Set up CAN Bus & Configure SPNs & DTCs (Alarms, Dashboards, Reports)

Overview: CAN Bus, SPNs, & DTCs

Samsara Industrial Gateways offer support for CAN-based assets via the SAE J1939 protocol. This protocol is supported natively by the IG15. For other members of the IG-family, CAN support is enabled by a separate J1939 cable. Please contact your Samsara representative for cable-specfic details. 

SPNs (Suspect Parameter Numbers)
SPNs will tell you the current reading for a specific parameters (e.g. engine fuel temp, engine oil temp). Once configured, SPNs behave just like data inputs in Samsara Industrial Dashboards. You can fully visualize, report, alarm, and even trend SPNs (suspect parameter numbers), remotely. 

DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes)
DTCs are fault codes that will when an SPN is abnormal. They are made up of a specific SPN and FMI (Failure Mode Identifier) that tells you how the SPN is abnormal (e.g. FMI 03 indicates value above normal). DTCs are broadcasted intermittently and use special alarms and reports in Samsara Industrial Dashboards.

Configure a CAN Bus Asset

Watch a video on how to set up CAN Bus Devices, DTCs and SPNs here.

Before you can report on your asset’s CAN data, you’ll have to configure the asset in the Samsara system and assign any relevant SPNs.

Create a new Third Party Device

1. Go to “Third Party Devices” and hit “Configure New Device” in the top right corner
2. Give the device a name (this is typically your asset name or serial number).
3. Select your gateway that is transmitting CAN data (e.g. IG15 or IG21 with J1939 cable)
4. Under Type select ‘CAN Bus’
5. Provide a DTC Data Input Name.
   • This is typically your asset name or serial number, so you can identify your asset. This will also create a new data input in the system that reports the last active fault code (DTC).

 Set up your SPNs 

1. Click your newly created third party device and select Toggle Bulk Edit Mode.
2. Add your SPN codes with their associated names
   • SPNs will automatically format with a name and units for any of the SPNs that Samsara currently supports
3. Enter a matching Name and Data Input Name. 
4. Enter the full list of SPNs that your asset reports
5. Select Save
6. You will now see all of your SPNs as Data Inputs in the Samsara system and you’ll be able to visualize and trend them in dashboards, alarm, and report on them. 

Set up Alarms and Dashboards for SPNs & DTCs

Watch a video on how to set up Dashboards & Alarms DTCs/SPNs here.

Using Samsara you can create custom dashboards, alarms and notifications for any SPN at any reporting value. You can also create alarms when specific fault codes (DTCs) are triggered. 

Adding SPNs and DTCs to Industrial Dashboards

1. For SPNs, you can follow the same process you use for adding data inputs to dashboards. Refer to dashboard how-to articles: Graphical (KPI) Dashboards and SCADA (Grid) Dashboards.
2. To add currently reporting DTCs to KPI dashboards, open the Dashboard designer and select the 'Embedded Report' widget. Next select fault code report in the left-hand configuration pane. 

Creating Alarms For SPNs

1. Click the Alarm Icon
2. Click on Create Alert and then select Data Input
3. Under Applies to search for your SPN Name and select it. You can select multiple SPNs across different assets if desired. 
4. Configure your alarms and notifications as usual including scheduling, criticality, alarm threshold values, and notification contacts and types. 
5. Name your Alarm and select Save. 

Creating Alarms For DTCs

1. Click the Alarm Icon
2. Click on Create Alert and then select Fault Codes
3. Under Applies to search for your Asset name and select it. You can select multiple assets across  your organization if desired. 
4. Select all of the fault codes you would like to alert on. 
5. Continue on to configure the schedule, criticality, and notification contacts and types as usual. 
6. Name your Alarm and select Save.

Set up Reports for SPNs & DTCs

 Watch a video on how to set up Reports for DTCs/SPNs here.

For SPNs

1. You can use a Data Input Report to report on SPN time-series data showing the most recent reading over any given time period, or other functions, like average or max readings, over a given time period.
2. If you’ve configured multiple assets, Asset Reports can also be used to directly compare data between them in a single report. Refer to our Create Reports article to learn how to configure each of these reports. 

For DTCs

If you’d like to report on specific fault codes, you’ll use the Fault Code report. This report type only displays the most recent, live fault code at any given moment in time for all or a selection of specific assets. 

1. Click on Reports
2. Select the Fault Codes tab
   • You will see a complete list of all of the most recent and currently active fault codes
   • If the DTC is supported by Samsara, a name will be displayed; otherwise, the name will read ‘DTC Unknown'. The FMI and SPN will still be provided as a reference. 
3. You can filter the report by selecting the Assets dropdown and selecting the assets you want to view in the report. If you have a large number of assets to choose from, you can filter using Tags, e.g. all assets within a certain region or of a particular type. 
4. If you’d like to investigate a fault code further, and you’ve configured a dashboard for the asset in question, you can navigate to it directly by clicking on the asset name from the report.