Canbus Query !!

[Vaux-Man-G]

Guy's,

I know...shoot me now....I should know this.

But I have been reading loads of thread about "CANBUS", but I still dont understand it actually is.

Some threads go on about half-Canbus, 3 quarter canbus, etc etc, and its doing my nut in.

Can someone provide some clear information for me please?

Thanks.

[darko2301]

well, it is something what all facelift vectras have and some late prefacelift models too, when your car has full canbus then everything goes over computer and for instance all screens and radios are interchangeable even between different models! (eg astra and vectra)
radios also don't have radio code anymore but they are married with the car, steering wheel controls are used for bc now and there are some other stuff which i probably forgot but someone will write it

[Penfold101]

Controller Area Network Bus - CANBUS. Basically, instead of every single item having it's own power supply and earth wires, the various eletrical items are controlled via signals from the ECU and other computers turning them on and off etc using the same wiring. It cuts down on the wires you need, but means that interrupting any of these to jack a 12V power supply causes it to throw a wobbly becuase it relies on set amperages and voltages and control signals to operate properly and know when things are working.

Picture this: you turn your headlights on - in a normal car it operates relays etc to push the power to the bulbs. In a Canbus system, the switch causes a signal to be sent to the ECU for the headlights, which in turn operates them and will tell you if there's any problems with the bulbs being blown etc.

That's how I understand it anyway - I stand to be corrected...

[Ste]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canbus


Strictly speaking the CANBUS is the hardware needed for all this to happen (ie the wires themselves)

[Jezzy]

Basically, in the old days a car had just one ECU, controlling the engine and pretty much little else. The Vectra-C is littered with ECUs, each controlling different functions of the car. CANbus refers to the network that connects these various ECUs. If you're familiar with IT, it's akin to the network that connects various servers that are scattered throughout a company's IT estate.

[Ste]

Basically, in the old days a car had just one ECU, controlling the engine and pretty much little else.

Hang on. In the old days there was NO ECU controlling anything and cars used carbs and the laws of physics to get air / fuel into the power cylinders......

I know, I've still got such a car - although it's got a 3.5 Litre V8 in it with twin 1.75" SU carbs....

[plasma]

maybe Jezzy is younger than you and that IS the old days for him lol

[Ste]

Quite possibly. I ain't THAT old though..

[30ltr nutter]

the can bus system is a way of transfering information from one component to another component so if u have full can bus then every control unit including the radio is linked to gether bye 2 wires basically in a loop system so if u unplug say the radio u cant reprogramme some of the control units because there is a break in the system.

[Teamtom]

as 30ltr nutter has touched on.

You can identify "CANBUS" wires very easily. Can bus wires are wrapped around eachother all the way


example of a can bus system



example of can bus wires




and apart from all that everything else has been covered