Methods and apparatuses for connecting multiple loads with a common return pin in engine control module application are disclosed. Only one of the multiple loads can be connected to a power source at a time. At the high side, each load is coupled to the power source through a respective pin at a connector. At the low side, the multiple loads share a common return pin at the connector that connects the loads to the ground. When a first load is connected to the power source at the high side, a first low side driver circuit is used to connect the first load to the ground at the low side. When a second load is connected to the power source at the high side, the second low side driver circuit is used to connect the second load to the ground at the low side.

Some embodiments of the teachings herein include an apparatus for diagnosing bypass valve failure in an electric supercharger with a motor and an electric compressor comprising: a bypass valve on a bypass line branching from an intake line with the electric supercharger; and a control unit which assesses the vehicle-state information to determine whether failure criteria of a bypass valve start are satisfied. If the failure criteria are satisfied, the control unit transmits ‘open’ or ‘close’ control instructions to the bypass valve and transmits, to the electric supercharger, a specific rotational-speed target value for determining whether the bypass valve is in the normal open state or the normal closed state, thereby determining whether the bypass valve is subject to stuck-open failure or stuck-closed failure.

A method for identifying a type of a fuel injector installed in an internal combustion engine includes generating a control signal to supply electrical energy from a power source for actuating the fuel injector, monitoring the electrical energy, identifying a pattern in the electrical energy, the pattern being indicative of the type of the fuel injector, and outputting a notification indicative of an incorrect injector type based on the pattern.

A system includes one or more processors that are configured to obtain a measured fuel consumption rate for an internal combustion engine while the engine is operating at a predetermined operating condition to perform a mission. The one or more processors are also configured to compare the measured fuel consumption rate with an expected fuel consumption rate for the predetermined operating condition. Further, the one or more processors are configured to determine whether an injector flow limiter is in a latched condition based on the measured fuel consumption rate compared with the expected fuel consumption rate. Also, the one or more processors are configured to perform a responsive action responsive to determining that the injector flow limiter is in the latched condition.

The present invention provides a high-efficiency and highly-reliable fuel injection control device that controls a fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine and can perform injection amount control in accordance with a deterioration degree of the fuel injection valve. A fuel injection control device controlling a fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine includes a deterioration determination unit that determines a deterioration state of the fuel injection valve, an injection amount learning unit that learns the injection amount of the fuel injection valve, and a learning frequency change unit that changes the learning frequency of the injection amount learning unit in accordance with the deterioration state of the fuel injection valve.

Methods and systems are provided for monitoring a fuel injector of an internal combustion engine. In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving a set of feature data, the feature data sensed from a fuel injector during a fuel injection event; processing, by a processor, the set of feature data with a decision tree model to generate a prediction of a fault status; and selectively generating, by the processor, a notification signal based on the prediction.

An injector failure cylinder diagnosis method based on signal deviation of an injector failure diagnosis system measures, by a controller, noise/vibration signals due to the combustion of an engine, separates an injector abnormal frequency band signal as an injector signal from the noise/vibration signals, divides cylinder number time series data, which use a signal maximum value of the noise/vibration signals as a cylinder #1, into segments, extracts a feature vector after confirming a segment number of the cylinder #1 with a vibration reduction signal of the noise/vibration signals re-measured using one of the cylinders as an idle cylinder and sorting it by injector causing vibration time series data, and confirms a failure injector with the feature vector, thereby independently diagnosing whether the injector for each cylinder is normal or abnormal considering the deviation of the noise/vibration signals between the injectors for each cylinder from the measured noise and vibration signals.

The invention relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine with fuel which is combusted using a spark plug. According to the invention, the aging of the spark plug, in particular the aging of an electric resistor of the spark plug, is monitored during the operation of the internal combustion engine, wherein electromagnetic radiation of the spark plug is detected for monitoring purposes. The invention additionally relates to a controller for carrying out the method.

A control device and a diagnostic method according to the present invention is applicable to an internal combustion engine provided with a first fuel injection valve and a second fuel injection valve for a cylinder. When there is an abnormality that makes an air-fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine richer than a specified value, it is determined whether the first fuel injection valve or the second fuel injection valve has the abnormality, based on change of the air-fuel ratio occurring as a result of first injection control for performing fuel injection while changing a distribution ratio of a fuel injection amount distributed to the first fuel injection valve to a fuel injection amount distributed to the second fuel injection valve, and a value of the air-fuel ratio obtained as a result of second injection control for performing fuel injection while maintaining the distribution ratio at a predetermined ratio.

An engine including an exhaust bypass valve and an intake bypass valve. The exhaust bypass valve is disposed in an exhaust bypass channel connecting an outlet of an exhaust manifold and an exhaust outlet of a turbocharger to each other. The intake bypass valve is disposed in an intake bypass channel connecting an inlet of an intake manifold and an inlet of the turbocharger. An intake pressure sensor detects a pressure of the intake manifold. If an instruction value indicating an upper limit or a lower limit of the valve opening degree of the intake bypass valve is continuously output for a predetermined time or more, an engine control device determines that an abnormality occurs in at least one of the exhaust bypass valve and the intake bypass valve.