Diotec Semiconductor AG

http://www.diotec.com/

Jan 8, 2026

Reverse Battery Events: The Silent Failure Mode on LIN Buses

Reverse battery events cause more problems than most engineers expect—mainly because the damage is rarely obvious. On LIN lines, communication often continues. There is no immediate or visible failure. Instead, issues appear later as unstable or intermittent behavior, which makes root-cause analysis difficult and costly.

This is why ESD robustness alone is not sufficient. Reverse battery stress is a different class of problem.

ISO 16750-2 specifies reverse battery events down to −15 V, and these conditions occur in real vehicles during servicing or jump-starting. In these cases, protection devices must remain inactive. Any clamping or leakage could disrupt the LIN bus and interfere with communication.

The ESDB1524GW-AQ was specifically designed for this operating window:

−15 V reverse stand-off capability
+24 V stand-off during jump-start conditions
Asymmetric design by intent

With a maximum reverse leakage of just 50 nA, the LIN line remains effectively unloaded. At the same time, the device offers high peak pulse robustness of 200 W (8/20 µs) to handle real automotive transients, not just standardized test pulses.

The device is AEC-Q101 qualified, aligning with automotive reliability requirements.

LIN failures are quiet.

And quiet failures are often the most expensive.