Diagnosis And Testing - Emergency Assistance System

SOS-Emergency Call System General Description 

SOS-Emergency Call is a feature that allows the driver or occupant to contact emergency services in case of an accident. When the connection between the vehicle and a public safety operator is established, the vehicle will automatically transmit location and vehicle information to the emergency service operator, and it is possible to talk directly to the operator. The system is composed of the SOS Emergency Assistance Module (EAM), the speaker, the SOS button, the microphone located in the mirror or headliner, and the Global System for Mobile/Global Navigation Satellite System (GSM/GNSS) antenna on the roof.

The SOS system is automatically activated by an airbag deployment or manually activated by the SOS button. The button has a backlight, a red Light Emitting Diode (LED) and a green LED, which are used to indicate the functional states of the system.

To protect the system from accidental activation, it is necessary to press and hold the SOS-Emergency Call button for two seconds. The system will verbally announce that a call is about to be made: it is possible to cancel the call by pushing the SOS button again within a 10 second timeout. The green LED on the button will blink and then becomes a fixed light indicating an emergency call has been placed.

For further functional details, see the vehicle user manual.

SOS-Emergency Call System Functional Check 

In order to check the SOS system functionality, it is necessary to activate and perform the Test Mode function. Within the Test Mode procedure, the following actions are performed:

• Diagnosis of each system component
• Audio loop check
• Results of the transmission to Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) System operator through mobile connection

After the transmission, the SOS system automatically exits from Test Mode. The system check result depends on the result of each diagnostic test and on the success of data transmission to the system operator. In the event another Test Mode loop is required, it is necessary to wait at least five minutes after the completion of the previous Test Mode loop.

During Test Mode execution, the user is notified via audio prompt messages and LED status indicator.

Test Mode can be entered by manual commands in the vehicle or diagnostic tool command; it is recommended that a complete auto diagnosis cycle be performed before selecting the entering method.

Auto diagnosis cycle: 

The SOS system performs a complete auto diagnosis cycle at each Key OFF / Key ON transition. It is necessary to wait 10 seconds minimum after transition to complete the test. In the event of a component malfunction, corresponding Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) are set and the SOS LED will stay red continuously:

• SOS LED red continuous: some DTCs are present, select to operate through diagnostic tool
• SOS LED off: select manual activation

TEST MODE PROCEDURE 

The following is the high-level step by step procedure to access the Test Mode and perform the test suite. Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to verify the mobile network coverage in the testing area. The following steps should be performed.

Access Procedure 

The procedure to access the Test Mode can be:

• Via diagnostic command through diagnostic tool
• Manual procedure (preferred for Pre-Delivery Inspection/PDI)

Diagnostic Tool Activation 

The following steps must be performed to start the Test Mode execution using a diagnostic tool connected to the vehicle:

• Enter the extended diagnostic session (10 03)
• Start the routine $0300 (31 01 03 00)

The start routine operation has no confirmation option: as soon as the above command is entered, the test execution begins. The test sequence is the same as in the manual procedure described below; as soon as the routine is completed, the result can be read (31 03 03 00) in a Pass/Fail format. If the routine execution is manually stopped before the test sequence is complete (31 02 03 00), the result is forced to Fail.

Manual Procedure 

The steps for manual access are:

• Set the Ignition to OFF (OFF position)
• Keep the SOS button pressed and turn Ignition ON (RUN position)

Once the access procedure is recognized, the SOS Emergency Call system will notify the user via audible prompt and LED behavior.

• Audible prompt: "Test available: press the SOS button to cancel"
• LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system RED light blinks

The Test Mode procedure can be aborted by a short press of the button within a 10 second timeout  ; when the timer expires, the test begins and a clear notification is sent to the user.

In case of test confirmed:

• Audible prompt: "Test started"
• LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system RED light blinks

In case of test aborted:

• Audible prompt: "Test aborted"
• LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system light stops blinking and returns to normal mode

Test Execution 

While in Test Mode execution, the following tests are executed automatically:

• Sub system diagnosis:
  • Loudspeaker test
  • Microphone test
  • SOS button
  • Backup battery test
  • Airbag interface test
  • Modem
  • Cellular Antenna
  • GNSS Antenna
  • GNSS receiver

  During the diagnosis, which has a duration of a few seconds, the RED light is blinking. For an instant only, when the LED check is performed, the GREEN light solid is shown.

• Audio loop check:
  • Start of audio test: RED light solid for five seconds, during which it is possible to register the voice/sounds.
  • Processing of registered audio: LEDs OFF for five seconds.
  • Play of registered audio: GREEN light solid for five seconds.
  • Feedback of audio test: RED light blinks for five seconds, during which a feedback on the played audio can be provided. The feedback can be provided through:
    • SOS button press gives positive feedback (audio played with good quality); this indicates a positive result for the audio peripherals diagnosis (microphone and speaker)
    • No SOS button press gives negative feedback (audio played with bad quality or not played); this indicates a negative result for the audio peripherals diagnosis (microphone and speaker)
• After the execution of the tests, independently from test results, the SOS Emergency Call system registers to the mobile network, makes a call to the RUSSIA PSAP test number and sends the test results to the PSAP.

  The call is notified by an audible prompt, "Starting SOS call". During the dialing the GREEN light is blinking. When the call starts, a beep is played and the GREEN light becomes solid until the end of the call. During this phase the PSAP operator may talk with the user.

Test Results 

After data transmission, the SOS Emergency Call System indicates the test results through LEDs and prompts. The prompts are played at the end of the procedure, when the system exits from Test Mode. Three possible results are considered:

• No fault present (DTC) and successful data transmission

  LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system GREEN light solid until the exit from Test Mode, then light OFF

  Audible prompt: "Test pass"

• No fault present (DTC) and unsuccessful data transmission

  LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system RED light solid until the exit from Test Mode, then light OFF

  Audible prompt: "Test fail"

• Fault present (DTC) and either successful or unsuccessful data transmission

  LED behavior: SOS Emergency Call system RED light solid even after exit from Test Mode

  Audible prompt: "Test fail"