Carsoft and the W208

[Arudge]

I bought carsoft ultimate V12 for my CLK W208 because i wanted to check the systems and the carsoft had the most coverage by far. Very few diagnostics seem to cover the W208 so i went for it.

However.........

I'm not doing very well.

Carsoft tells me there's a fault with the gearbox. But that's all it's telling me, Fault. I can't get codes, live data or clear faults and i should be able to. At least the bumph says i should. It's like that for a few of the modules but not all.

No response from the company.

Anybody else had any issues?

This is a genuine product from Belgium dongle protected.

 

[John Laidlaw]

No no such issues with mine. Assume you're plugging it in before turning ignition on?
It will read some stuff cold too
There was another post on here recently with an email address for the people which got a response ...

 

[John Laidlaw]

Support@icarsoft.us apparently

 

[Arudge]

Support@icarsoft.us apparently

Thank you, i'll give that a go.

Most stuff it will read with just the ignition turned on to the second position, but the gearbox needs the engine running. Also, gearbox isn't available on the single diagnosis, you have to do a total diagnosis and then pick off the gearbox, but then it's very limited. The early diesel gearbox and post 04 is available on single diagnosis, but not up to 97 petrol, up 01 petrol or post 01 petrol.

Also, the help key does nothing nor does the manual key, i ended up downloading the manual from the website.

I also reloaded the program from the website in case there was an issue with the DVD, but it was the same.

i'll post up some screen shots later, see if you recognise the format,

 

[Arudge]

Just noticed............Mine is carsoft and yours icarsoft. They are different products.

 

[umblecumbuz]

The Carsoft V12 you've purchased is a computer based product - that is, it needs a separate computer for it to function.

Thr iCarsoft units are standalone, not needing a separate computer. They plug directly into the OBD port. On here, they have a good reputation, and I have found no problems with mine.

Hope that clears things a bit.

Umble.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Thanks arudge and umble, colour me surprised I had never heard of the Carsoft product...sorry I can be of little help then.....

 

[Arudge]

The Carsoft V12 you've purchased is a computer based product - that is, it needs a separate computer for it to function.

Thr iCarsoft units are standalone, not needing a separate computer. They plug directly into the OBD port. On here, they have a good reputation, and I have found no problems with mine.

Hope that clears things a bit.

Umble.

Well, that's offered me some comfort at least. I'll try the vendor see if he can offer any explanation.

 

[Arudge]

After several exchanges via E-mail with the vendor, a thinly veiled accusation of fraud on my part, me accusing the manufacturer of ignoring my repeated requests for assistance, i receive a phone call from the manufacturer, in Belgium, in perfect English as they tend to be, offering assistance.

He assures me he has not received any e-mails from me and it was the vendor that prompted the phone call.

He wants to look at my car via teamviewer and resolve my issues. This could be interesting i thought, i'll hold off the dogs for now (PayPal) and see where it takes us.

It's all scheduled for next Tuesday.

I'll keep you informed.

 

[Arudge]

Well, we had our teamviewer appointment and the Carsoft rep was able to work his way around my car's systems. He came across the same problems i did.

We appear to have a voltage related communication issue, we can't interrogate the gearbox ECU without the engine running and this is not correct. We can 'see' the gearbox but not get anything out of it. Some of the other systems report perfectly, some do not.

He collected all the data he said he needed and said he'd call me back tomorrow.

The Carsoft rep was clearly knowledgeable and knew what he was doing. I asked about USB/serial converters and he explained why they don't work in this application. Electronics and software is not my strongest subject so i've a lot to learn here.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Arudge]

The fella did phone back as promised suggesting there may be a voltage problem. I did as he suggested, made sure the battery was charged and the engine running but it made no difference, but i do think he has a point.

I did fix two issues by doing little more than bend pins in plugs, but i'm currently reading up on Can Bus systems and they can be a nightmare, i think i've got one of them.

 

[Arudge]

I'm looking for a favour.

Some brave sole who owns any Mercedes 04 or OLDER, who lives within an hour or so of B64 postcode, who'll allow me to plug my diagnostic kit into their car purely to test it's functionality, that means to say, it actually does read the gearbox.

I promise not to take up too much of your time, 20 minutes or so, drone on too much about how hard i've had it and i'll try my best not to set fire to your car.

I'll also bring the biscuits.

Obviously i'm coming to you at your convenience, hopefully an evening.

PM me if anybody's interested.

Cheers.

 

[LostKiwi]

I'm at NN11 if thats any good?

 

[Arudge]

I'm at NN11 if thats any good?

Sounds good to me, thank you very much. When are you free?

 

[towat]

I've got a 99 W208 Cab at WV13, it doesn't have the square OBD plug under the dash but I bought a Round adaptor which plugs into the ECU port under the bonnet, your welcome to give it a try, might be doing me a favour actually as it has a couple of niggles.

 

[LostKiwi]

I'

Sounds good to me, thank you very much. When are you free?

I'm home all day today, Wednesday and Friday. Other than that evenings all week.

 

[Arudge]

I'

I'm home all day today, Wednesday and Friday. Other than that evenings all week.

Tonight would be great. If i leave here 6pm hopefully getting to yours 7.30-8pm. 1hour 10 on the sat nav plus traffic. Do you still have my phone number?

 

[Arudge]

I've got a 99 W208 Cab at WV13, it doesn't have the square OBD plug under the dash but I bought a Round adaptor which plugs into the ECU port under the bonnet, your welcome to give it a try, might be doing me a favour actually as it has a couple of niggles.

I went to see LostKiwi and basically theres nothing wrong with the software, its my Can Bus system that's at fault. The software workwd on his, at least bits of it did but they wern't the same bits as mine, we accessed his transmission no problem. Mine? Forget it.

Your welcome to come over if you wish but be prepared for dissapointment.

Older cars, pain in the

 

[LostKiwi]

One word of warning about those OBD2->38 pin adapters. They normally only have pins 1,3 and 4 on the 38pin lead connected . This will only enable you to read the engine data.

The reason for this is the 38 pin socket exposes each car system individually. The OBD2 ones don't and multiplex the systems onto a subset of pins or use canbus to query.

 

[Arudge]

Because of the persistant fault with the transmission and the inability to access the controller, I've decided there's an issue with it.

Both ECU testing and BBA reman wanted the same price, £225+VAT although my controller wasn't in either of there listings.

I spoke to BBA reman at some length, the reason they didn't list was because they had only ever seen two and only been able to fix one. This was basically telling me that they were, on the whole, very reliable.

There was plenty of choice on Fleabay. But on the one all the numbers lined up, even the number under the Siemens name, which I thought was just a product count number, was the same. This had got to be worth a punt, so we'll give it a go.