The physical connector is J1962, not the "OBDII" port. OBDII encompasses multiple network layers (datalink, physical, etc). Prior to the J1962 connector there were other physical connector allowed.
According to Wikipedia (and other research I did) "The OBD-II specification provides for a standardized hardware interface—the female 16-pin (2x8) J1962 connector." OBD-II mandates the J1962 connector, so I wasn't so much wrong as slightly vague. In my case, I was referring to the whole system, meaning the connector and what passes through it, so I lumped everything together under one moniker.
Thanks for pointing out the difference though. I'll update the Instructable to reflect that.
The Instructable is awesome, thanks for writing it up! Do you have a guess as to what higher-layer protocol Tesla uses (like CANOpen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANopen)? I used to work on devices with ECUs that communicated via j1939, and I'd be curious if Tesla uses a known standard on top of CAN, or their own thing.
No, thank you! I nearly hit the roof when I saw it had over 14K views on Instructables (I thought it was an April fools prank) when I checked earlier this evening. In fact it's now up to 16K+, thats 2K views in only a few hours, it took me 2+ weeks to get that kind of viewership when I originally posted it.
As for the protocol, so far Tesla isn't using much standard stuff, everything from the connector to the codes is proprietary, not surprising considering that they aren't starting from a legacy platform (like Chevy, Ford, Toyota). Frankly I'm more of a hardware guy then an infosec expert, so the communication protocols seem a bit abstract to me (got to do some more reading), however, from what I've gathered based on jobs postings and forum chatter on TMC (Tesla Motors Club) Tesla might have worked with Vector group to implement CANOpen, but thats purely speculation at this point.
If you are interested in helping decode the bus or getting a closer look at the protocols used, just let me know and I will send you an email with more details. Many hands make light work as they say.
I would be interested in taking a closer look, although I can't guarantee I'll have time to help decode. If you feel like it you can shoot me an email at the address in my profile! Thanks again.
In the automotive industry (at least among german OEMs which I'm familiar with) CanTP was used for bigger messages. I'm guessing that the Autosar Stack that is now commonly used incorporates that or a replacement for it. Don't know if Tesla uses Autosar, but it would make sense.
