An engine control system includes a fuel injector and a sensor that is configured to provide a signal indicative of a temperature. A controller is in communication with the sensor. The controller includes a fuel injector driver in communication with the fuel injector. The fuel injector driver includes a saturated mode and a peak and hold mode. The controller is configured to command the fuel injector driver to control the fuel injector with one of the saturated mode or the peak and hold mode based upon the signal. For a high resistance injector, the peak and hold mode is used in cold weather conditions to break free an injector seal, and then the fuel injector driver reverts to the saturated mode.

An EGR apparatus includes an EGR passage to allow part of exhaust gas discharged from a combustion chamber to flow in an intake passage and recirculate back to the combustion chamber and an EGR valve to regulate EGR gas in the EGR passage. The EGR valve includes a valve seat, a valve element, and a step motor. An ECU calculates a target correction value corresponding to an operating condition of an engine, cuts off energization to the step motor in order to hold the EGR valve at a predetermined opening degree during operation thereof, and then restarts energization to the step motor, calculates an energization cutoff correction value corresponding to an elapsed time from energization cutoff, and corrects the target correction value by the calculated energization cutoff correction value in order to control the EGR valve to the target opening degree.

A method for starting an engine is provided. The method comprises opening a throttle valve controlling air flow into an intake manifold in response to a gaseous pressure differential across a gaseous fuel injector exceeding a threshold pressure. In this way, delayed engine starts using gaseous fuel may be mitigated.

A injection control device for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel injection valve directly injecting a fuel into a cylinder of the internal combustion engine, and a drive current setting unit setting a drive current of the fuel injection valve according to a fuel pressure that is a pressure of the fuel supplied to the fuel injection valve, using a drive current profile specifying a relation between the fuel pressure and the drive current. When a compression stroke injection injecting the fuel in a compression stroke or an expansion stroke injection injecting the fuel in an expansion stroke is executed, the drive current setting unit sets the drive current using a predetermined profile having no hysteresis in change characteristics of the drive current with respect to the fuel pressure in a fuel pressure region of the compression stroke injection or the expansion stroke injection, as the drive current profile.

In a method for operating a valve, one valve element of the valve being able to be moved from a first position into a second position by activating an electrically actuatable actuator, the actuator is activated at least once in a first time interval, and is thereafter not activated in a second time interval, and a signal characterizing a strike of the valve element at the first position is ascertained at electrical terminals of the actuator. During the process, an activation energy of the actuator is gradually modified, and a threshold value of the activation energy at which the valve element is just able or is just no longer able to lift is ascertained.