Unit, Telematics Control: Description
All Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) have a Telematics Control Unit (TCU). The TCU is an electronic module that is capable of communicating with other electronic modules in the vehicle over the Controller Area Network (CAN) B data bus. Once registered and provisioned, it can also communicate inside the vehicle and with the external environment using a Service Delivery Platform (SDP) and Next Generation Telematics Pattern (NGTP) 2.0 architecture.
The TCU (1) is located beneath the instrument panel and above the steering column. The TCU is secured to a mounting bracket that is mounted to both the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) housing and the instrument panel support structure. The TCU has an integral connector receptacle that is connected to the vehicle electrical system through a single dedicated take out and connector of the instrument panel wire harness. The TCU also has an external antenna Fachnormenausschuss Kraftfahrzeugindustrie (FAKRA) type connector that is used for Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular signal.
The TCU consists of the following components:
- A molded plastic housing
- A stamped metal mounting bracket
- An integral wire harness connector receptacle
- An integral FAKRA type CDMA cellular antenna
- The internal electronic circuitry which includes a CDMA modem, a power supply, a Global Positioning System (GPS) chip set and a GPS antenna.
The TCU cannot be adjusted or repaired. If any component of the TCU is ineffective or damaged, the entire TCU must be replaced with a new unit. The TCU software is flash-programmable.