A method to control an internal combustion engine having an exhaust duct and an exhaust gas after-treatment system comprising at least one catalytic converter arranged along the exhaust duct; an oxygen sensor housed along the exhaust duct and arranged upstream of said at least one catalytic converter; and a burner suited to introduce the exhaust gases into the exhaust duct upstream of the oxygen sensor the method provides the steps of identifying the operation phases in which the internal combustion engine is turned off and the burner is turned on so that the oxygen sensor is exclusively hit by the exhaust gases produced by the burner; acquiring the signal generated by the oxygen sensor; and using the signal generated by the oxygen sensor to determine the objective fuel flow rate and the objective air flow rate to be fed to the burner.

A straddle-type vehicle comprises an engine which generates driving power and emits an exhaust gas; an exhaust device including: a catalyst which cleans the exhaust gas, an inner tube in which the catalyst is disposed and through which the exhaust gas flows, the inner tube extending to a location downstream of the catalyst; and an outer tube which covers an outer peripheral surface of the inner tube in an axial direction of the inner tube, and has a muffling space through which the exhaust gas discharged from the inner tube is flowed to reduce an exhaust noise radiated from the engine; at least one exhaust pipe through which the exhaust gas is led to the catalyst; and a downstream oxygen sensor which detects an oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas after flowing through the catalyst, at a location downstream of the catalyst in the inner tube.

In an internal combustion engine that includes: an EGR channel that connects a portion of an exhaust channel on the upstream side of a downstream-side catalyst and a portion of an intake channel on the downstream side of both of a compressor and a throttle valve; and an EGR valve configured to open and close the EGR channel, a control apparatus is programmed, where an occurrence of a blow-through air that flows from the intake channel to the exhaust channel via the EGR channel is detected, to limit a throttle downstream pressure to reduce the overheating of the downstream-side catalyst.

A diagnostic method is provided for testing a gas sensor mounted in an exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine provided with an after treatment system and a diagnostic motor management module. The method comprises receiving a gas sensor signal from the gas sensor as subsequent gas sensor sample values in a time window; detecting a noise component from the gas sensor signal; deriving a sensor baseline condition in the diagnostic motor management module in case of a noise component detected at a value higher than a preset noise threshold value, and deriving a fault sensor condition in the diagnostic motor management module in case of a noise component detected at a value lower than the preset noise threshold value.

A control device of an exhaust sensor comprises a cell temperature detecting part detecting a temperature of the electrochemical cell, a heater control part controlling the heater so that a temperature of the electrochemical cell becomes the target temperature, and a judging part judging whether a water repellency of the protective layer is falling. The judging part judges that the water repellency of the protective layer is falling if a condition for judging abnormality is satisfied. The condition for judging abnormality includes a temperature of the electrochemical cell detected by the cell temperature detecting part falling from the target temperature and a speed of fall of the temperature being faster than a speed of fall of the temperature of the electrochemical cell when the heater is turned off.

A control device of an internal combustion engine comprises a heater control part configured to set a target temperature of the electrochemical cell and control the heater so that a temperature of the electrochemical cell becomes the target temperature. The heater control part sets the target temperature to a first temperature when water injection by the water injection device is not being demanded after a predetermined time elapses from startup of the internal combustion engine, and sets the target temperature to a second temperature when an operating state of the internal combustion engine is in a water outflow state where water injected by the water injection device reaches the exhaust passage without going through combustion of air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. The second temperature is higher than the first temperature.

An ECM executes a catalyst early activation control at the cold start of an engine such that the activation of a catalyzer is promoted by opening a WGV. Further, the ECM performs a diagnosis process of diagnosing whether or not the WGV is stuck closed, based on the amplitude of the output fluctuation in an air-fuel-ratio sensor during execution of the catalyst early activation control.

Systems and methods for controlling a gasoline urea selective catalytic reductant catalyst are described. In one example, an observer is provided that corrects an estimate of an amount of NH.sub.3 that is stored in a SCR. The amount of NH.sub.3 that is stored in the SCR is a basis for generating additional NH.sub.3 or ceasing generation of NH.sub.3.

An exhaust gas sensor arrangement structure includes a catalyst which purifies exhaust gas of an engine; and exhaust gas sensors which detect an exhaust gas component of the engine; the catalyst is provided under the engine; and the exhaust gas sensors are provided within a width of the engine in a front/rear direction so that the catalyst is provided between the exhaust gas sensors at front and rear sides of the catalyst.

Determining a functionality of an exhaust gas sensor in an exhaust gas system having a catalytic converter and a first exhaust gas sensor upstream of the catalytic converter and a second exhaust gas sensor downstream of the catalytic converter. The first and the second exhaust gas sensors are heated to a temperature above a minimum operating temperature.; A first sensor signal of the first exhaust gas sensor; and a second sensor signal of the second exhaust gas sensor are determined. The first and the second sensor signals are compared in an operating period in which a temperature of the at least one catalytic converter does not exceed a temperature threshold value; and an operating parameter of the first exhaust gas sensor (121) is determined on the basis the comparison