This SAE Recommended Practice defines the information contained in the header and data fields of non-diagnostic messages for automotive serial communications based on SAE J1850 Class B networks. This document describes and specifies the header fields, data fields, field sizes, scaling, representations, and data positions used within messages.

The general structure of a SAE J1850 message frame without in-frame response is shown in Figure 1. The structure of a SAE J1850 message with in-frame response is shown in Figure 2. Figures 1 and 2 also show the scope of frame fields defined by this document for non-diagnostic messages. Refer to SAE J1979 for specifications of emissions related diagnostic message header and data fields. Refer to SAE J2190 for the definition of other diagnostic data fields. The description of the network interface hardware, basic protocol definition, the electrical specifications, and the CRC byte are given in SAE J1850.