Analyzing J1939 Data Traces Across Diverse Trucks With Ease
Case Studies / Continental
Continental Automotive
About: Continental Automotive GmbH manufactures automotive parts incl. brake systems, systems/components for powertrains/chassis, tires and more - with products marketed globally.
What problem did you solve?
For our purpose we had to collect CAN bus traces from multiple heavy duty vehicles. The trucks are located partially on our site, but in part also on the site of a customer. We had to record J1939 CAN traffic with different baud rates - which were not known before. Normally, this makes it even more challenging to prepare the CAN logging equipment for a quick installation at the customer site.
How did you solve it?
For the installation, the CANedge1 supports automatic detection of the CAN baud rate - which made the entire process quite easy. Usually the CANedge1 would be running running for a couple days (up to a week) in a customer vehicle. The 32 GB data card helped ensure that we were able to collect sufficient data to conduct the necessary analyses. After taking out the data from the CAN logging device, we first used the log file conversion tools [MF4 converters] provided with the CANedge to convert the MF4 log files into Vector ASC files. Next, we would use our standard tools in the development and further analysis, e.g. to show the CAN logs in a graphical way.
What benefit has this led to?
The CANedge1 has allowed us to use our resources as efficiently as possible. In particular, we've been able to reach out on short notice to the customer, installing the device within a few minutes - thus not interrupting the customer processes. The device would then log data over a period - and when the vehicles were available again, we were able to reach out and quickly uninstall the CAN logger. Further, since the power supply for the logger is through the CH1 connector, we were able to make the logging system plug & play - with no work required on the harness.
"The compactness of the CANedge1 made it easy to install for our test purposes - we were even impressed by the small size when opening the packaging"
Why did you choose the CANedge?
The CANedge had the smallest size, making it easy to install in the vehicle. Further, it operates standalone with sufficient data storage with easy configuration. Finally, the integrated power supply through the CH1 connector made it plug & play.
— Timo Ketterer , Head of Service Product Management
Comments by CSS Electronics
The CANedge is designed to be truly plug & play. As outlined by Timo, 'auto-detection' of bit rates is critical in this regard (J1939 vehicles can use either 250K or 500K). In addition, the default behavior of the CANedge is to "record all the raw CAN data".
As such, the CANedge can be installed out-the-box and data can then be processed via your favorite tools - in this case the MF4 logs are converted to Vector ASC for loading in e.g. CANalyzer.
For more details, see our intro to J1939 data logging.
The CANedge1 - 2 x CAN bus data logger with SD & RTC
The CANedge1 is a professional-grade 2 x CAN/LIN data logger with SD & RTC - learn more below:
Ready to log your J1939 data?
Get your J1939 logger today!
