CAN Bus Topology: Notes

The CAN bus consists of two twisted copper wires. Each wire contains an opposing signal with the exact same information (CAN-High, CAN-Low). The opposing signals transmitted through the twisted wire serve to suppress any electrical interference. Early CAN bus wiring included a grounded shield around the two wires, later vehicles discarded the shield in favor of the unshielded twisted pair wiring.

Due to the linear structure of the network, the CAN bus is available for other modules in the event of a disconnected or failed control unit. This is referred to as a "Tree" structure with each control unit occupying a branch.

As previously mentioned, the CAN bus initially was used as a high speed communication link between the DME and AGS control units.

With the introduction of the E38 750iL (95 M.Y.), the CAN bus was expanded to include the EML and DSC control modules. The 750iL made exclusive use of the "star coupler" to link the individual CAN bus ends to a common connector.

The 1998 model year introduced new users of the CAN bus. The instrument cluster and the steering angle sensor were linked to expand the signal sharing capabilities of the vehicle.

The 1999 750iL was the last vehicle to use the shielded cable, after which the entire CAN bus went to twisted pair wiring.

On most current models the CAN bus provides data exchange between the following control modules:

• ECM (DME)
• EML (750iL E38)
• TCM (EGS)
• IKE/Kombi
• ASC/DSC
• LEW

On models that use twisted pair, the wire color of the CAN bus is uniform throughout the vehicle with: CAN-Low GE/BR and CAN-High GE/SW or GE/RT. Shielded wiring is easily identified by the black sheath surrounding the CAN bus.