Method for detecting a faulty connection of an auxiliary battery

Abstract

A method for detecting a faulty connection of an auxiliary battery (6) incorporated in an auxiliary network (5) of a motor vehicle supplied by the auxiliary battery and by a non-reversible current source (4), such as a DC/DC voltage converter or an alternator, which is voltage controlled to supply an output voltage which is a function of the setpoint voltages. The detection method includes determining at least one minimum and/or maximum voltage value which cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary battery (6), then assigning the function of setpoint value to the minimum and/or maximum voltage value, controlling the current source (4) by sending the setpoint value to it, measuring the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network (5), and deducing a faulty connection of the auxiliary battery (6) if there is a match between the measured voltage and the setpoint voltage.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a faulty connection of a low-voltage auxiliary battery incorporated in an auxiliary network of a motor vehicle supplied by said low-voltage auxiliary battery and by a non-reversible current source, the non-reversible current source being voltage-controlled to supply an output voltage which is a function of a control setpoint voltage of said non-reversible current source, the method comprising: determining at least one minimum or maximum voltage value, which cannot be reached by voltage at terminals of the low-voltage auxiliary battery, based on measured or estimated parameters of the low-voltage auxiliary battery; assigning the function of the control setpoint voltage corresponding to the minimum or maximum voltage value; controlling the non-reversible current source at the assigned control setpoint voltage that corresponds to the minimum or maximum voltage value that cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the low-voltage auxiliary battery only when a faulty connection of the low-voltage auxiliary battery is to be detected; measuring the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network; comparing the measured voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network with the control setpoint voltage; and determining the faulty connection of the low-voltage auxiliary battery when it is determined that there is a match between the measured voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network and the control setpoint voltage, in the comparing the measured voltage with the control setpoint voltage.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary battery consists of a lead-acid battery with a nominal voltage of about 12 V, and further comprising selecting a minimum setpoint voltage value at least substantially within the range from 8 V to 10.5 V.

3. The detection method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the setpoint voltage is assigned to a minimum voltage value which cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network.

4. The detection method as claimed in claim 3, wherein a strength of the current delivered at the output of the current source is measured, and the faulty connection of the auxiliary battery is deduced when, a) there is the match between the measured voltage and the setpoint voltage, and b) the measured strength of the current at the output of the current source has a non-zero value.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary battery consists of a lead-acid battery with a nominal voltage of about 12 V, and the method further comprises selecting a maximum setpoint voltage value at least substantially within the range from 15 V to 16 V.

6. The detection method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the setpoint voltage is assigned to a minimum voltage value which cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network.

7. The detection method as claimed in claim 6, wherein a strength of the current delivered at the output of the current source is measured, and the faulty connection of the auxiliary battery is deduced when, a) there is the match between the measured voltage and the setpoint voltage, and b) the measured strength of the current at the output of the current source has a non-zero value.

8. The detection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the setpoint voltage is assigned to a minimum voltage value which cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary network.

9. The detection method as claimed in claim 8, wherein a strength of the current delivered at the output of the current source is measured, and the faulty connection of the auxiliary battery is deduced when, a) there is the match between the measured voltage and the setpoint voltage, and b) the measured strength of the current at the output of the current source has a non-zero value.

10. The detection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-reversible current source is one of a DC/DC voltage converter and an alternator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other characteristic objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description which refers to the attached drawings, which represent a preferred embodiment of the invention by way of non-limiting example. In these drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an electrical diagram of a power supply circuit for an electric or hybrid vehicle,

(3) FIG. 2a is a diagram representing the results of the voltage measurements obtained when the detection method is applied in the absence of a faulty connection,

(4) and FIG. 2b is a diagram representing the results of the voltage measurements obtained when the detection method is applied in the presence of a faulty connection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) The power supply circuit for an electric or hybrid motor vehicle shown in FIG. 1 comprises a first DC voltage source 1, supplying a primary circuit 2 including a DC/AC converter 3, for supplying an electric traction motor Me coupled to a thermal engine Mt by a coupling system A for transmitting driving torque to a gearbox By.

(6) This power supply circuit also comprises a secondary circuit 5 forming the auxiliary network of the vehicle, supplied by a second DC voltage source 6, and comprising a starter D, sensitive loads such as 7 and insensitive loads such as 8, connected in parallel between the terminals of said voltage source.

(7) Usually, the first voltage source 1, in a hybrid vehicle, consists of a battery or a set of batteries, for example a lithium-ion or Ni-MH battery, delivering a nominal voltage of 48 V, and the second voltage source 6 consists of a lead-acid battery delivering a nominal voltage of 12 V.

(8) The primary circuit 1 and the secondary circuit 5 are connected to one another via a non-reversible DC/DC voltage converter 4 connected in parallel with the secondary circuit 5, and controlled by an electronic controller 10 capable of controlling said converter by sending voltage setpoints to it.

(9) The method according to the invention proposes to detect any faulty connections of the second voltage source 6, and for this purpose it consists, in the first place, of determining at least one minimum and/or maximum voltage value which cannot be reached by the voltage at the terminals of the auxiliary battery 6.

(10) In the case of a voltage source 6 consisting of a lead-acid battery with a nominal voltage of 12 V, such as those usually fitted in motor vehicles, the minimum value is advantageously selected to be in the range from 8 V to 10.5 V, while the maximum value is advantageously selected to be in the range from 15 V to 16 V.

(11) When this selection has been made, the detection procedure is advantageously carried out while the vehicle is stationary or running at low speed, for example less than 15 km/h, the procedure consisting in controlling the converter 4 by sending it a voltage setpoint corresponding to one of said values, and then measuring the voltage at the terminals of the secondary circuit 5.

(12) As shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, when the setpoint voltage Vref corresponds to a minimum voltage value (8 V to 10.5 V): a voltage reduction takes place if the voltage source 6 is correctly connected, but the measured voltage value remains higher than the setpoint voltage Vref (sectors Uv in FIG. 2a), the measured voltage value is equal to the setpoint voltage if there is a faulty connection (sectors Uv in FIG. 2b).

(13) As is also shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, when the setpoint voltage Vref is equal to a maximum voltage value (15 V to 16 V): a voltage reduction takes place if the voltage source 6 is correctly connected, but the measured voltage value remains below the setpoint voltage Vref (sectors Ov in FIG. 2a), the measured voltage value is equal to the setpoint voltage if there is a faulty connection (sectors Ov in FIG. 2b).

(14) Therefore, regardless of whether a minimum or a maximum value of the setpoint voltage Vref is chosen, a measured voltage identical to this setpoint voltage is a characteristic indication of a faulty connection of the voltage source 6.

(15) Additionally, in order to confirm this conclusion, another step in the detection procedure is that of measuring the strength of the current delivered at the output of the converter 4 when the setpoint voltage Vref is equal to a minimum voltage value (8 V to 10.5 V):

(16) This is because, when the setpoint voltage Vref is equal to a minimum voltage value, a faulty connection of the voltage source 6 is indicated by the flow of current at the output of the converter, and the measurement reveals a non-zero value of the current strength; the absence of a faulty connection is indicated by the absence of current at the output of the converter 4.

(17) Thus, the result of the measurement of the current strength at the output of the converter 4 provides information that can be used to discriminate between the absence and the presence of a faulty connection, and to confirm the conclusions drawn from the voltage measurement.

(18) The method according to the invention can therefore be used, by a simple software adaptation of the electronic controller 10, to detect a faulty connection of the voltage source 6 of the secondary circuit 5.