Mercedes Benz 38-Pin CAN to 16-Pin OBD2 Diagnostic Adapter Cable

[DerFuror]

There is a good reason why Chinese-made diagnostic adapters can be purchased for under $10 online.

Inside are only 3 wires! A black, red, white & a jumpered connection. That’s it. All remaining contacts are wide open and empty.

Superficially, the adapter looks ok. 38 numbered pins on one end & 16 contact terminals on the other end. The ends mate up properly to their matching connections. The casing materials also seem correct. But upon closer scrutiny, the cable diameter appears on the small side for supposedly containing up to 16 wires (0.234”/5.95mm) and the item seems a bit too light-weight; it does not present the proper heft as one would expect with a professional diagnostic adapter. This superficiality is all hiding the fact that there really isn’t much substance inside capable of doing the job…how ironically symbolic for this particular time in history, too.

As always, Caveat Emptor!

 

[Jimbo]

But does it work?

 

[gsxr]

LOL. Um, no. The wiring connects to pin #4 (LH module) but an OBD-II scanner won't be able to talk to the LH module. On a newer chassis, like the W210, I'm not sure... but the newer chassis have OBD-II ports already so the cable wouldn't be needed. I wonder who buys this junk.

 

[DerFuror]

I wonder who buys this junk.

Guilty. This item was part of an experiment I tried a few years ago right after obtaining my car. I had (& still have) the blink code reader, but was hoping to get more straightforward diagnostic info by going digital.

I paired the 38 to 16 adapter up with a handheld Mercedes E-Class/S-Class OBD2/EOBD scanner. In theory, this pairing looked very promising (I wasn't going to invest in a Star diagnostic & the C3 clones were not yet available at the time).

The setup did not work. It proved incompatible. Now if you see one of these code readers on ebay, you will also see the following statement:

This scanner works on most Mercedes Benz S Class and E Class except CAN BUS cars

This particular handheld is not applicable to our pre-1996 Benzes.

An early lesson learned along my diagnostic learning curve...but I did resell the scanner at a profit which covered the loss on the adapter...then I dissected the adapter out of curiosity & spite.