Hardware - CANBus

CAN or ‘Controller Area Network’ is a system that allows different parts of a vehicle to communicate with each other. Collecting, processing and delivering CANbus data requires additional hardware to be installed. This connects to the BigChange tracking device and uses a contactless pickup. This collects the data from the vehicle without any electrical connection ensuring there can be no interaction with safety critical systems or any impact on warranty cover. This article will explain what CANbus provides, how it is setup and where to view the data.

What Does CANBus Provide?

CANBus enables the collection and analysis of a wide range of data. Some of the key types of data that can be monitored with a CANBus system include:

• Odometer (vehicle mileage)
• Fuel used
• Fuel level (fuel tank gauge)
• MPG
• PTO (vehicle dependant)

Where Can I See The Data In BigChange?

Note that the units displayed for distance (miles or km) and fuel consumption (mpg UK, mpg US or l/100km) depend on those selected in ‘My Settings’ under ‘My Account’ on the Navigation Bar.

Main Dashboard:
The sum of vehicle odometer changes (start of day to end of day) across the fleet drives the ‘Total Mileage’ widget. The average fuel consumption for each day across the fleet drives the ‘Average cons’
widget.

Fleet & Resources:
When an engine on and off event is received, the ‘Odometer’ and ‘Fuel tank’ values on the fleet list are updated. The timestamp of that update is shown below the odometer value. ‘Estimated odometer’ adds GPS distance onto the CANbus value as the vehicle moves around.

Clicking on ‘Fuel history’ on the context menu here shows a graph of the fuel level values over the past few days.

Note that the amount calculated for CO2 depends on the value entered in the ‘Edit’ pop-up in ‘Administration/Manage your vehicles’ under ‘My Account’ on the Navigation Bar.

Driver Behaviour Report:
The total distance, mpg, amount of CO2 produced and cruise time are shown for each resource. The cruise time is also shown as a percentage of driving time.

Journey Cost Report:
The total distance, driving time, CO2, mpg and total fuel used are shown for each vehicle.

Fuel and Emissions Report:
The total distance, driving time, cruise active time, total fuel, mpg and CO2 are shown for each vehicle.

Conclusion

In summary, CANBus allows these various pieces of data to be efficiently communicated between different parts of the vehicle. This ensures that the information is available where it's needed for monitoring and control purposes.