Carsoft 6.5.06 Windows 7
Rapheal Charlton
I recently had the pleasure of performing a product review on CARSOFT International's PC Scanner Package for Mercedes. At first glance of the package contents, the obvious attention to quaility was evident by the superb quaility of the leads, and the module assembly. The OBDII lead and the lead for Digital Diagnosis, are actual OEM style connectors, so no breakout box is required. There is also a lead set for the older analog systems used in the Mercedes vehicles. Our test vehicle is a "pristine condition" 1988 Mercedes 300SEL. The vehicle owner, Ted Burleson, provided the test vehicle. Thanks Ted!! Your the best!!
The first step was installing the software on the laptop. The laptop used for the review is an IBM Thinkpad 760EL, Pentium 133. The software is a single CD, and the install will take mere minutes. The CARSOFT system is a Windows system, and the laptop has Windows '98 2nd Edition installed on it. After the software is installed on the pc, the software will require activation. This was a very simple task. I emailed CARSOFT and the activation code was quickly emailed back to me. The laptop display will need to be set at 800X600 for the text and chart screens to display properly. The 760EL has a XGA display set at 1024X768 and the graphics and text were EXCELLENT as you will see in this review.
Connecting the scanner to the laptop took about 2 minutes. All that is required is to connect the pc cable (included) to the 9 pin serial port of the pc.
I received an unexpected test result of the AIRBAG (SRS) system. I was not aware of any problems that Ted was experiencing with the car. After contacting him, he told me that on long trips, the AIRBAG light would intermittantly come on. This was GREAT!! This vehicle uses "Carbon Brushes" to make the connection from the steering column to the steering wheel/drivers side air bag. This was an early design, and has now been replaced with a ribbon style "Clockspring" assembly. This vehicle is rarely driven, and due to the length of time, sitting idle, the Carbon Brushes will loose there connection, and create the intermittant system fault.
I wanted to include a couple of sample screens of a software program that will soon be available from CARSOFT International. To complement the scanner package, a program, CIS (Carsoft Information System) will add even more functionability for the technican. Below are four screen shots of a demo release of the program.
The demo vehicle is a Mercedes SLK 230 with a 111 Engine with a stored DTC, PO130. Screen two shows the component location, screen three is an explantion of what the O2 sensor is, and does, and screen four is a very detailed wiring diagram of the control unit. I have never seen as much detail given within a scanner program. The graphics are excellent and the system/sub-system explanations are simple,and easy to understand.
In closing, I want to thank all of the people at CARSOFT International for giving us an opportunity to review the system. It was a pleasure talking with all of you. I think your system is a MUST HAVE for any shop performing repairs on Mercedes vehicles.
I want to also note to the readers, that CARSOFT International, also has pc scanner systems designed for BMW, and VAG vehicles.
Please check out the CARSOFT International website at: www.carsoftinternational.com