Hello,

I own a 1996 X300 and a 2004 X350.

I would like to put together a diagnostics systems that can hopefully support both cars and possibly newer vehicles also.

So far I am looking at purchasing the following items:

For the laptop :

Panasonic ToughBook CF-30 MK2 RUGGED LAPTOP L7500 3GB 160GB TOUCHSCREEN WIN XP

I have asked the vendor to upgrade the toughbook to 4gigs of RAM and a 120gig solid state hard drive for better performance.


For the software and cable :

https://www.jlridssddmongoose.com/id...able-usb-16gb/

I've read a lot of threads on the forum and it seems the more I read, the less I understand what to get!

I've read threads that suggest only to use a VCM to code these older vehicles and not the Mongoose cable.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thx

Someone else can chime in, as my knowledge is limited in this area. I do, however, have a VCM, dedicated laptop, and software.

From what I understand, the Mongoose cables work best with the x350 platform. If you need to connect to a 2014-2016 Jaguar, you will need a VCM as the Mongoose can crash the newer multi-can network. 2017 onward they were supposedly going to change to a "Pathfinder" system which neither the VCM or Mongoose will support. If you are dropping back to the x300 you will probably want the VCM.

As for software, v134 will get you through mid 2013. The latest stable, offline SDD software you can get is v144.08, though I hear can get pricey. If you want pure IDS, you can get v118.5, but it won't run with the x150 platform or later. V125.03 was the last SDD you could run IDS on any vehicle.

Also, don't forget a dedicated power supply for you car. Many a people have bricked their modules when they either used a knockoff cable or did not have a proper (or any) power supply connected.