Product overview
The vehicle CAN bus data logger keeps a record of the bus during a road test, fleet duty, and after-sales diagnosis. The figures on this page are what a buyer, a tender clause, and a later spot check all use. It captures multi-channel CAN/CAN FD frames, stamps them in hardware, and stores them across a wide temperature range, so the chain stays intact through an abnormal condition, a collision review, and an OTA diagnostic upload. Power-loss protection and a sealed, shock-resistant housing are part of the build. Signed firmware can be verified and rolled back, which keeps a batch shipment and remote service practical.
CAN-FD and standard industrial connectors are fitted as standard, for a SCADA, energy, or IoT platform already on site. SimtoLink supplies a southbound point table and northbound MQTT/HTTP push examples. Volume orders can add enclosure silk-screen, a set harness length, protocol mapping, and a calibration certificate.
Reliability on the vehicle
The CCC items that apply have been passed. Ports are protected against surge and reversed polarity. Reinforced grounding and a partitioned layout cut ground-loop and common-mode risk. Outdoor or coastal orders can take a higher ingress rating and a corrosion-resistant coating.
Parameters load in a batch. Thresholds, and event video or waveform capture, follow the model ordered. Configuration and firmware update over the air. Close acceptance with a power-on self-test, time sync on the link, and a sample reading. For metering or safety use, SimtoLink helps with a third-party metrology submission and the type-test file.
Key specifications
The table is a typical build of this logger, for selection and for a tender clause. A wider range, redundant power, or an intrinsically safe version is in the hardware specification and the installation and commissioning guide. Order codes in the family can differ. The nameplate and the papers shipped with the logger govern.
| Parameter | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | 8 strain | Differential or single-ended |
| Resolution | 18 bit | No missing codes |
| Sample rate | 1 kS/s | Simultaneous sampling |
| Input range | 0～20mA | Programmable gain |
| Accuracy | ±0.024 %FS | Calibrated at constant temperature |
| Isolation | Non-isolated economy type | Withstand 1kV |
| Clock | GPS/IRIG-B | Sync error <1 μs |
| Communications | USB3.0 | SCPI/Modbus |
| Trigger | Threshold | Pre-trigger depth |
| Power | <9 W | Typical full load |
Typical applications
Four jobs that show up often, for the design and for a payback check:
Vehicle and component road tests
During three-high calibration (heat, altitude, and cold), durability, and NVH, the logger keeps the powertrain, chassis, and thermal-management buses so a fault can be replayed and a software version compared.
Commercial fleets
A long-running black box keeps driving behavior, energy use, and fault codes, and hands them to the fleet platform for fuel use and the maintenance plan.
After-sales and remote diagnosis
Reading the CAN log off a failed vehicle shortens the time to find the fault, and leaves the original chain for an OTA plan and a recall review.
Insurance and accident review
Key frames and timestamps are locked, which helps assign responsibility and support a compliance audit, under local rules and with the right authorization.
Installation, grounding, and maintenance
- Confirm supply range and polarity before the logger is powered. If the drawing is thin, measure bus voltage and breaker rating with a multimeter.
- Run communications as shielded twisted pair, grounded at one end, and keep it out of a long shared route with high-power cable.
- On the bench, finish a two-way read and write and a threshold trip against the platform before the logger goes into the vehicle.
- An outdoor mount needs a path for water to leave and air to move. Recheck the seal face. Lightning-earth resistance has to meet the local rule.
- In long service, sample a reading and archive logs every 6 months.
Ordering, documentation, and support
Ask SimtoLink for the hardware specification, an outline drawing, the wiring table, and a sample project. A volume order can include a sample review and an inspector at the plant. Warranty and calibration follow the contract and the papers packed with the logger.