The A/C system only has so much cooling capacity, all the "Hot Countries" setting(s) do is excessively ramp up the engine cooling fan and interior fan with the A/C on. Also, the set temp is adjusted 2-4? degrees lower then displayed giving an illusion of colder air. I did keep the engine fan (separate ACC menu setting) min speed at 40% vs. the standard 25% for better A/C performance when idling or in stop and go traffic though.

Here is Mackhack's Star Diagnosis Modifications list for the E-Class W211/CLS W219:

interesting items......

Curvmatic is interesting. Did not know about this feature.

Activation of cornering lights would be great. I knew cars in Europe were supplied with these as part of the active curve illumination.

Wonder what "Enable SBC-S and SBC-H" is?

Can you really change count on SBC?

__________________
-- Chris

'95 E300, 216k miles, Silver Surfer
'05 E320 CDI, 138k miles
'07 S550 4matic, 69k miles

Gone but not forgotten:

'76 300D, 350k miles?, SOLD in 1995
'75 240D, 300k miles, SOLD in 1991

Yes it is!

These systems don't come with instructions, but there are a number of tutorials out there across multiple forums and YouTube. It took me a week or so to get the basics mapped
out and fortunately the system has a simulation mode to explore. Here's a MBWorld thred to check out: Star Diagnostic How To DIY with lots o pics

SBC-Stop

SBC-Hold



I'm not sure about changing the actual count, but I know you can increase the limit. 2005 and later cars already have an increased (600K) limit though.

Just ordered one from Gordysgadgets. He has another one for sale if anyone's interested.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Good deal. I got mine yesterday.

It was very well packed and the computer booted up with no issues other than it had lost the date/time.

I left it at the BIOS default date (early 2000s) but that did not allow Xentry to load.

I checked the authorization key and it was valid and noticed it said valid from xx.xx.2017 to xx.xx.2028.

Once I set the time to present day it worked fine in stand alone mode.

I have to go to my real job and make a living today, when I get back this evening I will tie it into my W210 and try to get online with it and let you know how it went.

Couple things to know:
- there is a file on the desktop that tells you a few simple rules. The biggest one is never put this system on the internet. To that end he has removed all network drivers from Windows. The Dell has a wifi on/off switch on the side, be sure to keep that off. And never plug the Ethernet cord into a network.
- There are a couple of batch files on the desktop, to be used for properly shutting down the MB backend systems. Be sure to use those instead of Windows shutdown command.
- The power adapter is not a genuine Dell adapter. I had one of these exact same Dell computers back in the day (ca. 2006) and this adapter feels like it's hollow inside compared to the proper Dell adapter, to the point I didn't feel comfortable plugging it in. Luckily I had an IGo adapter lying around, and I will use that instead.
- The computer comes with no backup media. I would recommend getting some image software and making an image of the hard drive for archival purposes. I am also looking into cloning the HDD onto a SSD (256 GB SSDs are dirt cheap now).
- It comes with the OBDII cord (for W211 and newer), the 38 pin cord (late 124/140/210) and the banana pin cable for early 124/201. And another cord that I can't identify, it is probably for the commercial truck engines.

Watch this YouTube, he goes through all the menus on the W210

https://youtu.be/QnDqY7b3Af8

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Glad to hear you're up and running, Jay_Bob. Mine will be here Tuesday.

Looking forward to any insights you have once you get to playing with it!!

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

FYI Gordy says that sometimes Fedex removes the battery for inspection. If they do that, and if the BIOS battery is weak, it can lose the time/date.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Interesting and ominous warnings about using developer mode.

MB Star diagnosis DAS Developer Mode | MBStarTool.com Official Blog

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Thanks for that link Shertex!

Not directly related to the primary purpose of this thread, but you've gotta love the sentence I highlighted below:

"As a presumed DAS user you have probably learned already that there are number of functions that would logically belong to the software options, but they are missing from the regular DAS installations... ...The reasons for disabling these functions in the DAS setups seen at the dealership are very simple: firstly, risk associated with using them is too high to open these tools to (very often) under trained and rushing technicians; secondly, there are several legal obligations that put restrictions on what the dealer can do and what he can not – for instance, recoding tv-in-motion, airbags and emission-re lated systems fall into this category. Thirdly, electronically damaged components very often result in replacement, therefore repairing (recoding) would have adverse effect on spare parts revenue."

In other words, "Don't fix the problem with the computer module - screw your customer by selling them a new part."

__________________
Current rolling stock:
2001 E55 183,000+ Newest member of the fleet.
2002 E320 83,000 - The "cream-puff"!
1992 500E 217,000+
1995 E300D 412,000+
1998 E300D 155,000+
2001 E320 227,000+
2001 E320 Wagon, 177,000+

Prior MBZ’s:
1952 220 Cab A
1966 300SE
1971 280SE
1973 350SLC (euro)
1980 450SLC
1980 450SLC (#2)
1978 450SLC 5.0
1984 300D ~243,000 & fondly remembered
1993 500E - sorely missed.
1975 VW Scirocco w/ slightly de-tuned Super-Vee engine - Sold after 30+ years.

I keep changing mine back in to an early BIOS ( not windows ). So far it keeps working, later versions might keep track of the highest date in the SW and it may brick at some point of the SW vendor didn't change that function.

Yep, the system will phone home, mine did and I needed to run the setup SW again.

There are many power levels of Dell power bricks. The very small center pin is a serial data buss that tells the computer what wattage the brick is. Got to " power management " and it should show a wattage.

This might not work,it didn't on mine. The SW is locked to the HD serial number and likely some other identifying features to prevent copying.

The HD truck version is a round connector with 5 or so round pins in a non symmetrical pattern.

Not really, there is a vast difference between replacing " electronically damaged " components on a board and installing SW that the writer does not seem to understand.

Repairing an electronic module can be an iffy thing as some failures only occur at certain temperatures / vibration levels. The automotive environment is one notch below MILSPEC in terms of operating temperature and reliability. ( The next lower levels are industrial and consumer )

It is much more cost effective and less legally risky to replace the unit as new.

I managed to get some time on the W210 last night with the computer just before the storms rolled in.

It works as advertised in the YouTube video I linked yesterday. I was able to make it blink the turn signals and it shows that the turn signals draw close to 5 A when lit. And I honked the horn, of course you have to go back into the menu to tell it to stop.

There are some online cautions about using a battery charger when in an extended session. I believe it, the battery dropped to nearly 12.0 V before I got done. The vehicle provides all the power for the multiplexer, and you also have to toggle the key on and off repeatedly as you go through the process, which also cycles your glow plugs.

Most of the W210 menu operations run through the HHT emulation software so it has to pull up a side window to load that. You can either click, arrow, or press the Fn keys on the keyboard to navigate through these menus.

I was reading around in the WIS and it makes mention of a feature on the non rain sensor equipped 210 wipers. If you have the switch on position II and you slow below single digit mph (like coming up to a light) the wipers automatically fall into intermittent mode until you speed up again. Or if you're already on intermittent then the time constant is increased. However my car does not seem to do this. There is a note in the WIS that says this feature may be disabled through version coding. I searched around the EIS and Front SAM menus and could not find any options to change this. Anybody seen or hear of this feature??

I did find the rain sensor equipped field, so if I ever figure out how to install a rain sensor then I know how to tell the OHP and SAM it's there. However from what I understand it requires a special version of the windshield with the lens factory bonded to the glass, plus the electronics that go behind the lens. So that may be a future project whenever it's time for a new windshield.

Also I would like to do the following, which I suspect are part of a version coding menu somewhere:
- change the dashboard clock to 24 hour mode (I prefer 24 hour time)
- change the outside temp and climate control temp displays to degrees C (keeping with the Euro theme, and to match the water temperature gauge)

If I get a chance to get connected to the W164 tonight or this weekend (it's trying to storm again tonight) then I will post more updates. Being that the W164 and the W211 share a lot of systems I am going to try to see if the flashing brake lights on hard braking option is there.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Mine arrived today. Very well packaged, everything looks to be accounted for and in good condition. Boots right up with no difficulty. And everything fits perfectly in the case I had for my Dell D810.

I'll probably "wade around in the kiddie pool" of Xentry Simulator for a while before connecting it to one of my cars.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Some early observations....while if you poke your nose around the Internet there are a lot of procedures that are documented, the navigation doesn't always match the menu structure on my car. This is exacerbated by fact that, as you drill down, things sometimes change from English to German.

Unbelievable tool, though.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife