//Copyright Rusty Davis 2010
    public class VIN
    {
        //Make sure no instance of this class is created... only method is static.
        private VIN() { }

        public enum VinStatus
        {
            Unknown = -1,
            IsNull = 0,
            InvalidLength = 1,
            InvalidCheckDigit = 2,
            InvalidCharForYear = 3,
            InvalidCharForVin = 4,
            InvalidCharForSequence = 5,
            Invalid = 6,
            Valid = 7
        }

        public static VinStatus IsValidVin(string p_strVin)
        {
            VinStatus status = VinStatus.Unknown;

            int intValue = 0;
            int[] intWeights = { 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 };

            if (p_strVin == null)
            {

                return VinStatus.IsNull;
            }
            else if (p_strVin.Length != 17)
            {
                return VinStatus.InvalidLength;
            }

            p_strVin = p_strVin.ToUpper().Trim();
            int intCheckValue = 0;
            char check = p_strVin[8];
            char year = p_strVin[9];
            char third = p_strVin[2];

            if (!char.IsDigit(check) &&check != 'X' )
            {
                return VinStatus.InvalidCheckDigit;
            }
            else
            {
                if (check != 'X')
                {
                    char[] d = new char[] { check };
                    intCheckValue = int.Parse(Encoding.ASCII.GetString(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(d)));
                }
                else
                {
                    intCheckValue = 10;
                }
            }

            Hashtable replaceValues = new Hashtable();
            replaceValues.Add('A', 1);
            replaceValues.Add('B', 2);
            replaceValues.Add('C', 3);
            replaceValues.Add('D', 4);
            replaceValues.Add('E', 5);
            replaceValues.Add('F', 6);
            replaceValues.Add('G', 7);
            replaceValues.Add('H', 8);
            replaceValues.Add('J', 1);
            replaceValues.Add('K', 2);
            replaceValues.Add('L', 3);
            replaceValues.Add('M', 4);
            replaceValues.Add('N', 5);
            replaceValues.Add('P', 7);
            replaceValues.Add('R', 9);
            replaceValues.Add('S', 2);
            replaceValues.Add('T', 3);
            replaceValues.Add('U', 4);
            replaceValues.Add('V', 5);
            replaceValues.Add('W', 6);
            replaceValues.Add('X', 7);
            replaceValues.Add('Y', 8);
            replaceValues.Add('Z', 9);
            replaceValues.Add('1', 1);
            replaceValues.Add('2', 2);
            replaceValues.Add('3', 3);
            replaceValues.Add('4', 4);
            replaceValues.Add('5', 5);
            replaceValues.Add('6', 6);
            replaceValues.Add('7', 7);
            replaceValues.Add('8', 8);
            replaceValues.Add('9', 9);
            replaceValues.Add('0', 0);

            //Make sure it is a Valid Year - Created the next 4 lines to correct U, Z & 0 from being in the list
            Hashtable yearValues = (Hashtable)replaceValues.Clone(); //Get a shallow copy of values
            yearValues.Remove('0');
            yearValues.Remove('Z');
            yearValues.Remove('U');
            if (!yearValues.Contains(year))
            {
                return VinStatus.InvalidCharForYear;
            }

            //Make sure characters that are in the VIN are the ones allowed.
            for (int i = 0; i < p_strVin.Length; i++)
            {
                if(!replaceValues.Contains(p_strVin[i]))
                {
                    return VinStatus.InvalidCharForSequence;
                }
                else if (i > 13 &&!char.IsDigit(p_strVin[i]) &&third == '9')
                {
                    return VinStatus.InvalidCharForSequence;
                }
                else if (i > 11 &&!char.IsDigit(p_strVin[i]) &&third != '9')
                {
                    return VinStatus.InvalidCharForSequence;
                }

                intValue += (intWeights[i] * ((int)replaceValues[p_strVin[i]]));
            }

            if ((intValue % 11) == intCheckValue)
            {
                return VinStatus.Valid;
            }

            return VinStatus.Invalid;
        }
    }

Edit: Corrected paste error Dec 6 2011
Edit: Corrected Year validation Dec 12 2011
Edit: Corrected Ford VIN production Sequences contain A-Z in 12 position. They are numeric equivalent replacements of the letter A = 1 etc. Others may exist still that do not fit the pattern

It’s been a while but I started a database that would be able to handle it, however what it is missing is data. Some manufacturers treat the content as proprietary making it difficult to decode.

I miss my dear friends that moved away but I see the joy that they have in finding a new path and new chapter in their lives. The pure joy of expecting another baby is amazing, wishing I could be there for it again! However just as they are writing a new chapter, so must we.

I have worked at Car People Marketing just shy of 6 years. Being able to help direct the company’s technology decisions during that time has allowed me to grow professionally.

I have accepted a position at a company in Lancaster, PA where I will have just as much of an exciting time with new technologies and personalities.

I am sad to leave Car People but it is time to make a change to be closer to family. I will miss the friends here in Ormond Beach however this move has been in the works for the past few years. Until now God hasn’t opened the door for us, now that he has I couldn’t have possibly imagined the plan he has for us. I am blessed greatly and all praise goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-12-23/

So Monday morning I took it down to the AT&T store to see how to get it fix. I was advised that I had to drive it to Altomonte Springs from Daytona Beach. That is approximately 45 minutes away, plus I had to pay them$199 to fix the phone. Not a happy customer at all, seriously. I have never had such issues with a phone and until this one I was a faithful RIM Blackberry customer.

Well after getting home Monday evening, I brought up my mail again, as I did when it started happening. I opened the folder where I was downloading messages and canceled out, and let them finish downloading. After playing on the phone for another 2 hrs the battery hadn’t changed nearly as much when I was doing nothing.

So I have to beleive that there is a bug in Apple’s Exchange email support via ActiveSync. What is worse is that I went to report a bug and the only way is that you have to register as a developer. While I am a developer, I don’t think I should be required to give them anymore information but what the issue is.

http://www.koders.com/javascript/fid00402403F372337F663468ADB95FCA937BA21C50.aspx?s=calendar

In the link above you will find code that I wrote in 1999, during the height of the browser wars and before the release of Internet Explorer 3.02. At the time I used Netscape Navigator 3.

The script used DHTML to move a layer in an eliptical path, at the time it was the greatest programming that I had ever done. It is hard to look and not just admire it or that is is still up on the web years later.

I will be working on in the near future trying to normalize this data and validate sections of the data. I will publish a list of WMI codes along with the manufacture and country of origin. Hopefully normalize this data in a manner that can be managed in the future.

This algorithm assumes that the VIN has already been validated. I split the original validation algorithm apart, to use the numeric values that were mistyped. The thought is if the values where mistyped but valid, which means the characters are just transposed which is about 1-2% of all VIN in my database. 

//Copyright Rusty Davis 2010
string strValue = “”;
string strWMI = “”;
string strWMI_Ext = “”;
p_strVin = p_strVin.ToUpper().Trim();

if (p_strVin.Length != 17)
{
return strValue;
}

ArrayList aryValidCheckDigits = new ArrayList();
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’0′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’1′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’2′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’3′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’4′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’5′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’6′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’7′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’8′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(’9′);
aryValidCheckDigits.Add(‘X’);

char check = p_strVin[8];
if (!char.IsNumber(check) && check != ‘X’)
{
return strValue;
}

if (!aryValidCheckDigits.Contains(check))
{
return strValue;
}

Hashtable replaceValues = new Hashtable();
replaceValues.Add(‘A’, 1);
replaceValues.Add(‘B’, 2);
replaceValues.Add(‘C’, 3);
replaceValues.Add(‘D’, 4);
replaceValues.Add(‘E’, 5);
replaceValues.Add(‘F’, 6);
replaceValues.Add(‘G’, 7);
replaceValues.Add(‘H’, 8);
replaceValues.Add(‘J’, 1);
replaceValues.Add(‘K’, 2);
replaceValues.Add(‘L’, 3);
replaceValues.Add(‘M’, 4);
replaceValues.Add(‘N’, 5);
replaceValues.Add(‘P’, 7);
replaceValues.Add(‘R’, 9);
replaceValues.Add(‘S’, 2);
replaceValues.Add(‘T’, 3);
replaceValues.Add(‘U’, 4);
replaceValues.Add(‘V’, 5);
replaceValues.Add(‘W’, 6);
replaceValues.Add(‘X’, 7);
replaceValues.Add(‘Y’, 8);
replaceValues.Add(‘Z’, 9);
replaceValues.Add(’1′, 1);
replaceValues.Add(’2′, 2);
replaceValues.Add(’3′, 3);
replaceValues.Add(’4′, 4);
replaceValues.Add(’5′, 5);
replaceValues.Add(’6′, 6);
replaceValues.Add(’7′, 7);
replaceValues.Add(’8′, 8);
replaceValues.Add(’9′, 9);
replaceValues.Add(’0′, 0);

for (int i = 0; i < p_strVin.Length; i++)
{
if (!replaceValues.Contains(p_strVin[i]))
{
return strValue;
}
}

strWMI = p_strVin.Substring(0, 3);//Get the WMI
if (strWMI.EndsWith(“9″))
{
strWMI_Ext = p_strVin.Substring(11, 3);
}

for (int i = 0; i < p_strVin.Length; i++)
{
strValue += replaceValues[p_strVin[i]].ToString();
}

string strFullPrefix = strWMI + strValue.Substring(3, 8 ) + strValue.Substring(9, 2) + strWMI_Ext;

return strFullPrefix;

The WMI is the first 3 characters of the VIN. It is issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers. 

There is much confusion on how the WMI works and how it is assigned, so I will attempt to explain. The first 3 characters of a VIN issued by SAE, they are unique. The first 2 characters are specific to the country that the original vehicle was built-in. Such as General Motors was issued 1G for vehicles built in the US. SAE attempts to issue the second character of the WMI as the first letter of the manufacturer. However to create divisions or other scenarios, the 2nd and 3rd characters are used to create more detail for the manufacturer. Such as 1G1 is a Chevrolet, while 1G2 is a Pontiac both built in the US. Most manufacturers use it to determine the line of the vehicle, like 1GC is a Chevrolet Truck.  To complicate things further the seperate layouts for vehicle manufacturers with less than 500 vehicles.

The system was designed so that letters come before numbers and numbers are 1-0, where 0 being the like 10.

Depending on how many vehicles are created by the manufacturer each year the VIN has 2 different possible layouts.

If the vehicle has more than 500 vehicles the layout consists of the following

With less than 500 vehicles, the following is used, this is indicated a 9 in the 3rd digit.

Years are encoded at the 10 digit. The code values are between 0-29 added to 1980. The codes wrap around and are used again starting in 2010 using the same value that was used in 1980.

 To validate the VIN there is an encoded check digit that validates the value that is computed. This does not mean the VIN is valid without question just means that it passes the algorithm test. It is possible to get a VIN that is typo with the incorrect value but returned as valid. This is a result of the algorithm, by translating characters to a numeric replacement. This allows for overlapping values to be possible in the algorithm. Both S and 2 are equivalent, so although the algorithm returns valid, any further breakdown of the VIN is not possible.

In my next blog, I will attempt to explore different possible methods to find VIN errors. A method for determining the country of origin.