General Serial Number Information Your Caterpillar Serial Number (SN) is an 8 character alphanumeric code, typically starting with 3 letters and ending with 5 numbers. In early 2000 Caterpillar changed to a 17 character Product Identification Number (PIN) that conforms to the construction equipment industry standard.

The PIN contains the serial number for the machine. In the photo below, the PIN is 'CAT00D5GPWGB01070', and the Serial Number is 'WGB01070' -the last 8 characters of the PIN. If you are searching for a service manual for your machine, WGB01070 should be used in the ServiceManualPro.com searchbox. In the photo below, the serial number MHK03801 is for the engine only, and would not return the correct results for the complete service manual for this D5G bulldozer. If you are having trouble identifying your PIN or serial number, you can email a digital picture of your PIN plate to us. We will quickly identify your machine serial number and the manuals you will need for your machine.

Product Identification Number (PIN) Plate Locations Engine Serial Number Plate:Typically located on the right rear side of the cylinder block. Wheel Loader PIN Plate:Typically located on the left side of the front frame, near the operator station. Skid Steer Loader / Multi Terrain Loader PIN Plate: Typically located on the rear of the machine. Backhoe Loader PIN Plate: Typically located on the left side of the front frame, near the cab.

The Vehicle Identification Number was originally described in ISO Standard 3779 in February 1977 and last revised in 1983. The ISO-VIN was designed to identify motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles and mopeds and consists of several parts described below. How to read a VIN 1st character- Identifies the country in which the vehicle was manufactured. For example: U.S.A.(1or 4), Canada(2), Mexico(3), Japan(J), Korea(K), England(S), Germany(W), Italy(Z) 2nd character- Identifies the manufacturer. For example; Audi(A), BMW(B), Buick(4), Cadillac(6), Chevrolet(1), Chrysler(C), Dodge(B), Ford(F), GM Canada(7), General Motors(G), Honda(H), Jaquar(A), Lincoln(L), Mercedes Benz(D), Mercury(M), Nissan(N), Oldsmobile(3), Pontiac(2or5), Plymouth(P), Saturn(8), Toyota(T), VW(V), Volvo(V). 3rd character- Identifies vehicle type or manufacturing division. 4th to 8th characters- VDS - Vehicle Descriptor Section.

These 5 characters occupy positions 4 through 8 of the VIN and may be used by the manufacturer to identify attributes of the vehicle. Identifies vehicle features such as body style, engine type, model, series, etc.

9th Character - The check digit 'character or digit 9' in the sequence of a vehicle identification number (VIN) built beginning with model year 1981 (when the 17 character digit format was established) can best be described as identifying the VIN accuracy. A check digit shall be part of each vin (since 1981) and shall appear in position nine (9) of the VIN on the vehicle and on any transfer documents containing the vin prepared by the manufacturer to be given to the first owner for purposes other than resale. Thus, the vins of any two vehicles manufactured within a 30 year period shall not be identical. The check digit means a single number or letter 'x' used to verify the accuracy of the transcription of the vehicle identification number. After all other characters in the VIN have been determined by the manufacturer the check digit is calculated by carrying out a mathematical computation specified. This is based on vin position, sample vin, assigned value code, weight factor and multiply assigned value times weight factors. The values are added and the total is divided by 11.

The remainder is the check digit number. The correct numeric remainder - zero through nine (0-9) will appear. What Is A Quarter Inch Nut Driver more. However, if the remainder is 10 the letter 'X' is used to designate the check digit value/number. 10th character- Identifies the model year. For example: 1988(J), 1989(K), 1990(L), 1991(M), 1992(N), 1993(P), 1994(R), 1995(S), 1996(T), 1997(V), 1998(W), 1999(X), 2000(Y)------2001(1), 2002(2), 2003(3), 2004(4), 2005(5), 2006(6), 2007(7), 2008(8) 11th character- Identifies the assembly plant for the vehicle. 12th to 17th characters- VIS - Vehicle Identifier Section. The last 8 characters of the VIN are used for the identification a of specific vehicle.

Worldwide Power Products provides list of prefix codes for serial numbers used on Caterpillar machinery. Caterpillar Serial Number Prefix.

The last four characters shall always be numeric. Identifies the sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturers assembly line.   A VIN or Vehicle Identifiaction number is different for every single car. The first 3 letters are the manufacturers world code. For Instance, Skoda is TMB and Land Rover SAL. Also, the last 6 digits are unique to the car that it is on and no other model and variation will have that combination of the last 6 digits.

The other digits (numbers and letters) are different from car maker to car maker. They will consist of model (Mondeo, Vectra, A6); Variation (Mondeo Ghia, Vectra SRi, A6 Quattro); engine size and fuel.