NefMoto

Hello!

Can anyone recommend me a more or less decent diagnostic/logging solution for the Bosch ME2.1?
I do have a 97 MB SLK with a supercharged M111 engine. My main goal would be to log/map engine parameters for turbo conversion. I'll probably go aftermarket ecu route in the future, but for now I'm just tinkering and learning along the way.
I do have Ecumasted DET3 piggyback set-up on the car. With piggyback i can log rpm and various analog inputs. Previously I've used VCDS to log basic parameters like MAF, ignition, etc., but I'm hoping to find something more capable.

Main things im interested with:
   - Knock or knock retard
   - Injection pulsewidth or motronic internal LOAD
   - Supercharger bypass valve duty cycle
   - Supercharger clutch activation
   - Cam solenoid activation
   - CSV saving capability

THX in advance! :)

You can try if my software will talk to it, I tested it with ME2.7.1/2. No idea if ME2.1 uses KWP2000 or something older.

I will give your logger a try! I ordered a Tactrix clone for testing. 1996-2000 SLK-s have Mercedes specific 38 pin diagnostic socket. The ECU does have CAN connected to the instrument cluster and ABS but not to diagnostic socket. ELM327 dongle is able to connect through ISO 9141-2 protocol.

CAN is not used for diagnostics anyway on these, it's K-Line, and you will need an adapter.

The protocol is listed as "KWFB" - I have no idea what this uses as underlying transport.
If it is something like KW1281 then it won't be supported.

Received my Tactrix clone and gave it a try. No luck. Same interface worked flawlessly on my daily driver. My MB 38 pin to OBD2 adapter was homemade, but it did work with VCDS and ELM327. I guess hardware should be ok then, and this ECU just uses older, unsupported protocol. Bummer, because your logger looks really cool.

According to this manual (https://www.snapon.com/DiagnosticsManuals/PDF/NA/VCS/MercedesBenz.pdf), the SnapOn scanners are capable of showing what I want, but this hardware is probalby not affordable to hobbyist.
From the forums, it seems that Autocom is also a bit more capable on older motronics than basic ELM327 etc.?

You could try Autocom or Launch.
I dug into it a little and indeed it looks like older custom protocol. I don't think I want to implement that, it's very specific and very old car.

That said, on many J2534 clones the K-Line is not functional, I recommend verifying that somehow.

You can also try this, maybe you can get a connection:
https://github.com/jglim/CaesarSuite (https://github.com/jglim/CaesarSuite)

I attached the CBF for your engine.

Thank you! I will definitely try CaesarSuite and probably Autocom as well. I do have to agree that in commercial sense this car/ecu has been already long dead, but hey, I already have it. For now, it serves well as a victim of my curiosity. :)
This bootleg Tactrix may be for sure a red herring. I´ll get myself some handheld oscilloscope. I need it anyway, and with the scope I could at least verify that K-line isn't completely dead.
Anyway, I have contemplated with an idea of getting Ecumasters Emu Black. It does seem to cover all my needs with a reasonable cost. Also, according to schematics, I could pretty easily make a PNP adapter. Tuning side on the other hand seem to have a rather deep learning curve.

If the car has ABS/ESP and Automatic gearbox then with an aftermarket ECU all that is not going to work anymore.

No worries with ESP or automatic transmission, but it does have ABS/ASR (Acceleration Slip Regulation). ABS/ASR has its own control module, but I have no idea how much communication there is with the ME2.1. They are connected by canbus for sure.

Based on my experience with MB that's not going to work anymore after that...
Try the CBF, this is the least effort solution...

For old cars I used scope to see what is happening, later I build with MCU (STM32 or atmega328) logger.
Maybe I still have some data how to build it