There can be provided an engine control apparatus having a controller operable to receive input from a heat flux sensor arranged to measure combustion power within an internal combustion engine and to use said input in a control process to determine an adjustment to a controllable engine operation parameter.

In a drive unit of a fuel injection device, an electric current is supplied to the fuel injection device by applying a high voltage to the fuel injection device from a high voltage source whose voltage is boosted to a voltage higher than a battery voltage at the time of opening a valve of the fuel injection device. Thereafter, the electric current supplied to the fuel injection device is lowered to a current value at which a valve element cannot be held in a valve open state by stopping the applying of the high voltage from the high voltage source. Thereafter, in a stage where a supply current is switched to a hold current, another high voltage is applied to the fuel injection device from the high voltage source.

A method and apparatus is disclosed for testing a fuel injector of an internal combustion engine equipped with a plurality of fuel injectors to detect injector clogging. A test injector is switched off. A requested value of a fuel quantity to be injected by the other fuel injectors of the plurality of fuel injectors is adjusted to operate the internal combustion engine in idle mode. A value of an oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas is measured. A value of a fuel quantity that has been injected is estimated as a function of the measured value of the oxygen concentration. A fuel quantity drift of each fuel injector is calculated as a function of the requested values and the estimated values of the fuel quantity provided by the injector tests. Each fuel quantity drift is used to identify if the corresponding fuel injector is clogged.

A control system of a vehicle includes a fuel vapor canister that traps fuel vapor from a fuel tank of the vehicle. A purge valve, when open, allows fuel vapor flow into an intake system of an engine at a first location and, when closed, prevents fuel vapor flow to the intake system of the engine. A purge control module controls opening of the purge valve and determines a fuel vapor flow into cylinders of the engine based on: (i) a first pressure at the first location, (ii) a second pressure at a second location between the purge valve and the intake system, and (iii) at least one delay period between opening of the purge valve and fuel vapor reaching cylinders of the engine.

In a control apparatus applied to an internal combustion engine in which when an opening degree of a valve body of a waste gate valve is less than the predetermined opening degree, the extension line intersects a wall surface of an exhaust passage located upstream of the upstream side end face of the exhaust gas purification catalyst, the control apparatus controls the waste gate valve so that at the time of execution of fuel cut off processing, when the temperature of the exhaust gas purification catalyst is less than a predetermined temperature, the valve body is fully closed, whereas when the temperature of the exhaust gas purification catalyst is not less than the predetermined temperature, the opening degree of the valve body is made to a deterioration suppression opening degree which is larger than when the valve body is fully closed and which is smaller than the predetermined opening degree.

A control system for an engine of a vehicle includes an adder module that determines a temperature sum based on a sum of a plurality of temperatures determined based on (i) a plurality of operating parameters of the vehicle and (ii) a plurality of predetermined values calibrated for determining an estimated temperature at a location within an exhaust system of the vehicle. A temperature difference module determines a temperature difference based on the temperature sum and a previous value of the temperature difference. An estimating module determines the estimated temperature at the location within the exhaust system based on the temperature difference and a reference temperature. An actuator control module selectively adjusts at least one engine actuator based on the estimated temperature.

Methods and systems are provided for reducing late burn induced cylinder pre-ignition events. Forced entry of residuals from a late burning cylinder into a neighboring cylinder may be detected based on engine block vibrations sensed in a window during an open exhaust valve of the late burning cylinder. In response to the entry of residuals, a pre-ignition mitigating action, such as fuel enrichment or deactivation, is performed in the neighboring cylinder.

A booster circuit installed in a fuel injection device of an internal combustion engine, wherein malfunctions and characteristic changes of the booster circuit are detected, among which the detection distinguishes between decreases in capacity caused by deterioration or broken wires in a booster capacitor, and failures of a current monitor circuit, coil, externally connected fuel injection valve, and other components. The range of decrease in boost voltage when the fuel injection valve is opened is monitored, as is the range of increase per switch performed in order to restore the boost voltage. This makes it possible to detect malfunctions and characteristic changes of the booster circuit.

A control apparatus for a four-cycle internal combustion engine that includes a plurality of cylinders into which fuel is directly injected, includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (i) execute stop control that stops rotation of a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine by stopping fuel injection and ignition in the internal combustion engine when a predetermined stop condition is fulfilled; and (ii) carry out fuel injection and ignition in a second cylinder of the plurality of the cylinders when the stop control is executed, the second cylinder being in an exhaust stroke when the internal combustion engine is stopped, when a piston of a first cylinder of the plurality of the cylinders is estimated to stop at a top dead center.

According to an embodiment, a controller system that is configured to drive a power switch includes a driver integrated circuit (IC), which includes an interface circuit, a synchronization circuit, and a drive circuit. The interface circuit is configured to receive a control scheme over a serial interface. The synchronization circuit is coupled to the interface circuit and is configured to receive an angular position signal and synchronize a drive signal with the angular position signal, where the drive signal is based on the control scheme. The drive circuit is coupled to the synchronization circuit and is configured to drive the power switch using the drive signal.