Can an ECU be configured to continue transmission without receiving ACKs in CAN Communication??

Yes, an ECU can be configured to continue transmitting messages even without receiving acknowledgments (ACKs) in CAN (Controller Area Network) communication. However, this depends on the specific implementation and configuration of the CAN controller and software.

Key Points:

1. Standard CAN Behavior

In a standard CAN network, every transmitted message must be acknowledged by at least one node.

If no ACK is received, the transmitting node will retry sending the message indefinitely (or up to a limit if error handling is implemented).

2. Ignoring ACK Mechanism

The CAN protocol itself requires ACKs, so if no node acknowledges a message, the transmitter will assume a bus error and retry transmission.

However, an ECU can be configured in a way that it keeps attempting transmission even if there are no ACKs (e.g., through software control).

3. Use Cases for Ignoring ACKs

If an ECU is operating in a test mode (e.g., a standalone test bench) where no other nodes are present to send an ACK.

If it is part of a system that does not require ACKs due to specific design constraints.

4. Workarounds

Some ECUs or CAN controllers allow overriding standard error-handling mechanisms to continue transmission.

A firmware modification could instruct the ECU to continuously send messages, even if no ACK is received.