2004 R170 Engine light on..

[LadyPenelope]

Hello all,

Lady P's R170 is misbehaving. (UK model year 2004) low miles about 60k

The orange engine light has decided to come on on the left hand side of the steering wheel. The car starts and drives just as normal .

It recently went to an independent garage for a service when the light was on but no issues were found, the light was reset and it was fine for a few weeks then it came on again.

The car still starts and drives fine with no obvious issues.

I will say that the car is occasionally used and certainly not daily. Probably only does about 2k a YEAR.

I was having a look on ebay uk for an OBD adaptor to interrogate the system to look for clues. I'm thinking one of the cheap generic bluetooth ones for use with an iphone?

I'm just wondering which to buy and what software? Are there risks in plugging one of these in? Does it list out any fault or error codes and where can these be looked up?

Does the adaptor allow you to reset the light?

Thanks all..

Parker

 

[LostKiwi]

A cheap generic adapter is of very limited use and will not show you all the codes stored.

You relay need something that is capable of reading MB specific codes and modules.

For something that uses a phone look at Carly or Autel AP-200 (I have the Autel permanently in my SL for the inevitable moment it throws a wobbly) and can recommend it.

Not only will it read engine codes but it can also read gearbox, ABS, ESP, airbags, roof controller etc.

Other than that the iCarsoft range is decent value for money and many on here use them (I have an MB-II in my R Class for when it throws a wobbly and an i980 in my Smart).

Both the iCarsoft and Autel give text descriptions for most error codes and can clear codes on all the modules they read.

 

[mioba]

I would not bother with the cheap Bluetooth ones if you want to do self maintenance - false economy.

MBV3 icarsoft seems reasonable. But reading codes and deciphering information they provide to find the fault are different things.

Resetting the code wont make the fault go away.

The fault probably came on later (after the initial reset) as it became a pending code, which needs a few repeat cycles to trigger the EML.

If you do go the ebay dongle route then you need a smart phone app. Plenty on the app store and are free.

A good merc indy is priceless.