What is CAN bus?

A Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is a vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and Electronic Control Units (ECUs) to communicate with each other. The CAN bus standard was developed by Bosch and Intel and the version of the current standard has been in use since 1990.

What is an electrical bus?

An electrical bus is a way to use fewer wires to communicate status of electrical components within a circuit, so instead of one wire per lamp, pump and sensor in a car, only two wires of the CAN bus system (CAN high and CAN low) carrying varying voltage are used to communicate between the many control systems and electrical components within a car.

CAN bus and GPS fleet tracking

The CAN bus protocol is one of many used by car subsystems. CAN data can be accessed via OBD-ii ports in light duty vehicles and J1939 plugs in heavy duty trucks. Verizon Connect’s GPS vehicle tracking devices interpret CAN network data to provide additional telematics data like fuel consumption and engine speeds into GPS tracking software, to help fleet managers get the most out of their fleet of vehicles. Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) from On board Diagnostic and CAN bus systems can help improve vehicle maintenance for your fleet.

Our solutions

View all

GPS fleet tracking

Our GPS fleet tracking software monitors your entire mobile workforce with increased visibility through our easy-to-use dashboards, detailed maps and apps.

Learn more about our fleet tracking software solutions