Can anyone tell me if this is a reliable source for the IDS / SDD software and Mongoose cable. Does anyone have any experience of them?
I want to be able to look after my 2001 XKR and 2009 Range Rover

Jaguar & Land Rover Diagnostics Equipment

Thanks,
Andy

 

I bought it a couple of years ago and it worked fine, it stopped working when I updated me laptop to windows 10 and there is no fix for this other than rolling back to windows 7.

 

Thanks. I think I can relieve my daughter of her old XP laptop and just keep it for the IDS/SDD. I have tried contacting British Diagnostics, but they haven't come back to me which is disappointing as it doesn't bode well for their after sales care and I'm reluctant to give them my money.
Do you know anywhere else I can get it from, with a cable?
Thanks
Andy

 

You can go to most any local computer repair shop and find a used computer with Windows 7 or 8. I recently got one for my wife for less than $100.00. Load the IDS or SDD and just use it for just that. I have a Windows Vista system I am still using for my cars.

 

I bought a Dell Latitude C640 with Windows XP for $37 WITH SHIPPING a few weeks ago so I have 2 identical laptops with IDS on them.

Old reliable computers are CHEAP.

bob

 

Flashing the PCM of a 2001 XKR is not supported by a Mongoose or Mangoose or any of the J2534 interfaces, only a WDS or VCM can do it.

Also the 2001 XKR is not supported by SDD, it will revert to Legacy IDS (launched out of SDD) which also tends to be unstable.

Old cars need old software & hardware...

 

To me it looks like "British Diagnostics" is at best a one man outfit, probably a part time hobby project. Nothing wrong with that but there is no excuse for failing to respond to email.

There is also no registered company name "British Diagnostics Ltd" so he is probably doing business as a sole trader.

A good looking web site can give the impression that it is much more than it is. I've been doing that for the last 10 years with RaceDiagnostics and its worked just fine. However it does mean that they could disappear at any time.

I was disappointed with their comment that it simply would not run on Windows 10 and there was no plan to fix it.

"whois" says...

Domain name:
britishdiagnostics.co.uk

Registrant:
Andrew Jones

Registrant type:
UK Individual

Registrant's address:
84 Bodmin Road
Leeds
West Yorks
LS10 4PR
United Kingdom

Data validation:
Nominet was able to match the registrant's name and address against a 3rd party data source on 10-Mar-2014

Registrar:
Paragon Internet Group Ltd t/a Vidahost [Tag = THERMAL]
URL: http://vidahost.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 10-Mar-2014
Expiry date: 10-Mar-2018
Last updated: 27-Jan-2015

 

I'm running SDD from British Diagnostics on my laptop with Windows 10. It does run in a virtual machine of Windows XP Pro and I have a Mongoose cable. It works okay. I've had it about a year and I'm still trying to figure out a bunch of things, but I can read the codes and reset them.

 

I decided to bite the bullet and ordered the V130 from them last Tuesday evening. The payment has been taken and an automated e-mail confirming the order but nothing else to indicate the status of the order. I appreciate it was close to Christmas and he was due to close on Thursday, but I was at least hoping to get an update on the order before he closed. I don't know if I'm going to regret this or not?!?

I don't plan on doing anything overly clever with it, but I want to be able to read all the codes including ABS and Trans etc and perhaps program additional keys if required. The reason I've gone for this is that I also have a 2009 Range Rover Vogue and having one bit of kit to do both cars seems to be the sensible way to go. It will probably see more use with the Range Rover as there are several features I want to adjust, such as windows closing automatically, mirrors folding and TV function etc.

I'll just have to see if it turns up in the New Year. I'll let you know what happens.

In the meantime, I hope every one on the forum has a Happy Christmas

Andy

 

I bought their kit a couple of years ago on eBay. It works OK, and has been stable on Windows 7. It simplifies the installation process significantly. They claim they at least test the Chinese clone Mongoose cables, which have a reputation for sometimes being DOA.

The 'riskiest' thing I did with it was was clone an additional key, and it worked fine. It does have serious limitations as far as flashing modules though, as mentioned above.

Sounds like their customer service leaves something to be desired.

 

Hi Andy

I'm sorry but i've been away for a while and only just saw your thread.
I tried buying from him last year but that was a somewhat limited success to say the least.
After something like six different attempts at contacting him i started a Paypal money refund case on him. Again there was three additional attempts at contact and eventually a good month later i got a full refund.
Never in the six or seven weeks this took did i receive as much as a pip from him.

I ended up buying second hand from a local guy after speaking to him first.

I really hope my experience was a one off and that he was in hospital or something similar but i fear that this is not the case.

Not to put you off or anything but this was my experience. I do hope you have better luck.

Best
/Stig.

 

Thanks Steve and Stig,
He says on his website he's closed until the 5th Jan, so I'll see how it pans out, but I confess to being slightly worried about your experience with him Stig, especially as I paid using my debit card on his website.

But, who knows, it may be something of nothing and all will be well, afterall, his home page does say he's passionate about dealing with JLR enthusiasts.
Andy

 

Hi,
​​​​​​​If it helps I also bought the diagnostics kit of SDD/IDS from British Diagnostics comprising cable and software. I have used it very successfully to diagnose gearbox and ABS codes. I am too scared to change and reprogramme modules but it looks fairly straightfoward. The software recognises my car (96 xk8) but I was not sure how to set up the virtual machine as I am not fully computer savvy. A couple of tries and it has been very stable for two years. I would suggest a decent laptop helps with the installation. Cheers

 

I decided to do some searching online about these kits, and I think I now know why he is a kind of secretive person about his business. No email, phone or physical contact.

He is an employee of Jaguar Landrover and in the interest of his job, which obviously is the reason he hides anything about his real identity. It is because of this that he has extensive knowledge on what works on the Jaguar Landrover cars, and obviously uses the Chinese clones to modify them and produce great kits.

Now that explains why he rarely responds to emails, he has a double tight shift obviously at work and private business.
Armed witht his information, am now confident to purchase from him, and will place my order tomorrow. Will give you feed back guys how my kit turns out

 

It only took you three years to decide?

 

I have 4 Jags and his cable/v130 software works great in Win10 using a virtual machine which is described in the instructions. It has been invaluable and I only use the IDS side of it.

 

i eventually recieved my Mongoose cable from British Diagnostics today. Problem is I cannot get to talk to some modules, like all the modules on the CAN network.

 

This is probably a stupid question but is this IDS system and the mongoose cable the only way to read and diagnose the ABS/DSC/TRAC FAIL codes? I have a decent code reader that cost a few hundred $$$. Would that work as well? Also, if you can only use the IDS system, do you need to have a laptop or computer that you run it off of?

Thanks!

Corey

 

Basically, you need a device that includes software that understand the Jaguar/Land Rover messages. The cheap ELM327 devices can read everything at the hardware level, but the associated apps lack the knowledge to interpret the specific codes outside of the standard OBDII.

IDS/SDD/USB-Cable-with-laptop is is one possible tool, but there are others. Basically, you can search eBay and Amazon for hand-held JLR devices. The Foxwell and iCarsoft devices have been used by forum member before, and have great (although not complete) support. These are not cheap tools, but not bank breaking either, in the scheme of things. These tools can get the codes, but also read live data and support some special functions like adding keys, etc.Many claim updatable software that can potentially improve support over time, but I would not hold my breath for our older models.

Best of luck, keep us posted.