[BenzEagle]

After 18 months of ownership my car is running great.

The only things that pop are sensors. One every six months, by statistics.

A month ago the crank position sensor went out.

Now I got another "check engine" light - most likely mass flow/02. My mechanic said after repairing the crank position sensor, that there were some other error codes, but inconclusive, and that I might get another "check engine" soon. He was right.

As he charges $ 80.00 per scan this really increases repair cost.

But not only for cost: the sensors are the one thing at this car that need regular attention. I'd like to be able to do it myself and get familiar with maintaining the electric health.

So my questions are:

1. What are my options to scan codes myself? (And can I delete error codes after a repair/reset them without the Mercedes software?) I'm on a Mac, by the way.

2. Can you recommend a repair manual for my 2003 211 E320? I had a manual for my old 123, and it had been very helpful back then.


Thanks!


PS: The only real trouble I had were two repairs for fuel leaks. A smaller one, and a bigger one, replacing the sending unit. I have gotten a letter by MB and have already requested a reimbursement, as I did the final repair about ten days before I got the letter.

 

[Check Codes]

The MS309 is a self-contained code scanner that will read and clear codes. It won't do everything SDS will, but it costs about $20 at Amazon, and then you don't have to guess at the CEL or be at the mercy of your mechanic.

I have four different interfaces, and the MS309 is what I reach for first (in part because it's small enough to fit under the seat so it's always handy) and in most cases, it's all I need.

You can buy a pirated copy of WIS on eBay for under $20, but it's not the most user-friendly thing in the world.

Luckily, though, you have this great forum and the helpful folks and wealth of knowledge contained herein. Can I suggest that you just hang out here for awhile and search and post before you look for manuals? It's generally easier and often faster.

Good luck.

 

[BenzEagle]

Thanks, Check Codes!

So with this code scanner you don't clear out codes from the car's system, but within the scanner itself?

If you replace a sensor, would the "check engine" light go off by itself, our would you have to clear out the error message?

I found the MS 309:

Amazon.com: Autel (MaxiScan MS309) OBD-II Code Reader / Scan Tool: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@41sE3oZd11L

And the MS 310 (would one buy this one now, or still the 309)?

Amazon.com: MaxiScan™ MS310 OBDII/EOBD Code Reader (AULMS310) Category: Code Readers: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@41mAIcFTmTL

I looked at the WIS on eBay, but they all seem to be for Windows.

Well, I guess I'll use the open doors in this forum instead.

But, seriously, I have worked on a car that had probably just the wires for the lights and the cigarette lighter and nothing else. I'd love to get a more concrete idea where sensors really are, e.g. the crank position sensor: would this be on the outside of the engine, reading some marks on the crank? How would it read that? Reflected light? Electric contact?

 

[Kajtek1]

I learn car electronics on this forum and never had a need for other manuals.
The above scanner cost 1/4 of what your mechanic charge for hooking up his scanner.
Talk about recouping the cost very fast
While this scanner will read engine sensors codes and clear them, you can buy advanced scanner of about $150-200 that will also deal with ABS, SRS and more.
Unfortunately getting solid info about the scanners is not easy, but we do have some recommendation on the forum.
Sensor codes will clear themselves after you fix the problem. I start driving digital cars when the cheapest scanner was about $150, so did not buy one right away and per my experience MAF CEL will clear after 7 restarts.
CPS should clear right away, while other sensors take combination of restarts and driving.
Still scanner can save you some frustration of observing CEL.

 

[Check Codes]

I don't really see any benefit to the 310 over the 309; with the Mac you may not be able to use the free updates, either.

The forum will help you locate the sensors. Remember that these are fairly old cars and they are shared technology for things like sensors with other vehicles across the lineup. Indeed, the engine in your car is nearly identical to mine, so you can also leverage much of the DIY stuff posted in the W210 forum for engines and transmissions, including things like the MAF and crank sensor, etc.

In most cases, fixing the underlying issue will result in the CEL going out on its own. That said, however, the ECU is going through a period of relearning and adapting, and generally speaking I prefer to simply use the code reader to clear the codes. That clears it out and resets emission status so the car won't be ready for an emission test until those all come back to ready state. But it lets the ECU rebalance things more quickly.

Side tip: if you're fixing something that has caused a driveability issue, I also like to run the TPS/adaptive transmission reset, as that will get it back to defaults so it relearns without having to first unlearn bad data.

The WIS at least one vendor is selling is really a VM running WinXP. I'm sure there is a VM player for Mac that would allow you to open the VM, which already has the WIS installed and configured (which itself is an arduous task, so that is kind of nice). Of course if you have a high-speed connection and lots of bandwidth and a bit of know-how there's a guy on the forum who is hosting a VM setup quite similar to that, you have only to download it and then tinker until you get it to work.

Hope that helps.

Good luck.

 

[Roadking999]

After 18 months of ownership my car is running great.

The only things that pop are sensors. One every six months, by statistics.

A month ago the crank position sensor went out.

Now I got another "check engine" light - most likely mass flow/02. My mechanic said after repairing the crank position sensor, that there were some other error codes, but inconclusive, and that I might get another "check engine" soon. He was right.

As he charges $ 80.00 per scan this really increases repair cost.

But not only for cost: the sensors are the one thing at this car that need regular attention. I'd like to be able to do it myself and get familiar with maintaining the electric health.

So my questions are:

1. What are my options to scan codes myself? (And can I delete error codes after a repair/reset them without the Mercedes software?) I'm on a Mac, by the way.

2. Can you recommend a repair manual for my 2003 211 E320? I had a manual for my old 123, and it had been very helpful back then.


Thanks!


PS: The only real trouble I had were two repairs for fuel leaks. A smaller one, and a bigger one, replacing the sending unit. I have gotten a letter by MB and have already requested a reimbursement, as I did the final repair about ten days before I got the letter.

You get what you pay for, a low cost analyzer is very limited, a high end analyzer is capable of pulling component level codes and resetting those codes. If you're in it for the long run you need to spend $350+ for something capable. Ideally a STAR system will put you at close to the dealer level as it relates to functionality, Chinese knockoffs start at about $600 and you need a laptop.

 

[BenzEagle]

I learn car electronics on this forum and never had a need for other manuals.
The above scanner cost 1/4 of what your mechanic charge for hooking up his scanner.
Talk about recouping the cost very fast
While this scanner will read engine sensors codes and clear them, you can buy advanced scanner of about $150-200 that will also deal with ABS, SRS and more.
Unfortunately getting solid info about the scanners is not easy, but we do have some recommendation on the forum.
Sensor codes will clear themselves after you fix the problem. I start driving digital cars when the cheapest scanner was about $150, so did not buy one right away and per my experience MAF CEL will clear after 7 restarts.
CPS should clear right away, while other sensors take combination of restarts and driving.
Still scanner can save you some frustration of observing CEL.

Thanks, Kajtek.

It's also a good idea to have a scanner if the "check engine" light comes on so one can see if it's something major.

Today, it wasn't actual a sensor, but the vacuum lines in the engine compartment had a leak.

I will simply buy the unit Check recommended, and start and learn as I go along.

 

[BenzEagle]

I don't really see any benefit to the 310 over the 309; with the Mac you may not be able to use the free updates, either.

The forum will help you locate the sensors. Remember that these are fairly old cars and they are shared technology for things like sensors with other vehicles across the lineup. Indeed, the engine in your car is nearly identical to mine, so you can also leverage much of the DIY stuff posted in the W210 forum for engines and transmissions, including things like the MAF and crank sensor, etc.

In most cases, fixing the underlying issue will result in the CEL going out on its own. That said, however, the ECU is going through a period of relearning and adapting, and generally speaking I prefer to simply use the code reader to clear the codes. That clears it out and resets emission status so the car won't be ready for an emission test until those all come back to ready state. But it lets the ECU rebalance things more quickly.

Side tip: if you're fixing something that has caused a driveability issue, I also like to run the TPS/adaptive transmission reset, as that will get it back to defaults so it relearns without having to first unlearn bad data.

The WIS at least one vendor is selling is really a VM running WinXP. I'm sure there is a VM player for Mac that would allow you to open the VM, which already has the WIS installed and configured (which itself is an arduous task, so that is kind of nice). Of course if you have a high-speed connection and lots of bandwidth and a bit of know-how there's a guy on the forum who is hosting a VM setup quite similar to that, you have only to download it and then tinker until you get it to work.

Hope that helps.

Good luck.

Thanks, Check Codes! I'll get started with it. The thing about the transmission reset is puzzling me, but I don't have to do everything at once. First task is to learn the logical structure of this computerized car.

 

[BenzEagle]

You get what you pay for, a low cost analyzer is very limited, a high end analyzer is capable of pulling component level codes and resetting those codes. If you're in it for the long run you need to spend $350+ for something capable. Ideally a STAR system will put you at close to the dealer level as it relates to functionality, Chinese knockoffs start at about $600 and you need a laptop.

Anything fancy will be too difficult for me just starting out with these things.

I will get the MS309 recommended by Check, and see what it does and what questions come up with me.

For now, I won't touch things like ABS. My goal for now is getting a hold on the sensors of this car, and starting to be able to interpret what's going on.

My mechanic is actually a very good one. He's not one of those who takes your car and just gives it back to you. He shows me what codes came up on the Star system, and which conclusions he drew out of those codes.

That's interesting. I also read some reviews on the 309 on Amazon and it's amazing how cross-platform / cross-brand such a scanner is. I would have expected you need one of these for each brand, but there seem to be some standards - and maybe similar sensors are put into very different cars.

 

[CetiAlpha5]

Anything fancy will be too difficult for me just starting out with these things.

I will get the MS309 recommended by Check, and see what it does and what questions come up with me.

For now, I won't touch things like ABS. My goal for now is getting a hold on the sensors of this car, and starting to be able to interpret what's going on.

My mechanic is actually a very good one. He's not one of those who takes your car and just gives it back to you. He shows me what codes came up on the Star system, and which conclusions he drew out of those codes.

That's interesting. I also read some reviews on the 309 on Amazon and it's amazing how cross-platform / cross-brand such a scanner is. I would have expected you need one of these for each brand, but there seem to be some standards - and maybe similar sensors are put into very different cars.

I normally recommend an ELM327 bluetooth scan tool. The BAFX one on Amazon is pretty popular and it's about $23.50 now on Amazon. Works with Android and the app Torque for $5 gives you a lot more options than a basic hand held unit.

I just got an X431 EasyDiag scan tool, haven't really played with it much, but it does have the option to read other system codes if you pay an extra $39 otherwise it just does basic OBDII codes.

Basically OBDII is a standard so that's why you can have one reader for many different cars, however each manufacturer have their own system for things like ABS, transmission, etc.

 

[Kajtek1]

That's interesting. I also read some reviews on the 309 on Amazon and it's amazing how cross-platform / cross-brand such a scanner is. I would have expected you need one of these for each brand, but there seem to be some standards - and maybe similar sensors are put into very different cars.

OBD II started as US government requirement for all makes to have unified emission system scanner.
Therefore it has to be the same for all brands when it comes to sensors and emission components.
Over the time cars got more complicated, transmission got computerized, suspension got computerized, tire pressure got computerized, so the plug has to carry way more data than it was originally design for.
So the basic scanner cost just few dollars, but will read only basic, unified codes.
Good for most of the troubles, but when you have SRS or transmission codes, you need brand-specific software and that can get very expensive very fast.
Try injectors calibrating with handheld scanner.