High Speed Controller Area Network (CAN)

WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 32 other vehicles, including the 2005 Mercury Sable, 2005 Mercury Mountaineer, 2005 Mercury Monterey, 2005 Mercury Montego, and 2005 Mercury Mariner. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

High speed CAN is based on SAE J2284, ISO-11898 and 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 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). 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. Information on diagnostic tool equipment is described in DIAGNOSTIC METHODS - GASOLINE MODELS .