FORENSIC PRACTICE https://doi.org/10.34836/pk.2022.318.

CAN-BOX – OBD II Interface – or how to simplify

mechanoscopic examination of electronic vehicle components

lt. Piotr Witczak1

ORCID 0009-0004-5623-097X

1
Forensic Laboratory of the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Łódź, [email protected]

Abstract

This article describes a project designed and developed at the Forensic Laboratory of the Voivodeship Po-
lice Headquarters in Łódź, which facilitates the mechanoscopic examination of electronic vehicle modules.
It describes the basic theory of data transmission using vehicle buses and demonstrates the possibility of its
application in research.

Key words: device, controller, vehicle module, electronics, CAN bus, interface, OBD II connector, diagnostic
tester, black box, mechanoscopy, road accidents

Introduction
In today’s world, it is difficult to imagine a new car without any electronic systems. Cars whose only electronic
system is the direction indicator relay module have been registered as vintage vehicles a long time ago. We live
in times where the development of electronics has led to a situation in which the driver is no longer the most im-
portant ‘element’ governing the behaviour of the vehicle in unexpected road situations; we could even go as far
as to say that the driver is becoming a passenger in his own car. Ten to twenty years ago, the directors of science
fiction films predicted the future of modern vehicles and visualised cars without drivers, where the passenger
entered the vehicle and simply said where he wanted to go, while the virtual driver drove him safely to his desti-
nation and – to tell the truth – we are already living in such times.
Many leading car manufacturers are introducing new solutions intended to eliminate any driver errors, while
new regulations are even forcing car manufacturers to introduce them into serial production. The problems with
autonomous vehicles are related to legal regulations in the event of a road accident – who is responsible for such

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an accident if there is no driver and is it possible to penalize a car? This problem will not be discussed further
in this article, although it does stand in the way of implementing these technologies in practice.
The rapid development of new technologies and electronic components enables the implementation of faster
data transmission and faultless transmission protocols, which leads to the creation of increasingly safe cars,
equipped with the latest technology. As late as at the beginning of the 21st century, an on-board computer that
calculated values such as average fuel consumption was reserved only for the most lavishly equipped car mod-
els. The ongoing technological advance resulted in the creation of electric systems that enable car diagnostics
via an OBD II type connector that was first introduced in 1996 in cars manufactured in the United States. Nowa-
days, in the times of highly advanced electronics, a car’s on-board system can be equipped with several inde-
pendent transmission buses responsible for safety while driving. In new cars, data is most commonly transmitted
via a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus. A huge number of installed sensors requires the use of fast, reliable
data transmission buses and their mutual communication. The use of data transmission buses that transmit
data from all sensors installed in a vehicle has also enabled the cars to self-diagnose. CAN buses responsible
for issues such as engine functioning, the comfort or safety systems, are connected to an external interface that
can be connected to a diagnostic tool to enable the real-time monitoring of data sent by the sensors and elec-
tronic modules and to decode operational errors recorded in this data. Buses are connected with each other via
a controller known as the GateWay, which is terminated with a 16-pin OBD II diagnostic connector (On-Board
Diagnostic level 2) – see figure 1.

Fig. 1. An OBD II connector installed in passenger cars

One of the most important advantages of a CAN bus is that all electronic modules and sensors in a given subnet
are connected in parallel to a twisted pair, which reduces the weight and cost of an electric system. A simplified
diagram of the topology of a CAN bus has been shown in figure 2.

CAN HIGH

Controller 1 Controller 1 Controller 2 Controller 2

R

CAN LOW
Fig. 2. The topology of a CAN bus

Data in a twisted pair is transmitted using a differential signal, which makes it very resistant to external elec-
tromagnetic interference and reliable in car safety systems. In order to eliminate signal interference, terminating

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resistors of the values of approx. 120 ohms are installed on both ends of the bus. The resistance value depends,
among others, on the type of the installed twisted pair. A CAN line includes two conductors known as ‘CAN
HIGH’ and ‘CAN LOW’. When no information is transmitted through the bus (recessive state), the voltage on both
lines is 2.5 V each, during transmission (dominant state) the values change into 1.5 V for the Low line and 3.5 V
for the High line – see figure 3.

U [V]
5,0

CAN High
3,5

2,5

1,5
CAN Low

0
recessive state dominant state recessive state t [s]
Fig. 3. Voltage levels on CAN High and CAN Low lines

The knowledge of basic information on the transmission of data in a CAN bus, such as voltage level values, can
be useful, because it allows us to easily determine whether data is being currently transmitted using a standard
voltage meter. The theory related to CAN buses is very extensive and would require a separate article, therefore
all the relevant details on data buses can be found in literature and on the internet.

Interfejs CAN-BOX project

Due to the increase in car theft and consequently the growing influence of recommended mechanoscopic exami-
nation of electronic components in cars, in 2017 a CAN-BOX Interface was developed at the workshop of the Fo-
rensic Laboratory of the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Łódź, which facilitates the connection of a diagnostic
tool to pin connectors of electronic modules installed in cars. The interface enables the easy, non-invasive con-
nection of a diagnostic tool to an examined electronic module and the extraction of data recorded in its memory.
Of note is the fact that car manufacturers record data, such as vehicle VIN numbers and module serial numbers,
in an increasing number of components, such as engine controllers, dashboard indicators, air bag controllers,
BSI modules and even in parking support modules. VIN vehicle numbers recorded by car manufacturers in elec-
tronic components represent their individual identification features and can be accessed only using specialist
equipment. The interface can also be used to decode ‘black boxes’, which since July 2022 are an obligatory ele-
ment in all new cars, while this kind of examination is being implemented in tests carried out at the Road Accident
Reconstruction laboratory. We must bear in mind that if a vehicle has been dismantled or damaged in an accident
in a way that prevents the connection to a diagnostic connector, only the possibility of decoding such a black box
or electronic module will allow a laboratory to examine the box recovered from the vehicle wreck.
The CAN-BOX interface is a simple external interface for the OBD II connector that provides easy access
to the CAN bus and to other transmission lines used by car manufacturers. The OBD II connector is usually situ-
ated under the steering wheel (see figure 4) in all cars manufactured after 2003.

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Fig. 4. Location of the OBD II connector in new cars

Figure 5 shows a table which describes the pinout of the OBD II diagnostic connector (socket). Pins designated
as options are pins that can be used by car manufacturers for their own communication protocols.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1 Option 9 Option
2 J1850 BUS + 10 J1850 BUS -
3 Option 11 Option
4 Chassis GND 12 Option
5 Signal GND 13 Option
6 CAN High 14 CAN Low
7 ISO9141 K-Line 15 ISO9141 L-Line
8 Option 16 Power
Fig. 5. The pinout of an OBD II connector

The analysis of signals directly from the connector is very inconvenient due to its location. CAN-BOX pro-
vides easy access to the 16 pins of the OBD II connector. It enables the connection of all kinds of diagnos-
tic equipment, CAN bus data analysers, oscilloscopes or diagnostic tools to more accessible connectors,
which allows the user to easily diagnose signals sent from a vehicle’s electronic modules. An illustrative
diagram of connection with a vehicle has been shown in figure 6, while its practical application in a vehi-
cle – in figure 7.

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CAN - BOX

ON

FROM VEHICLE’S OBD II

CAN BUS DIAGNOSTIC

CONNECTOR
ANALYSER TOOL

Fig. 6. An illustrative diagram of the connection of interface with vehicle’s diagnostic connector

Fig. 7. The practical application of CAN-BOX in a vehicle together with a diagnostic tool

CAN-BOX also enables the easy connection of an electronic module removed from a vehicle and its examina-
tion out of the vehicle, as shown in diagram in figure 8. Figure 9 shows an engine controller connected via cables
to the CAN-BOX, in order to extract data recorded in its memory.

POWER SUPPLY
12V

CAN - BOX

ON

(ENGINE)
GND
CAN H DIAGNOSTIC
CAN L
CONTROLLER K-Line
12 V
TOOL

Fig. 8. An illustrative diagram of the connection of controller removed from vehicle

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Fig. 9. The practical connection of an engine controller with the CAN-BOX interface in order to extract data from its memory

The CAN-BOX can be powered in two ways – via the OBD II diagnostic connector or via a laboratory power supply
unit. Both power supply lines are secured using rectifier diodes that protect the connected diagnostic equipment
against reverse polarity of the supply voltage. A schematic diagram of the project has been shown in figure 10.
Option BUS + Option Chassis GND Signal GND CAN H K-Line Option Chassis GND

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4
OBD II

Batt
R1 Option BUS - Option Option Option CAN L L-Line Batt + Batt + R2
1,2k

1,2k
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16
IN D2
OUT
D1
16 8 8 16

15 7 7 15

14 6 6 14

13 5 5 13

12 4 4 12

11 3 3 11

10 2 2 10

9 1 1 9

Figure 10. A schematic diagram of the CAN-BOX interface

The CAN-BOX interface is clearly an electronically simple device. It could even be classified as an electric
device, because apart from four electronic elements in the form of LED diodes and rectifier diodes, it only con-
sists of electrical connections. Therefore we will not discuss the principle of operation of this device. It is useful
to know the purpose of the LED diodes and the rectifier diodes. Diode D1 protects the diagnostic tool connected
to the OBD II connector, indicated as ‘OUT’ in the schematic diagram, against reverse polarity that may be pre-
sent on the vehicle’s OBD II connector (this situation may occur in the event of interference with the connector
to prevent a thief from starting the car). Diode 2 meanwhile protects the diagnostic tool connected to the OBD II
connector, indicated as ‘OUT’ in the schematic diagram, against reverse connection of the external power sup-
ply to banana connectors indicated as ‘Batt+’ and ‘GND’. Two LED diodes have been used in the project. The LED
diode indicated as ‘OBD II’ signals the presence of voltage at pins 16 (power supply plus) and 4 (housing ground)
at the moment of connection of CAN-BOX to the vehicle’s OBD II connector, while the LED diode indicated as ‘Batt’
signals the presence of internal voltage connected to pins 4 and 16.

Conclusions
Having used the project for the examination of vehicle components at the Forensic Laboratory of the Voivodeship
Police Headquarters in Łódź for many years, we can confirm that it has significantly accelerated the identifica-
tion tests of electronic components of cars and the constantly updated connection diagram database of the FAVI
police application further extends the possibilities of its application.

Source of figures: author

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