Safety Warning
DIY auto repair can cause serious injury, fire, or vehicle damage. These guides are for informational purposes only. Always follow OEM torque specs, wear PPE, and consult a certified mechanic if you are unsure. You are solely responsible for your safety.
Principles of Operation: Ms-Can
The MS-CAN uses an unshielded twisted pair cable of data (+) and data (-) circuits. The data (+) and the data (-) circuits are each regulated to approximately 2.5 volts during neutral or rested network traffic. As bus messages are sent on the data (+) circuit, voltage is increased by approximately 1.0 volt. Inversely, the data (-) circuit is reduced by approximately 1.0 volt when a bus message is sent. Multiple bus messages can be sent over the network CAN circuits allowing multiple modules to communicate with each other and designed for general information transfer. The MS-CAN will not communicate while certain faults are present, but will operate with diminished performance with other faults present. The MS-CAN bus may remain operational when 1 of the 2 termination resistors are not present.
The MS-CAN operates at a maximum data transfer speed of 125 Kbps for bus messages and designed for general information transfer.
The following modules are on the MS-CAN:
- Instrument cluster (IC)
- Vehicle security module (VSM)
The following fault chart describes the specific MS-CAN failures and their resulting symptom:
| Failure Description | Symptom |
|---|---|
| MS-CAN (+) shorted to MS-CAN (-) | No communication |
| MS-CAN (+) short to voltage | No communication |
| MS-CAN (-) short to voltage | No communication |
| MS-CAN (+) short to ground | No communication |
| MS-CAN (-) short to ground | Unreliable communication possible for all network modules |
| MS-CAN (+) open | Unreliable communication possible for all network modules |
| MS-CAN (-) open | Unreliable communication possible for all network modules |
| Module loss of voltage or ground | No communication |
| Module internal failure | No communication |
NO RELATED
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When to See a Mechanic
Stop DIY work and contact a certified mechanic immediately if any of the following apply:
- • You smell fuel, burning insulation, or see smoke.
- • Brakes feel soft, pull hard to one side, or make grinding noises.
- • The engine overheats, stalls repeatedly, or misfires under load.
- • You are missing required tools, torque specs, or safe lifting equipment.
- • You are not confident in the next step or safety outcome.