A method of identifying a faulted component in an automotive system including an internal combustion engine managed by an Electronic Control Unit. The internal combustion engine is operated according to a predefined detection routine. A noise signal emitted by the activated internal combustion engine is recorded in a data carrier or memory system. The recorded noise signal is analyzed by a signal treatment algorithm to determine a plurality of vibration modes of the automotive system from the noise signal.; The amplitude of the noise signal is compared at each vibration mode with an acceptable amplitude threshold. A faulted component of the automotive system is determined if the amplitude of the correspondent vibration mode is greater than the acceptable amplitude threshold.

A control value calculation part includes an in-cylinder state estimation part that estimates a state to which the cylinder belongs between a plurality of PM-PN generation states. The plurality of PM-PN generation states are states in which a particulate matter is easily generated as compared with the other state, and are different from each other in a cause to generate the particulate matter. Further, in a case where it is determined that an operation state of an engine is a PM-PN exhaust state, the control value calculation part calculates a control value of an actuator in such a way to eliminate the PM-PN generation state according to the PM-PN generation state to which the state in the cylinder belongs.

A control value calculation part includes an in-cylinder state estimation part that estimates a state to which the cylinder belongs between a plurality of PM-PN generation states. The plurality of PM-PN generation states are states in which a particulate matter is easily generated as compared with the other state, and are different from each other in a cause to generate the particulate matter. Further, in a case where it is determined that an operation state of an engine is a PM-PN exhaust state, the control value calculation part calculates a control value of an actuator in such a way to eliminate the PM-PN generation state according to the PM-PN generation state to which the state in the cylinder belongs.

Methods and systems are provided for detecting a temperature of an engine fuel rail at a plurality of locations along the engine fuel rail. In one example, a method may include detecting temperatures along the engine fuel rail with a plurality of metal film thermocouples adhered to the engine fuel rail and arranged proximate to engine fuel injectors, and adjusting fuel injector operation and/or fuel rail pressure in response to the detected fuel rail temperatures.

The invention relates to a control device for an internal combustion engine that includes a turbocharger, and an actuator that changes a turbocharging pressure by regulating exhaust energy for use in drive of the turbocharger. When a target torque is increased during execution of a lean burn operation, the control device switches an operation mode of the internal combustion engine from the lean burn operation to a stoichiometric operation. When the operation mode switching is performed in a turbocharging state, the control device determines whether a target torque is within a range of a torque realizable under the lean air-fuel ratio. When the target torque is within the range, the control device operates the actuator so as to keep the turbocharging pressure at a magnitude equal to or larger than a magnitude at a time point at which the operation mode is switched.

A control device predicts whether temporary reduction occurs to a charging efficiency of fresh air in an in-cylinder gas by an influence of an EGR rate of the in-cylinder gas, which increases later than increase of a charging efficiency of the in-cylinder gas, if a first arithmetic operation is applied to calculating a target throttle opening degree based on a target charging efficiency which is increasing, in a case of shifting to an acceleration operation, by using a prediction model expressing dynamic characteristics of an internal combustion engine. When it is predicted that temporary reduction occurs to the charging efficiency of the fresh air, the control device calculates the target throttle opening degree by a second arithmetic operation by which an increase speed of a throttle opening degree is restrained more than by the first arithmetic operation, instead of calculating the target throttle opening degree by the first arithmetic operation.

A control device predicts whether temporary reduction occurs to a charging efficiency of fresh air in an in-cylinder gas by an influence of an EGR rate of the in-cylinder gas, which increases later than increase of a charging efficiency of the in-cylinder gas, if a first arithmetic operation is applied to calculating a target throttle opening degree based on a target charging efficiency which is increasing, in a case of shifting to an acceleration operation, by using a prediction model expressing dynamic characteristics of an internal combustion engine. When it is predicted that temporary reduction occurs to the charging efficiency of the fresh air, the control device calculates the target throttle opening degree by a second arithmetic operation by which an increase speed of a throttle opening degree is restrained more than by the first arithmetic operation, instead of calculating the target throttle opening degree by the first arithmetic operation.

A controller for an internal combustion engine includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to increase an air amount that is suctioned into a cylinder while maintaining the lean air-fuel ratio as a first torque increasing operation in a case where target torque is increased during the operation at the lean air-fuel ratio such that torque is increased. The electronic control unit is configured to compute limit torque as an upper limit of the torque that can be realized in a case where the lean air-fuel ratio is kept for a certain time from a current time point. The electronic control unit is configured to switch to the operation at the theoretical air-fuel ratio and increase the torque as a second torque increasing operation in a case where the target torque becomes higher than the limit torque during execution of the first torque increasing operation.

A controller for an internal combustion engine includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to increase an air amount that is suctioned into a cylinder while maintaining the lean air-fuel ratio as a first torque increasing operation in a case where target torque is increased during the operation at the lean air-fuel ratio such that torque is increased. The electronic control unit is configured to compute limit torque as an upper limit of the torque that can be realized in a case where the lean air-fuel ratio is kept for a certain time from a current time point. The electronic control unit is configured to switch to the operation at the theoretical air-fuel ratio and increase the torque as a second torque increasing operation in a case where the target torque becomes higher than the limit torque during execution of the first torque increasing operation.

Methods and systems are provided for operating a fuel system comprising two lift pumps. In one example, a method may comprise adjusting operation of a first lift pump to achieve a desired fuel rail pressure. The method may comprise powering on a second lift pump to achieve the desired fuel rail pressure when operating only the first lift pump is not sufficient to achieve the desired fuel rail pressure.