High Speed Controller Area Network (CAN)

WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 31 other vehicles, including the 2006 Mercury Mountaineer, 2006 Mercury Monterey, 2006 Mercury Montego, 2006 Mercury Milan, and 2006 Mercury Mariner. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

High speed CAN is a serial communication language protocol used to transfer messages (signals) between electronic modules or nodes. Two or more signals can be sent over one CAN communications network circuit allowing 2 or more electronic modules or nodes to communicate with each other. This communication or multiplexing network operates at 500kB/sec (kilobytes per second) and allows the electronic modules to share their information messages.

Included in these messages is diagnostic data that is outputted over the CAN High (+) and CAN Low (-) lines to the data link connector (DLC). Powertrain control module (PCM) connection to the DLC is typically done with a 2-wire, twisted pair cable used for the network interconnection. The diagnostic data such as self-test or PIDs can be accessed with a diagnostic tool. For additional information on diagnostic tool equipment, refer to DIAGNOSTIC METHODS .