ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA

SMART OBDII INTERFACE ADAPTER

1
Peter Dzhelekarski,
2
Dimiter Alexiev
Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Technologies, Technical University of Sofia,
8 Kliment Ohridski Str., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, phone:
2
+359 2 965 3677,
e-mail:
1
pid@tu-sofia.bg, e-mail:
2
dalex@tu-sofia.bg
The vehicle on-board diagnostics system (OBDII) provides a serial diagnostic link for
communication with scan tools. There are 4 diagnostic interfaces: ISO 9141-2, KWP 2000,
SAE J1850 and ISO 15765. A PC-based scan tool consists of an interface adapter and
specialized diagnostic software. This paper presents the implementation of a smart OBDII
interface adapter. The adapter is build of a protocol converter, interface transceivers and
protective devices. The full schematic circuit of the adapter is presented and explained in
detail. The protocol converter (MCU) processes and transfers diagnostic messages. It
communicates with PC via serial port using ASCII messages. The software for the protocol
converter has been developed in C language. A state diagram of software is presented. The
functions performed by the software for different interfaces are explained in detail. The
adapter is successfully verified in practice.
Keywords: OBD, scan tool, interface adapter, K-Line, CAN
1. INTRODUCTION
The OBDII (On-Board Diagnostics II) system represents the capability of vehicle
electronic systems to diagnose itself and its components. The output from the OBD
system is presented to the driver as a warning light with an engine symbol. When a
fault has been detected, a diagnostic trouble code is set and stored in the computer
memory. OBD provides a serial diagnostic link for communication with external test
equipment (scan tool). One of the following communication protocols is used [2, 5]:
1) ISO 9141-2 baud rate 10.4 kbit/s;
2) ISO 14230 (KWP 2000 Keyword protocol 2000) the same baud rate;
3) SAE J1850 (Class B data communication interface) rates 10.4/41.6 kbit/s;
4) ISO 15765 (CAN Controller area network) baud rates 250/500 kbit/s.
The ISO 9141-2 and KWP 2000 interfaces are the most common diagnostic
interfaces in Europe (KWP 2000 is newer). They share the same physical interface,
called K-Line interface. SAE J1850 is mostly used in the American vehicles. It has
two alternative physical layers: VPW and PWM. CAN is mainly used in new cars
with model year after 2003.
The scan tool should obtain and display diagnostic information stored [5]. A PC-
based scan tool consists of an interface adapter and specialized diagnostic software.
The interface adapter provides a connection between the vehicle and the PC. The
connection to PC is most often via RS 232 interface. One ore more diagnostic
interfaces can be supported. In case only K-Line interface is used, the adapter can be
implemented as a simple electrical converter to RS 232. When CAN or J1850
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ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA
interfaces are used, the adapter should contain a protocol converter, implemented by
means of MCU.
The protocol converter processes and transfers diagnostic messages according to
the data link layer of the respective protocol. If the protocol converter is utilized for
processing of K-Line messages, this leads to improved message timing and decreased
PC load as well [1, 4].
This paper presents a method for implementation of a smart OBD interface
adapter for connection between all 4 diagnostic interfaces and the PC serial port. The
adapter is called smart because of the presence of MCU. The adapter is build of a
protocol converter (MCU), interface transceivers and protective devices (Fig. 1). This
method of implementation uses an intermediate conversion of the electrical levels to
TTL level that is necessary for connection of MCU. The protective devices suppress
the overvoltages, coming from the vehicle lines. The interface transceivers are two-
way converters of electrical levels between TTL and the respective interface signals.
Transient
voltage
suppressors
Diagnostic
interfaces
TTL

MCU
TTL

RS 232
D
i
a
g
n
o
s
t
i
c

c
o
n
n
e
c
t
o
r

P
C

s
e
r
i
a
l

p
o
r
t

Diagnostic
interface transceivers
RS 232
transceiver
Protocol
converter
Protective
devices

Fig. 1. General block diagram of OBDII interface adapter
2. SCHEMATIC CIRCUIT OF INTERFACE ADAPTER
The schematic circuit of the adapter shall conform to the requirements for the
physical layer of diagnostic interfaces and RS 232.
The full schematic circuit of the interface adapter is presented at Fig. 2. The
signals coming from the vehicle diagnostic connector are fed to connector J1 via a
standard diagnostic cable. The protective devices of the circuit are D1 (TVS) and D3-
D10 (voltage delimiters). The adapter is powered by the vehicle battery. A power
supply +5 V (U1) necessary for MCU, RS 232- and CAN transceivers is provided.
The K-Line transceiver is implemented by an open collector comparator (U3A)
and transistor inverter stages (Q1/Q2). The RxK signal is for receiving information
from K-line. The TxL TxK / signals are for transmitting information to K/L lines. The
comparator has a reference voltage of +5V and is used for reading information from
K line. The transistors are used for sending information on K/L lines.
At this stage of project the J1850 transceiver is not implemented. It is a subject
of future work. Nevertheless five J1850 communication signals are provided: for
VPW physical layer TxVPW, RxVPW; for PWM physical layer RxPWM,
) ( / ) ( + TxPWM TxPWM .
The CAN transceiver U2 connects with 2 signals to the protocol converter U5:
TxCAN and RxCAN. U2 has an AC termination circuit (R2-C4/R3-C5) according to
ISO 15765-4 requirements. U2 is enabled by the signal EN_CAN [3].
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ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA
The MCU U5 is a 28-pin device with the following features: PIC18 8-bit
instruction set (optimized for C compilers), 16 kB Flash memory, 768 B RAM, 256 B
EEPROM, ECAN module, EUSART module, etc [6]. The selection of MCU is based
on the number of pins, memory size and communication capabilities. The clock speed
F
OSC
= 20 MHz conforms to the required CAN module configuration (see 3.2).
One driver and one receiver are utilized from the RS 232 transceiver U4. They are
connected between RC6/TX and RC7/RX pins of MCU and TxD/RxD signals of J2.
3 status LEDs are provided: for power-on state (D2) and for transmission/
reception of OBD data messages (D11/D12).
TxPWM(-)\
R2
100
K- Li ne
Tr anscei ver
TxD
GND
R3
100
15p
C14
Pr ot ocol
Conver t er
+5V
Vol t age Del i mi t er s
+5V
RS 232 Tr anscei ver
TxL\
J 1850(-)
+UB
TVS
K
GND
100n
C11
R8
3.9k
CAN
Tr anscei ver
RxD
R9
3.9k
+
1u
C10
D12
D11
R4
10k
-
+
U3A
LM2903
7
6
1
U5
PIC18F2480
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1
9
2
0
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
MCLR/VPP/RE3
RA0/AN0
RA1/AN1
RA2/AN2/VREF-
RA3/AN3/VREF+
RA4/T0CKI
RA5/SS/AN4/HLVDIN
V
S
S
OSC1/CLKI/RA7
OSC2/CLKO/RA6
RC0/T1OSO/T1CKI
RC1/T1OSI
RC2/CCP1
RC3/SCK/SCL
RC4/SDI/SDA
RC5/SDO
RC6/TX/CK
RC7/RX/DT
V
S
S
V
D
D
RB0/INT0/AN10
RB1/INT1/AN8
RB2/INT2/CANTX
RB3/CANRX
RB4/KBI0/AN9
RB5/KBI1/PGM
RB6/KBI2/PGC
RB7/KBI3/PGD
J 1850 VPW& PWM
Tr anscei ver
J 1850(+)
CAN_L
+UB
100n
C6
U4 MAX232EPE
1
3
4
5
16
15
2
6
12
9
11
10
13
8
14
7
C1+
C1-
C2+
C2-
VCC
GND
V+
V-
R1OUT
R2OUT
T1IN
T2IN
R1IN
R2IN
T1OUT
T2OUT
CAN_H
TxK\
20MHz
Z1
D4
J 1850(+)
D3- D10:
TxCAN
D10
R5
10k
3mm/ 2mA
J 1850(-)
D9
+5V
J 1
DB9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
D7
RxPWM
3 mm/ 2 mA / gr een
RxVPW
D2
R11 1.6k
U1
L78L05/TO92
1
2
3
OUT
G
N
D
IN
K
TxVPW
OBD Tr ansmi t
100n
C12
100n
C2
TxPWM(+)\
L
U2
MCP2551
3
7
4
5 8
1
6
2
V
D
D
CAN_H
RXD
VREF RS
TXD
CAN_L
V
S
S
+5V
Power
( r ed)
OBD Recei ve
+
1u
C7
+
1u
C9
Q1
2N2222
D5 D3
+UB
R1
1.6k
D1
1.5KE20
Q2 2N2222
D8
UF4001
100n
C1
200 mA
C
A
N

A
C

T
e
r
m
i
n
a
t
i
o
n
+
1u
C8
J 2
DB9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
EN_CAN\
R7
510
L
15p
C13
+5V
+
47u
C3
+UB
R10 1.6k
D6
RxK
OBD
(male)
RxCAN
560p
C4
560p
C5
R6
510
RS 232
(female)

Fig. 2. Schematic circuit of OBDII interface adapter
3. PROTOCOL CONVERTER SOFTWARE
The software for the protocol converter has been developed in C programming
language using Microchip MPLAB

C18 C Compiler.
The operation of the protocol converter is controlled by PC via USART. The data
is exchanged in form of ASCII encoded messages using baud rate of 38.4 kBaud. The
first byte of a message represents the type of the command. The rest of bytes are hex
bytes, each transmitted as a pair of ASCII bytes. The messages are terminated with
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ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA
\n ($0A) characters. This way of communication allows longer messages with sizes
limited only by the available RAM of MCU. This is necessary for communication
using ISO 14230-3 protocol where the diagnostic message length is up to 260 bytes.
A state diagram of the software is shown in Fig. 3. Each state is implemented as a
separate program loop. In each loop the program checks if a valid USART message
has been received. On successful reception the requested operation is performed and
a confirmation message is sent back to PC. A message containing an error code is
sent back if an error has occurred or the command can not be performed. The
program states are changed by commands from the PC. When the program is in main
state, information about the version and the serial number of the protocol converter
can be queried. The K-Line and CAN states will be described in detail. J1850 state is
not implemented at present time.

Fig. 3. State diagram of protocol converter software
3.1 K-Line State
When the program is in K-Line state, the protocol converter provides and
performs the following functions:
5-baud initialization with specified address byte;
Fast initialization with specified request message;
Message transfer of specified request message and response message(s);
Periodical sending of specified keep connection message.
All these functions perform sending and receiving bytes on K line. For this reason
a simple software USART for pins RxK/TxK has been implemented.
The sending of bytes utilizes Timer2 with period register PR2 for generating the
bit time. The TxK signal is driven according to the bit values of the respective byte.
The reception of bytes begins with the interrupt INT0 on a falling edge of RxK
(start bit). A dedicated interrupt service routine samples the RxK signal three times
and takes the prevailing bit value using the same bit timer. By default the bit time is
96 s (corresponding to standard baud rate of 10.4 kBaud) but it can be changed.
The 5-baud initialization [2] begins with sending an address byte using a timer for
milliseconds (Timer1 with CCP1) for generating the bit time (200 ms). The
TxL TxK / signals are driven simultaneously according to the bit values of specified
address byte. Besides working with a fixed preset baud rate, this function can detect
automatically the baud rate from the synchronization pattern ($55) and modify the
period register accordingly after that.
State Protocol
K-Line ISO 9141-2 / KWP 2000
J1850 SAE J1850
CAN ISO 15765
Main
CAN
J1850
K-Line
Power-on,
Reset PC Commands
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ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA
The fast initialization [2] begins with a wake-up pattern (25 ms low level; 25 ms
high level) sent simultaneously to TxL TxK / signals. After that a request message is
sent and responses are received using the next function (message transfer).
The message transfer [2] is performed according to the message timing
requirements which are specified in the data link layer protocols. The transfer
sequence is the following: at first the protocol converter sends to the vehicle a request
message received from PC; then response bytes are received and grouped into one or
more response messages. The reception is implemented by two nested loops. The
outer loop is for message responses and the inner loop is for message bytes.
The periodical sending of specified message prevents the connection from
automatic disconnection by ECU if there is no activity on the bus for more than 5 s.
The message need to be set only once by PC. If there is an active connection the
message is sent every 4 seconds after the last activity on K line.
The smart interface adapter operating in K-Line state has the following
advantages compared to the simple K-Line interface adapter:
Precise message timing;
Precise wake-up pattern generation;
Automatic baud rate detection;
Automatic keeping of connection;
Decreased PC load.
3.2 CAN State
When CAN state is entered at first the internal ECAN module is configured
according to ISO 15765. This protocol defines requirements to vehicle diagnostic
systems implemented on CAN communication link. A network layer is specified
which allows the transfer of messages up to 4095 bytes long by means of data
segmentation. The length of data bytes is fixed to 8 bytes. The first byte is always the
protocol control information (PCI). Data segmentation is used only when the length
of message to be transmitted exceeds 7 bytes.
There are 4 allowed configurations depending on baud rate and ID (identifier):
Baud rate 250 kbit/s with standard ID (11-bit);
Baud rate 250 kbit/s with extended ID (29-bit);
Baud rate 500 kbit/s with standard ID (11-bit);
Baud rate 500 kbit/s with extended ID (29-bit).
Each particular configuration can be activated by a command from PC. The bit
timing configuration depending on the baud rate is given in Table 1. Depending on
the type of ID, two acceptance filtering configurations are used (see Table 2). The
dedicated filter/mask registers of the ECAN module are configured so that only
messages with the required IDs are received. According to ISO 15765-2 the standard
IDs use normal addressing and the extended IDs use normal fixed addressing.
Table 1. Bit timing configuration of ECAN module
Baud rate F
OSC
F
Q
/ T
Q
Timing Segment 1 Timing Segment 2 Synchronization
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ELECTRONICS 2006 20 22 September, Sozopol, BULGARIA
Jump Width
250 kbit/s 20 MHz 5 MHz / 200 ns 15 x T
Q
4 x T
Q
3 x T
Q
500 kbi/s 20 MHz 10 MHz /100 ns 15 x T
Q
4 x T
Q
3 x T
Q
Table 2. Acceptance filtering configuration of ECAN module
ID
Type
ID Byte 3
(bits 28 through 24)
ID Byte 2
(bits 23 through 16)
ID Byte 1
(bits 15 through 8)
ID Byte 0
(bits 7 through 0)
11-bit 0000 0111b 1110 1XXXb
1)
29-bit 18h DAh F1h XXh
2)
Legend: X means do not care.
1)
XXXb is the number of ECU: from 0 to 7.
2)
XXh is the address of ECU: from 00h to FFh.
The CAN state provides a function for sending a specified request message and
receiving response frames which are part of segmented or single-frame messages.
The handling of network layer is not a task of protocol converter. The converter only
transfers accepted frames via USART to PC in the order in which they are received.
However the protocol converter observes the timeouts specified in the network layer.
4. RESULTS
The presented smart OBDII interface adapter is verified successfully in practice
for K-Line and CAN interfaces. All functions provided in K-Line state, including
automatic baud rate detection, are tested for ISO 9141-2 and KWP 2000 protocols.
The precise and accurate message timing is proved by reliable reception of multiple
message responses. All 4 possible configurations in CAN state are tested by transfer
of diagnostic messages.
5. CONCLUSION
A method for implementation of smart OBDII interface adapter for connection
between vehicle diagnostic interfaces and a PC serial port is presented. The interface
adapter conforms to the physical layer and the data link layer protocols. It is built of a
protocol converter (MCU), interface transceivers and protective devices. The protocol
converter processes diagnostic messages according to the respective data link layer
protocol. It communicates with the PC via serial port using ASCII messages. For
K-Line interface the adapter provides functions for initialization with automatic baud
rate detection, message transfer and periodical sending of keep connection messages.
For CAN interface the adapter can be configured in all 4 required modes. A function
for message transfer is provided. The adapter is successfully verified in practice.
6. REFERENCES
[1] ELM 327 OBD to RS232 Interpreter. Elm Electronics, ELM327DSA, 2005.
[2] Dzhelekarski, P. and D. Alexiev. Initializing Communication to Vehicle OBDII System.
Proceedings of the Fourteenth Int. Conference ELECTRONICS05, Book 3, pp. 46-52, 2005.
[3] MCP2551 High-speed CAN Transceiver. Microchip, DS39637A, 2004.
[4] OE90C2600 EOBD/OBDII to RS232 Gateway. zen Elektronik, 2004.
[5] zen, B. Auto-Diagnose mit OBD-2. Elektor, 7-8/2005, pp. 14-18.
[6] PIC18F2480/2580/4480/4580 Enhanced Flash Microcontrollers. Microchip, DS39637A,
2004.
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