Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Version 1.0
Application Note AN-ANI-1-115
Table of Contents
1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 CAN Implementations ........................................................................................................................................ 1
2 Common High-Speed CAN Bus Physical Problems............................................................................................. 2
2.1 Bus Termination ................................................................................................................................................. 2
2.1.1 Termination Resistor Location......................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.2 Checking Termination Resistance................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.3 Tool-Related Termination Problems................................................................................................................ 4
2.2 CAN Bus DC and AC Voltages .......................................................................................................................... 5
2.2.1 CAN Controller Logic Reference ..................................................................................................................... 5
2.2.2 Checking the CAN_H Signal Line.................................................................................................................... 5
2.2.3 Checking the CAN_L Signal Line .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.4 Checking the CAN Signal Waveforms............................................................................................................. 6
2.3 CAN Bus Ground................................................................................................................................................ 8
2.3.1 The Ground Requirement................................................................................................................................ 8
2.3.2 Checking the Ground....................................................................................................................................... 8
2.3.3 Ground Shifts................................................................................................................................................... 9
3 Contacts .............................................................................................................................................................. 10
1 Overview
Determining the exact cause of a CAN problem is not at all simple.
Is the problem in hardware or software? Is the problem on the circuit board or on the CAN network wiring?
Sometimes the problem may not be at the module level - perhaps the cause is up at the system level.
This application note discusses methods used to investigate several of the more common CAN Physical Layer
problems typically encountered when debugging high-speed CAN.
Based on reported experiences, if a working module is not functioning now or has been demonstrating intermittent
operation, in most cases the problem is probably in the Physical Layer area.
Lets look at these problems now in more detail to understand how to solve them.
Both insufficient termination resistance and inappropriate termination resistance locations may cause Error Frames.
Note: It is a best practice to check the voltage of the bus prior to making a resistance measurement, so as to
prevent damage the DVM
When not transmitting a message, the TX pin, an output, is left in the recessive state - logic level 1.
Figure 10 shows a typical CAN signal seen during normal message transmission in the recessive and dominant
columns. Beginning with both signal voltages at 2.5 volts, every dominant bit will shift the CAN_H signal higher to
approximately 3.5 volts and at the same time shift the CAN_L signal down to 1.5 volts.
Remember that when no messages are being sent (also called idle time) both CAN_H and CAN_L signal voltages
remain at the mid supply level of approximately 2.5 volts.
While many experimenters have successfully used CAN in laboratory conditions by using the local AC Ground as
the third wire, such connections should not be relied on in all cases. Because there is no guarantee that the AC
ground is properly wired, one should proceed with caution.
The random occurrence of large AC ground differential voltages may potentially damage a CAN transceiver and
cause intermittent problems or complete loss of communication.
As shown in Figure 12, the ideal condition is to use a single common ground.
3 Contacts