A new SAE J2534-1 v 05.00 specification to be published by SAE in the near future attempts to improve reliability of devices across different vehicle makes and to reduce the time necessary to program vehicle modules.
Greg Potter, Director at DG Technologies, is a member of the SAE J-2534 Committee and explains, "The SAE J2534-1 Committee has been relentless in its effort to take all ambiguity out of the specification and allow the completion of the SAE J2534-3 Compliance Tests. The new spec also allows ISO 15765 CAN to have multiple 'Logical' channels and adds support for full and half-duplex functionality that can facilitate much faster reprogramming times."
The new specification tightens the instructions and definitions so that OEM application software and J-device hardware are less likely to have compatibility issues that can lead to programming errors.
But don't expect the upgrades to appear in the shop anytime soon. The new specification is not backward compatible, J-devices will need to have software/firmware updates and OEM applications will need to be edited or rewritten to comply with the new 05.00 version of SAE J2534-1.
According to a statement in the NASTF newsletter: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) does not appear to be in a hurry to "require" OEMs implement this new spec as they wait for the industry, it seems, to apply urgency to implementing this version. Some OEMs may voluntarily write new application software, but considering the expense and pending upgrades due for all model-year 2018 vehicles the OEMs may be slow in the rollout.
