Analysis of Power Line Communication for the Use in Automotive Wiring Systems

Abstract

This analysis describes the use of power line communication (PLC) for the simplification of automotive wiring systems. An electronic control unit (ECU) hardware that allows demonstration of basic functions like remote load switching is designed and set into operation. All necessary software routines for a system containing five individual control units are developed. Different simple wiring setups including twin wire and single wire are implemented for evaluation purposes. Immunity against electromagnetic interference (EMI) is tested and proven to comply with relevant standards in all of these different wiring setups. The analysis shows the suitability of PLC for automotive systems and retro-fit solutions even with a very cheap and basic setup.