Installation, proceedures,
repairs.
Automotive Experience
Supporting Mercedes Specialists Worldwide
Automotive repairs have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Electronic control units and their countless sensors and actuators govern every aspect of modern vehicles. Dealing with fault codes, ecu errors, wiring diagrams and can bus problems often seems overwhelming, swallowing large chunks of workshop time and shop profits.
With on-demand remote assistance, a mature technician is working with you, sharing their knowledge and experience to repair the vehicle as quickly as possible. With an affordable fixed charge per vehicle (irrespective of diagnostic time taken), you don’t have to worry about runaway costs, turning nightmare jobs into profitable income.
Sometimes you just need a second opinion, a fresh pair of eyes or ears, or someone to chat the problem over with.
Telephone support is free and welcome, so please send us a WhatsApp message or give us a call.
My Father was a chef in the Royal Air Force, so as a child, we moved around a lot, living in England, Wales, Cyprus, and Germany. In my late teens I moved to Cornwall where I settled down and made my home.
Like many young lads, I loved repairing cars, and so with a toolbox you could carry, an archaic mig welder, trolly jack and axle stands, I rented a small unit next to a filling station, and made it the village garage.
We specialised in Volkswagens and Audi’s and very soon had a solid customer base. The workshop flourished, we moved to larger premises, I took on more mechanics, Mot bay, tyre station, fuel station, car sales, and grew into Cornwalls’ largest independent VW Audi Specialist. But all was not well, I had started with nothing, I was financially overstreched, my premises was rented and in Cornwall our business was seasonal. In 1999, with a tide of supermarket fuel stations opening, our business joined the fateful closure of small petrol stations across the country. It was a bitter blow, and a grim lesson.
Running a large workshop was hard work and stressful, losing it all because of a failed fuel station knocked me for six….I was down but not out…
Below are some of the most asked questions regarding Xentry and Mercedes diagnostics in general.
Xentry is the Mercedes-Benz software used to diagnose, fault find and program daimler vehicles. It comes in a number of formats :
Xentry kit 4 , Xentry Openshell, Xentry Lite; and Xentry Passthru.
There is very little difference between the formats, mainly the type of interface used between the laptop (tablet) and the vehicle, and whether the tablet is supplied as part of the package.
When using Xentry you need an interface to connect the laptop to the vehicle. This is often referred to as the “Multiplexer” or “Mux” or more recently the “VCI”.
Xentry is a real time guided fault-finding program. It is also used to calibrate vehicle systems, program ecu’s, update service intervals, carry out scn coding and program keys among a host of other functions.
Access to Xentry Diagnostics differs depending on where you are in the world. In Europe, independent service providers (car repair shops) can apply to Mercedes-Benz to purchase an xentry licence, but they first need to prove that they are a bona fide repair shop, and provide identity documentation.
We provide a bespoke service that supports independent repair shops in obtaining and maintaining their Xentry diagnostic systems.
SCN coding and control unit programming are different but are linked.
Control unit programming puts the software into the control unit that tells the control unit how to work.
To work properly the software needs information about the car, for example: is the car automatic or manual? Is the car right or left hand drive? Does the car have heated seats? Is the car a saloon, estate or convertible?
These variables are assigned a code number, and when put together make up the SCN for a specific vehicle.
If you change something on the vehicle, for example you fit a towbar, you may need to change the SCN for the vehicle. A request would be made by the main dealer (usually the parts dept), to Mercedes-Benz, to add or remove an scn code. This is then changed on the Mercedes server (VDoc).
The control units that need to know about the tow bar then have to be SCN coded with the new SCN.
SCN stands for “Software Calibration Number” and can also be refered to as Variable Coding.
Mercedes WIS is a dealer-level online program that details the repair procedures for Daimler vehicles. It also contains wiring diagrams.
It is available to Mercedes-Benz workshops and approved subscribing independent workshops.
Aftermarket equivalents would be publications such as Chilton, Haynes, or AllData manuals. For many years WIS was distributed via DVD, however, from approximately 2021, WIS became available only as an online program. WIS can also link to Xentry.
WIS stands for “Workshop Information System”.
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