JLR Mongoose

[doug424]

Hello everybody,

I have been pondering buying a JLR Mongoose cable and software to perform diagnostics on my 1998 XK8. I have purchased a dedicated laptop and ELM327 cable which together with Forscan software I use to diagnose our Ford C-Max.

I have been reading various threads about the JLR Mongoose package and have become a bit confused by the experiences some have had. So to try and clarify things I pose some questions which the collective may be able to answer.

1) Why do you have to use a Mongoose cable, will not an ELM327 do instead? I thought the idea of EOBD was to stop car manufacturers locking out the aftermarket trade, also I have a Gendan code reader and it will in a limited form talk to the Jag and the Ford.

2) Which version of Mongoose will work without a TOPIX subscription, I have heard the subscription free service stops at version 130.7; anybody know any different? Have those who have purchase later versions been able to get it to successfully work?

3) The packages which do work for nothing have probably been cloned from a real one working at a dealer working a without reliable internet connection or so far away from Castle Bromwich that JLR could not stop the cloning. Hence the advice on some forums that you should never enable wireless services on your device when using the Mongoose software (always buy a cabled not a Bluetooth package) as an accidental update may render the diagnostics package useless. Also never accept any offered update from the package as the same applies. Has anybody had a working Mongoose package, and then found it will not work after accepting an update?

Answers on a postcard please…

Doug Barrass.
Ashford, Kent.

[mike020150]

Hi Doug,

You have posed some interesting questions. It will be great if members can answer them. For what it's worth, I witnessed genuine Jaguar diagnostic equipment throwing a wobbly in a specialists this week, let alone cloned kit! Good luck, Mike.

[doug424]

Update.

Had a play yesterday with my laptop and found out that trying to talk to the car using the ELM327 cable and Forscan did not work. I thought I'd give it a go as at the time the car was built Jaguar was under Ford's wing.

I then tried the same cable and ScanMaster-ELM software. This did work but as the software was a demo package the range of available facilities was very limited; still I now know the cable works fine.

Doug Barrass,
Ashford, Kent