Controller Area Network (CAN)

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2013 Ford F-550 Super Duty, 2013 Ford F-450 Super Duty, 2013 Ford F-350 Super Duty, and 2013 Ford F-250 Super Duty. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The CAN is based on society of automotive engineers (SAE) J2284, international standard organization (ISO)-11898, and is a serial communication language protocol used to transfer messages (signals) between electronic control modules or nodes. Two or more signals can be sent over one CAN circuit allowing 2 or more electronic modules or nodes to communicate with each other. This communication, or multiplexing, network operates at 500k/sec (kilobytes per second) and allows the electronic modules to share their information messages.

Included in these messages is diagnostic data sent over the CAN+ and CAN- lines to the data link connector (DLC). The PCM connection to the DLC is done with a twisted pair cable used for network interconnection. The diagnostic data such as self-test or parameter identification (PID) can be accessed with a scan tool. Information on scan tool equipment is described in SCAN TOOL SETUP AND FUNCTIONALITY .