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4 UDS Protocol Services Every Automotive Geek Should Know

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Embedded Blog (https://www.embitel.com/blog/embedded-blog) 4 UDS Protocol Services Every Automotive Geek Should Know

4 UDS Protocol Services Every Automo ve Geek Should Know

What is Unified Diagnostic Service (UDS) Protocol?

With rapid implementa on of electronic embedded systems in vehicles, the need to track and control the vehicle’s different parameters was
impera ve. Thus, diagnos c systems were developed so that the clients (designers, testers, and mechanics) could detect the faults in the
vehicle by connec ng their diagnos c tester tool to the electronic control units (ECUs) in the vehicle.

Unified Diagnos c Service (UDS) is an automo ve protocol that lets the diagnos c systems communicate with the ECUs to diagnose faults
and reprogram the ECUs accordingly (if required).

It is called unified because it combines and consolidates all the standards like KWP 2000, ISO 15765 and others.

The Architecture of the UDS protocol (h ps://www.embitel.com/uds-protocol-stack-solu on-for-

vehicle-diagnos cs) is designed based on the Open System Interconnec on (OSI) Reference Model,
and hence the UDS so ware stack has a layered architecture.

One of the major func ons of UDS so ware stack is to store fault code in the ECU memory for
every issue that occurs in the vehicle and transfer it (to the client side) as and when required.

The diagnos c tester tool has a GUI that connects to the ECU, retrieves the fault code and
displays it.

Need for UDS Protocol for Vehicle Diagnostics

As OEMs integrate/assemble automo ve ECUs (h ps://www.embitel.com/product-engineering-2/automo ve/control-units) and components

from different suppliers, a need for a standard diagnos c protocol was felt.

This is because, prior to a Unified Protocol OEMs’ and suppliers had to deal with compa bility issues between different diagnos c protocols
like KWP 2000, ISO 15765, and diagnos cs over K-Line.

Unified Diagnos c Service (UDS) is the preferred choice of protocols for all the off-board vehicle diagnosis. Off-board diagnos cs refers to
the diagnos cs of the vehicle parameters when the car is at servicing in the garage (when the car is sta onary).

ECU flashing and reprogramming can also be performed efficiently with the help of UDS protocol stack.

Also, UDS protocol is quite flexible and is capable of performing more detailed diagnos cs as compared to other protocols like OBD
(h ps://www.embitel.com/obd-ii-stack-services) and J1939.

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Following is the list of 4 important categories of services offered by an UDS protocol stack
Upload/Download Capabilities

As already men oned in the blog, UDS protocol also supports ECU reprogramming. ECU reprogramming refers to upda ng the ECU
so ware. This is required to resolve any exis ng bug or add newly developed modules in the ECU.

Using the upload and download capabili es of UDS protocol, large packets of data can be sent and received to and from the car’s
ECU for ECU reprogramming purpose.

The client can invoke RequestDownload and TransferData service to ini ate a data transfer to the server (ECU) from the client
(diagnos c tester) using a tester device. The server upon receiving the request will take all necessary ac ons to receive the data. A
posi ve response message is sent when the server has successfully received the message.

Likewise, a RequestUpload service is used by the client to request data packets from the server to the client.

One of its prac cal examples can be configuring the parameters rela ng to the vehicle’s variant code. It implies that the client can
download or upload the se ngs/configura ons in order to change or adapt a par cular variant.

Suppose a car has two variants and one of them has An -lock brake system (ABS) and the other doesn’t. The ECU of the variant
with the ABS will need to be updated with configura ons and se ngs to control the ABS. A task like this can be performed using
this service.

Remote Routine Activation

Vehicle Diagnos csmay require tes ng the faulty component in a given range of parameters. Moreover, during the tes ng phase of
the vehicle, some system tests may be required to run over a period of me.

For all such tasks, remote rou ne ac va on service of UDS protocol is used.

In order to perform a test, a rou ne is triggered by the client, or to put it in another words, a rou ne is started by the client in the
server’s memory.

There are two methods in this remote request, one is where the client interrupts the rou ne to stop it; and the other is when the
server/ECU finishes the rou ne a er a specified me frame.

Using this service, the client can start a rou ne, stop a rou ne and also check the result that the rou ne produced a er a successful
execu on.

For instance, the service personnel in the garage may use this service to run the engine fan for a certain period of me and record
the results. This would help him understand a par cular issue well and rec fy it without using any hit and trial method.

Data Transmission Capabilities

The data transmission capabili es enable the clients to read or write any informa on to or from the ECU.

The data can be read or wri en on the basis of iden fiers and periodic iden fiers. The client can also read data from the physical
memory at the specified address.

The informa on can range from sta c info like ECU serial number to some real me data like the current status of the sensors,
engine speed etc.

If the client wants the ECU to send periodic service values, then ‘Read Data By Iden fier Periodically’ service will be required. The
client can also write data by iden fier and address. Using the write service, certain values can be changed such as threshold values
and angles.

Usually, the permission to write some sensi ve data to the ECU can be controlled by restric ng the access using ‘Security Access
Service’ . Such permissions are reserved by the OEMs as it can interfere with the security and overall func oning of the vehicle.

Fault Diagnostics

One of the major services of UDS protocol is fault diagnos cs. Whenever an issue occurs in the vehicle, a diagnos c trouble code
(DTC) corresponding to the fault is stored in the ECU fault code memory (FCM). The service personnel at the garage can retrieve
these DTCs by using the ReadDTCInforma on service.

Fault Diagnos cs service allows the client to read both emissions related or non-emission related DTC informa on. The client can
define a status mask based on which the DTC informa on will be displayed.

DTC Snapshot data can also be retrieved using this service.

Note: DTC Snapshot data gives addi onal informa on about the engine’s parameters during the occurrence of the fault
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2/19/2019 What is UDS Protocol | Unified Diagnostic Service in Automotive | Embitel
Note: DTC Snapshot data gives addi onal informa on about the engine s parameters during the occurrence of the fault .

The DTC informa on along with other data stored in the server can also be erased if need be. ClearDiagnos cInforma on service
can be invoked to delete all such diagnos cs data stored in the server.

Once the fault codes are retrieved, the problem can be diagnosed efficiently and repair work can follow.

The Final Word

UDS protocol is by far the smartest diagnos c protocol capable of performing detailed vehicle diagnos cs.

The future of UDS protocol is quite bright in the automo ve industry as it gives the flexibility to implement Diagnos cs independent of the
medium that the vehicle communicates on whether the medium is CAN,K-Line or FlexRay.

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