll summarize. Mercedes did the bare minimum to meet the EPAs requirements for OBD II, which means it only works on drivetrain, that is, engine and some transmission components only. Everything else is handled by the 38 pin connector. Even some transmission procedures can only be done from the 38 pin. Engine and transmission tests and readouts can still be done by the 38 pin, as the OBD II connector was not installed world wide, as it was only a US requirement at the time.

At the same time, Mercedes was moving away from "analog" systems with blink codes to digital systems with more sophisticated readout requirements. Since Parktronic did not come out until MY 96, at least in the US, it does not work with the blink code reader, per Startekinfo, available here:

STAR TekInfo

It has a note as follows:
"Note:
DTC readout is not possible using impulse counter scan tool"

Impulse counter = blink code reader

Startekinfo has useful info on the Parktronic system.

As a result, you'll need the Star diagnostic system with HHTWin, or a code reader that has a 38 pin connector and specifically states it can test the W140 Parktronic system. There are code readers that state they work with the 38 pin, but are severely limited on what they can do on the W140.

Jon

 

[Paul600600]

Im trying to figure out how best to diagnose my faulty Parktronic system. I have a 99 CL500

My own OBD 2 reader doesnt work well with basic Mercedes engine parameters and no system specifics.

I was going to buy a 38 pin LED blinker, which is being advertised for OBD1 up to '95. But on all the PDFs im seeing no specific troubleshooting on how to diagnose the PTC. I may buy the OBD 1 blinker tool just to have, but does the 38 pin port still work on later model cars.

Unfortunately you have to bite the bullet and get a xentry system I would go with a C4 multiplexer and 2016 software.
Its probably still cheaper than the dealership.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Aerosurfer]

Thanks guys, was hoping for a simple hack. ill Keep at it and try and locate someone nearby. I know I can always go to the dealer

 

[alain Gillot]

Im trying to figure out how best to diagnose my faulty Parktronic system. I have a 99 CL500

My own OBD 2 reader doesnt work well with basic Mercedes engine parameters and no system specifics.

I was going to buy a 38 pin LED blinker, which is being advertised for OBD1 up to '95. But on all the PDFs im seeing no specific troubleshooting on how to diagnose the PTC. I may buy the OBD 1 blinker tool just to have, but does the 38 pin port still work on later model cars.

on a 99 car , i dont think anything work on impulse code , digital is probably it .the first car to use obd2 connection for everything was the 2000 220car , a very few years after that all cars .i would look at ICARSOFT MB2 .A lot of people here are using it .Brinson co in florida is expert on all that .1 800 535 8788 .this group need a section on what to use to test systems of various MB s . on the other hand parktronic , life is too short .another stupid gadget .

 

[Tonye]

Don't know if this helps but i use an odb2 reader with a 38 pin adapter lead for simple code reeds on my 2000 r129 sl320, might be worth trying

 

[alain Gillot]

Don't know if this helps but i use an odb2 reader with a 38 pin adapter lead for simple code reeds on my 2000 r129 sl320, might be worth trying

but obd2 deal mostly with engine and some transmissions .

 

[MAVA]

OBD is really for the federal USA mandate of engine management, and emission controls.

On NON-Touch shift cars with the electronic 722.6 transmission. All the code clearing is done only at the 38 pin. Any attempts to be done at the OBD port will not be CLEARED, yet the OBD tester will say the "code has been cleared" is a total FALLACY. It does not matter how many Tens-Of-Thousands-of-dollars the OBD tester cost. IT CANNOT clear codes from OBD on NON-Touch shift cars(Our cars-96-99 V8/V12 or 97-99 I6). Basically the same on most mid 90's MB cars, but some models go over slightly in the early 2000's like the R129 which the series goes upto 2002. It includes those too, yet the W220 series only have a OBD port, and all the magic is done at the OBD port, and they are Touch-Shift car, and the series started in 2000...

Martin

 

[MAVA]

Thanks guys, was hoping for a simple hack. ill Keep at it and try and locate someone nearby. I know I can always go to the dealer

To be successful with these cars you got to pay to play, and owning a MB Star System is imperative, and owning a touch-shift car is even more imperative to own some kind of tester that can reset/adjust codes beyond the Federal Mandates of OBD emissions. It is true also even if you do not work on the car too.To have such a system to figure out things than to pay $100-200 for a test...

Contact Paul6060 he can set you up with a system, and provide one-on-one support. Paul is the man when it comes to these systems for Mercedes and BMW...

Martin

 

[Aerosurfer]

Thanks guys, all the familiar names I figured would chime in helping. I had read some of the threads on the C4/C6 systems but really got overwhelmed trying to figure out what works or doesn’t and which is China’s finest.

ill be in touch with Paul, looks like he has already posted above too.

any chance anyone is local to Central Indiana?

 

[alain Gillot]

OBD is really for the federal USA mandate of engine management, and emission controls.

On NON-Touch shift cars with the electronic 722.6 transmission. All the code clearing is done only at the 38 pin. Any attempts to be done at the OBD port will not be CLEARED, yet the OBD tester will say the "code has been cleared" is a total FALLACY. It does not matter how many Tens-Of-Thousands-of-dollars the OBD tester cost. IT CANNOT clear codes from OBD on NON-Touch shift cars(Our cars-96-99 V8/V12 or 97-99 I6). Basically the same on most mid 90's MB cars, but some models go over slightly in the early 2000's like the R129 which the series goes upto 2002. It includes those too, yet the W220 series only have a OBD port, and all the magic is done at the OBD port, and they are Touch-Shift car, and the series started in 2000...

Martin

It would be nice if people would post what scanner they use [ beside STAR and obd2 ] on what year / model car , and how well or not it work .that way a list of recommended tool could be made .

 

[MAVA]

I am no genius at this MB Star Stuff, but I do hold my line with it. Hunting(searching??) on Benzworld gives you the perspective of others and their pit-falls. I had my pitfalls too.

Few things to remember:

A) Our cars with 38 pin connector in the engine bay is where all the magic is done. If you have OBD too, all it is good for MAYBE of notification of another code, but OBD in our cars is purely engine/emissions-NO DIAGNOSTICS. Some scanners can see "live data", and "Readiness Emissions Set Flags"(Critical for Kalifornia Residents).

B) The piece of software used to scan our 38 pin cars(the whole range of 90's and earlier cars) is HHT it is 16bit piece of software, so it will ONLY work upto on 32bit operating systems, and Jon (jal1224) has confirmed it works on Win10 32bit, but many still use the XP as it is cloned flavor of the Chinese units. Mine is under Win7-32bit. WE NEED HHT to test our cars. Here is a list of the cars HHT, and the one excluded is the R129-Why I do not know?

Maybe their is a older version for the R129, but it does not apply to us, but some own both cars... I've included a PDF of the test results on HHT to a 94 S600-See the attachment

C) Ohh you will hear Xentry(another test program like HHT) does this and does that, and programs this and that, and works on many cars-yuppie......Guess what.... It DOES NOT APPLY OR WORK FOR OUR CARS. XENTRY works for ALL 722.6 Transmission equipped cars with TOUCH-SHIFT and above . Those of you with a 722.6 in your W140 have a 4-3-2-1 shifter-It is not a Touch-Shift(It is not about the Touch Shift transmission, but the Generation of Cars Xentry works on). Xentry is a much more mature program, but will not work on our cars..

Continue on next post....

 

[MAVA]

EPC is a parts program, and it helps locate parts in assemblies. Plus one can see revisions.

One enters the VIN of the vehicle, and one selects the "major assembly" of parts you are looking for. My Nose is always with some kind of transmission.

The top right shows this transmission document has 1 through 36 pages of info, and the left has the part numbers with notes, yet one will see the history of revision of a particular part too. See the attachment that I converted every page to PDF, and then combined them all. The PDF function is from Adobe Acrobat the Writer(not the free reader one downloads), so I have that to convert any file to PDF-Not included as part of the EPC, or any part of MB Star family of programs.

WIS, I want to say it means Workshop Information System. It is all the procedures to do something, and it can get tricky to maneuver in here. I used is a when I need to replace a M112 engine as the torque values, and compression tests are all there..

See the attachment of what a WIS document looks like...

 

[MAVA]

Though WIS covers everything that one may need for service procedures. Their is the STAR-TekInfo site covers many of the 90's through early 2000 cars which is a super help for diagnostics.

The power is in everyone's hands. Thumb-around, so when it is needed one is not lost. This is what the page looks like:

Wiring diagrams and individual diagnosis is done by WEB-ETM-Starfinder. It has another feature of finding where the component is located, yet it is a bit finicky with displaying the graphical images(or maybe it is me since I only have up to Windows 7 computers-I reject having windows 10). It is more finicky for what I care for, but there are a few online sources for this exact info, and I and others here are steering people to the online sources.

Here is one that covers ALL Vehicles.

This other one just for W140s, but it has NO diagnostic data, but quicker to use. All made from a W140 member.

Screen shots of inside WEB-ETM.

I picked for The Instrument Cluster

The schematic diagram of the wiring of the cluster. How to read MB diagrams

Legend, where the component is located on the schematic.

The Diagnostics tab

The connector reference to the diagnostics and legend tabs

If you are using the ONLINE WEB-ETM it is very tricky to get the diagram, so I outline how to use it for Apple and PC, and to this day it does work, but it is some hoops to get the diagrams. That is the reason Zmaster made his own site, but it only covers W140's

 

[MAVA]

The unit I have, and I was pushing others to get which turned out to be the best Chinese at the given time was this one.

Purchased from this exact link:

350.0US $ |2017 New Cost Effective Mb Star C4 diagnosis for Truck&Car with Newest software 2017.03Version as mb star c3 star c3 multiplexer|c3 star|star c4star c3 - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

NO LONGER SOLD this was a "C4" unit. For our cars with the 38 pin this was THE unit to have. The multiplexer is super reliable to this date. Here is the Multiplexer:

The Chinese software screen looks like this:

The Systems Paul600600 builds look like this on Window-7

Today with the new systems with "Pass-Through". HHT is not included, and their I cannot help any one as I'm operating a older C4 system, but Jon and others can chime in that "I" think it really comes down to the software.

Some are reluctant to buy from a far far-away Chinese company, and plunk-down real DOUGH to such a foreign company. I do not blame you. I bought what I bought from a member that experienced great results. Those of you wanting local source. I do not know what to say, but again I rather buy from a place of reputation over it being sold locally. Some of you may not want to deal with "Chinese" company. I get that too. Then this English company in the UK has options, and they speak "English" over Chinese-English. You guys can message them with questions....

The mother of all threads it is located in the R129 forum, and how I found out about what system to buy is this thread, and for help too-excellent read:

Got My MB STAR C4 Diagnostic Tool Today!

All Forum Members: DHL Couriers arrived at the door this morning with the MB STAR C4 Diagnostic package. The great news is that the cost of import duties, CDN sales taxes, and handling fees by DHL were only a total of $28.15 USD. I was expecting a lot more. :smile Everything was extremely...

www.benzworld.org

Another in the R129-good too:

HHTWIN SDS Advice and issues

This topic is aimed at the growing number of members that have purchased MB Star diagnostic systems. Post 1996 OB2 models are fairly easy to read, however the early diagnostic system HHTWIN encompassed within the very latest Star system is more difficult to get grips with, so this is a trial...

www.benzworld.org

W220 site has a very good thread too:

Plz Read Post 1!! Laptop & Desktop Technical Thread...

Hi Guys, Been thinking about this as a sticky for a while now as we all use IT these days and there are some very knowledgeable IT folk here. Feel free to post any Laptop, Tablet, Desktop, Hardware & Software Questions. Please avoid "SDS use problems" and "My Engine / ABS / Airmatic etc...

www.benzworld.org

R230 Site has a thread on it too:

Great Deals

Have you found a Great Deal? This forum is created to share and find discounts, sales and other deals found online. (No Vendor or Personal Party postings allowed)

www.benzworld.org

Problems have arise with multiplexers too

Nervous about buying Star diagnostics from China? Look...

Let us not to forget Carsoft 7.4 that some us old timers started with, and equally finicky, but it is really for just clearing codes, and is super cheaper than MB-Star, read all about as here is the Mother of all Carsoft 7.4 threads is on the R170 forum

38 pin and carsoft 7.4

OK I got my Carsoft 7.4 and adaptors0 (generic copy :o ) Came direct from manf in China ($173 US) I only have 38pin , NO OBD11. Installed software on laptop PC. Plugged into car, key in pos 2, allowed it to read all systems. Hmm, only reads ME system and reports error (codes I guess) all...

www.benzworld.org

The one in the W210 forum is good too on Carsoft 7.4

Carsoft 7.4 Multiplexer Diagnostic Tool for MB

Kajtek1 - I am moving this discussion to a new thread from here ... http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1501861-w210-aux-water-pump-used-new-5.html#post4610701 since the "W210 Aux Water Pump" sticky was getting off topic. Sorry, I'm the one that digressed. I and Texholdem provided the...

www.benzworld.org

A pay as you go option with super simple hardware, and works with your modern phone and tablet, yet It may never offer the deep diagnostics the MB Star system would offer, but way simpler to use without all the Mambo Jumbo is this one:

Autel AP200M BT dongle

Newest Autel BT dongle. Most affordable and portable scanner. Good coverage, very good shareable reports in PDF format. Included in price EOBD and one car line for a year. After that $19.99 a year. Software installation simple and easy. Very large download. Uses 3.65 GB of internal storage...

www.benzworld.org

One can get it on Amazon too, and start clearing codes right away too....

Hope it helps you,

Martin

 

[jal1224]

Martin,
HHTWin runs fine on Windows 10, 32 bit (x86). That's what I have on my computers.
The nice thing about HHTWin is that it doesn't need any registry entries in Windows. As long as it's installed by itself in the correctly named folders, and the .ini file is correct to point it to the correct serial port, it works fine without DAS or Xentry installed. No keys, passwords, or anything else are required.

Jon

 

[MAVA]

Jon,

Where did you get your copy of HHT? Did you get that unit from the link above?

Martin

 

[jal1224]

I took it out of the copy I got with my Star system on a hunch I could get it to run by itself. I have a zip file around somewhere. Let me find it and I'll provide a link and instructions.

Jon