I see this advertized on eBay and I'm wondering what the benefit are for connecting your OBDII scanner through the 38 pin slot, when cars that use OBDII have their own OBDII ports.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-BENZ-38-pin-OBD-OBD2-connector-Scanner-lead-/170674510575?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item27bcfe5aef

__________________
With best regards

Al

It will not give you any additional abilities just makes it easier to have the scanner close to you under the hood.I find it easier to plug into the 38 pin with it rather than crawling under the dash.
This also prompted me to purchase a Snap-on MT2500 on Ebay! you can do so much more with this tool thru the 38 pin connector. They seem to be plentiful on e-bay

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88 W124 3.0
96 R129 119eng
06 ML350
98 ML320 sold
02 CLK55 amg

I looked at those a few times, but in most cases, they have only domestic and asian keys.

__________________
With best regards

Al

I had to purchase everything seperatly on e bay the cartridge that is good on cars up to model year 2003 I got for $159.00. it was the most expensive piece. the mt2500 was only like $80bucks.The keys you should buy only from snap-on they are the cheapest $20.00 each key. I think you need 3 of them to look at other systems like a/c, abs brakes,and climate control.

__________________
88 W124 3.0
96 R129 119eng
06 ML350
98 ML320 sold
02 CLK55 amg

johnflight1, this is interesting. Do you need any particular version of teh MT2500? I have seen 1.8, 2.2, etc. What is the cartridge called that you need? How do you identify the keys needed? Thanks

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

$80 is a heck of a deal.

__________________
With best regards

Al

. Hi , The Keys you will need for mercedes are S17,S20,S21 personality keys. The cartridge is called a primary cartridge its number is mt25001103, the cables you need are a MB1 38 pin,MB2a analog connector and a DL16 whic is the OBDII under dash connector. Go on snapon tools . com to buy the keys they are new and cheaper than anything else on e bay. My MT2500 is the plain jane model no color no graphing.
I am a very good shopper

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88 W124 3.0
96 R129 119eng
06 ML350
98 ML320 sold
02 CLK55 amg

Well, I have some questions...

Is there some way to determine which cars need the S17 vs S20 and S21?

What is the yellow connector for on the MB-2A? Is that for pre-OBDII?

I guess I am trying to figure out the minimum stuff I need just for my car. I already have an OBDII scanner so I don't need to duplicate that capability either.

I am still worried about versions of the MT2500. For example I think V1.8 is pre '98 so that would not work on my car but I don't know.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

As far as I know the MT2500 series are good for all cars whether its a 1.8 or a 2.2 they were just newer versions of the same tool ,some are color screens some have graphing and additional features. The main thing is the cartridge! this will determine the type of vehicle ford ,chevy, asian,mercedes ect.......
the latest cartridge for mercedes is the 2003 primary cartridge this will do all car systems that you have that will talk to your scanner such as trans, climate control ,abs ,airbags ,ect......For this you will need the personality keys the one I use the most is the S17 for all the eng stuff. the other keys are S20 and S21 they do the ABS,Airbags,Trans,and Airco systems.Iforget which does which the scanner tells you which to install when you go to other systems.
Snapon says to use the 38 pin connector if available on the 96-2001 cars so you can get to all the systems. after 2001 they are all DL-16 OBDII only no 38 pin.
The yellow bananna plug on the MB-2A is for your systems on the 8 and 16 pin OBD1 connectors.You plug it in to the system you want to check,like on the 8 pin 3 is fuel inj,4 idle speed control,6 air bag,7A/C,.
I have a OBDII scan tool,the Snapon MT2500 and a multiplexer they all do different stuff but the same stuff just differently in many levels of detail.I did not understand the guys on the website till I bought them experimented and saw how the all opperated,. now they are all invaluable to me cant live without them

__________________
88 W124 3.0
96 R129 119eng
06 ML350
98 ML320 sold
02 CLK55 amg