Question:
How many of you have invested into the Mercedes Star Diagnostic machine?
Mercedes Star Diagnosis reviews
From mbworld.org forum:
I have and it’s worth every penny… just takes some time to get to learn how it works. Dont get one with virtual image software, get an actual Dell D630 with original HD and SD C4 unit.
you can get the whole set for about 700-800 on obd2tool.com.
I post a few pics of the unit sdconnect c4 I have, I purchased a complete bundle: SD C4 plus Dell D630 laptop.
I’ve done stuff like reset the adaptations on my transmission, drive-in adaptations on the transmission, and relearning of the throttle plate and sunroof. I had changed my battery and afterwards the sunroof would not go back smoothly. I went into the relearn function and voila it worked.
In a nustshell you won’t have to visit the dealer all that often because you can identify faults in your car.
About update: As for software updates never tried it on mine but Im not going to try it. You need to have an account with MB anyways.
Star c3 or SD C4:
Actually the SD c4 is highly recommended, The SD c4 is more up to date, SD c4 clone is faster.
The star c3 got phased out I believe in either the 3/15 or the 5/15 release. Star c3 is recommended for a Chinese clone setup as it talks slowly and is error free.
Internal hard drive or external hard drive:
Consisting of a dedicated laptop (with pre-installed and ‘authorized’ software) cables and multiplexer and do not use for anything else then this purpose, I would recommend.
Many brothers prefer internal HDD to external HDD, reasons as follows:
External hard drive features:
1) If laptop broke, you could just plug it into another machine.
2) It’s a lot slower than running it from disk, because of VMWare overhead. If you use it 2 or 3 times a year, a VM solution is perfectly fine.
3) Hangs off the machine and can be damaged as you move the laptop around. If you pick up the laptop, the USB drive unplugs, then it will fall to the ground and you’re cooked.
Internal Hard drive advantages:
1) Much faster, if you use it quite a bit then go External hard drive.
2) Internal is so much nicer because now I just have the multiplexer and laptop to carry to the car. Nothing to unplug or fall off.
Other brothers know my experience with SD C4 and asked me some questions, my answers are followed:
1) Question one:
800dollars is not a bad investment. What else can this be used for other than finding and reading faults? coding? adding and remove features?
I currently have a W221. And more than likely will get a W222 in 2 years. Will this be useful for the W222 also or obsolete by then?
Answer:
You want to acquire the ‘developer’ version, as this allows you to modify and adjust settings on control units ( as well as add oem equipment) which are unavailable in the standard version.
*Be carefull in using in developer mode as you can seriously screw up all the controlling car-confusers and no dealer ever knows how, or wants, to fix it for you.
2) Question two:
Does it allow one to update TCU/ECU programming to newer/latest versions (presuming you get a recent release)?
Answer: For this you have to have access to dealer-network to get the latest and greatest, which is highly unlikely with a Chinese clone system.
If it’s not broken don’t fix it, especially with complex stuff you are not sure what you are doing.*
For the rest its an expense well spent if you are technically inclined and doing your own maintenance and/or repairs.
3) Question three:
You can also lower the suspension via star diagnosis, correct?
Answer: Yes you can lower the suspension with Das-Xentry