Network management refers to the set of services and protocols that supervise the nodes (devices) on a CAN-based network – handling tasks like node addressing, status monitoring, and controlling node state. Two prominent higher-layer protocols, SAE J1939 and CANopen, approach network management very differently. SAE J1939 was created for heavy-duty…
Posts tagged as “SAE J1939”
A recent internal market study by Copperhill Technologies uncovered a surprising but critical shortcoming across all commercially available SAE J1939 baud rate converters: none of them explicitly address the issue of Silent or Listen-Only Mode. This omission, whether in marketing descriptions or technical documentation, can have significant implications for system…
SAE J1939 is a family of Controller Area Network (CAN) based standards used in heavy‑duty vehicles for powertrain control and diagnostics. Historically, the standard specified a 250 kbit/s data rate, which has been adequate for networks containing a handful of Electronic Control Units (ECUs). Modern trucks now incorporate dozens of ECUs,…
This article is part of our comprehensive SAE J1939 online documentation. The primary document describing the J1939 message format is SAE J1939/21 – Data Link Layer. This specification defines the use of the CAN data frame (29-bit identifier, Parameter Group Numbers – PGN, etc.) as well as the transport protocol…
This article is part of our comprehensive SAE J1939 online documentation. The SAE J1939 Standards Collection serves as the comprehensive framework for communication and control within truck, bus, and off-road vehicle networks. It defines how electronic control units (ECUs) exchange data over the Controller Area Network (CAN), detailing message structures,…
Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is a widely used communication network in automotive and industrial systems. It provides a robust, real-time communication method for multiple microcontroller-based devices (nodes) to exchange data over a simple two-wire bus. In industrial environments, proper network design is critical to ensure reliable performance under noise,…
In the world of heavy-duty vehicles and agricultural machinery, communication standards are essential for interoperability, diagnostics, and control. Two of the most prominent protocols in this space are SAE J1939 and ISOBUS (ISO 11783). While they share a common technical foundation—both being based on the CAN (Controller Area Network) bus—they…
SAE J1939 is a communication protocol that standardizes how heavy-duty vehicle components (engines, transmissions, brakes, etc.) exchange data over the CAN bus. Modern trucks, buses, and off-road machines generate a wealth of operational and diagnostic data on these J1939 networks. Traditionally, this data was accessed locally (e.g. via mechanic’s scan…
In the late 1980s and 1990s, heavy-duty vehicles (like diesel trucks and buses) began using electronic networks to share data among engine, transmission, brake, and other control units (ECUs). The industry’s first standardized solution was a combination of SAE J1708 and SAE J1587. In this two-part system, J1708 defined the…
Older diesel vehicles using the SAE J1708 bus (with J1587 protocol) can be retrofitted with modern SAE J1939-based dashboards and instruments by using specialized protocol gateway converters. These devices bridge the hardware (RS-485 vs. CAN) and data-format gap between legacy J1708/J1587 engine networks and new J1939/CAN networks. Below, we survey…