90 500SL Need Help

[bobterry99]

Chuck allowed me access to his online Alldata account. I now have enough first-hand experience with Alldata to evaluate it and compare it to the R129 Tech DVD.

I now find the impressions I had of Alldatadiy before this thread was started were generally accurate. However, there are two important exceptions. I had supposed that the schematics lacked pin-by-pin diagnostic information of the electronic modules, and I also supposed that there were no pictures showing the location of electronic components. I was wrong on both counts, and I find that the content of the Tech DVD and Alldatadiy are generally equivalent. Both have the essentials of a good manual: diagnostic procedures, electrical schematics, component locators, remove/replace procedures, and service bulletins. Alldatadiy includes a time guide which is a nice extra; the Tech DVD includes the owner's manuals.

So far in this discussion Alldatadiy looks really good. But there is one important area where it is a bit weak, and it is in this same area that the Tech DVD really shines: electrical schematics and ease of their use. The Tech DVD schematics use an Internet Explorer plug-in from Autodesk called "Whip4". Schematics are in color and the color representations of wires on the schematics match the physical wires. Mouse-controlled buttons allow the user to pan in all directions and zoom continuously in and out. This feature along with the use of color makes following a wire from one end of a diagram to another easy. Want to know where a component is located? Simply click on it with the mouse and with another click a description of the component location and a color photo of it pop-up. The Alldatadiy schematics lack all of these features. Is it a problem? No, but depending on the needs of the user and the complexity of the schematic Alldatadiy can require considerably more time and effort.

In summary, because of the differences in the electrical schematics I stand by my assertion that the R129 Tech DVD is the best manual available for the R129. But Alldatadiy is very good overall; and importantly, it matches the Tech DVD in technical coverage.

In regard to price, it depends on your time horizon which manual has an advantage. I am in my fourth year of using the $80 Tech DVD, and I foresee no future day when I will no longer use it. Had I subscribed to Alldatadiy during this time I would have spent about $100 with further expenses in years to come. So for me the Tech DVD has the added benefit of being cheaper. On the other hand, imagine someone who is preparing a car for sale and is making repairs. This person would be advised to forgo the Tech DVD and use something else.

One last note: in my experience with the two versions of Alldatadiy that I have used in recent days I find them to be nearly identical. The only significant difference is that the PC-based version lacks a search feature -- though this may not be a significant drawback.