Introduction

This application note shows how to use the CAN bus for OBD-II to retrieve engine RPM

Supported devices

Hardware and supplies

• Supported device
• M8 cable with OBD-II connector

Cloud services and integrations

• Integrations
• Logic
• Ledger

Project description:

This application demonstrates how to connect the Particle Tracker One to a vehicle’s CAN bus using the OBD-II (J1962) interface to retrieve engine RPM and other data.

Key Features:

• Configure CAN bus parameters and request data such as engine RPM from the vehicle.
• Add vehicle data to location publishes.
• Aggregate frequently changing data and upload metrics (minimum, average, and maximum) alongside location data.
• Dynamically adjust the location publish rate based on conditions (e.g., when the engine is running above idle).

This example uses the Particle CAN library can-mcp25x and includes a CAN bus simulator for easier testing.