Method and system for diagnosing battery system problems

• US 10,101,407 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Yonan, Jakob, Sadekar, Varsha, Rychlinski, Mark J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Omar, Ahmed
• Application Number:
  US14/948,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20170146611A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 324426
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3647 for determining the ability of a battery to perform a critical function, e.g. cranking
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/385 Arrangements for measuring battery or accumulator variables for monitoring G01R31/382
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/06 Lead-acid accumulators semi-lead accumulators H01M10/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/42 Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells H01M10/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A method and system for diagnosing battery system problems in a vehicle, where the method distinguishes between problems of various battery system components. More particularly, battery connection problems such as loose connections, corroded battery terminals, etc., may be distinguished from battery system problems as a whole. Load related readings that generally reflect the performance of the battery system during a cranking event and one or more non-load related readings may be gathered and used to determine whether there is a battery system problem and whether there is a battery specific problem. If load related readings and/or non-load related readings fail to indicate a battery specific problem, a battery connection problem may be diagnosed.

Claims

1. A method for diagnosing a battery system problem in a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering one or more load related readings and one or more non-load related readings, wherein load related readings reflect performance of the battery system during a cranking event;

using at least one load related reading, at least one non-load related reading, or a combination of one or more load related readings and non-load related readings to determine if there is a battery system problem;

when it is determined that there is a battery system problem, then determining whether there is a battery specific problem; and

when it is determined that there is a battery system problem and no battery specific problem, then alerting a user of the vehicle that there is a battery connection problem.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the load related readings are representative of at least one of a cranking voltage of a battery during a cranking event, a crank resistance of the battery during a cranking event, or a crank time for a cranking event.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the cranking voltage represents a voltage difference between a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the battery during a cranking event.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the cranking voltage is provided via a voltage event counter that provides a count of successful cranking events, the successful cranking events being at least partially defined by a voltage difference between a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the battery during a cranking event that is above a voltage threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-load related readings are representative of at least one of an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery, a state of charge (SOC) of the battery, and an internal battery resistance.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining if whether there is a battery system problem includes using at least one load related reading to determine whether there is a battery system problem and using at least one non-load related reading to determine whether there is a battery specific problem.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one non-load related reading is compared to a corresponding non-load reading threshold to determine whether there is a battery specific problem.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one load related reading includes crank resistance and the at least one non-load related reading includes at least one of an internal battery resistance of the battery, an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery, and a state of charge (SOC) of the battery.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of verifying that there is a battery connection problem before alerting the user of the battery connection problem.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of verifying that there is a battery connection problem involves using a stable voltage reading and an oscillating current reading to verify the battery connection problem.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is initiated following a cranking event.

12. A method for diagnosing a battery system problem in a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering one or more load related readings and one or more non-load related readings using one or more battery sensors integrated within the battery system of the vehicle;

using at least one of the load related readings to determine whether an errant cranking event occurred; and

when it is determined that an errant cranking event occurred, then evaluating one or more load related readings, one or more non-load related readings, or a combination of one or more load related readings and non-load related readings gathered from the one or more battery sensors integrated with the battery system of the vehicle to determine when there is a battery connection problem and alerting a user of the vehicle of the battery connection problem.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the load related readings include cranking voltage and crank resistance, and the cranking voltage and crank resistance are used to determine if an errant cranking event occurred, and if an errant cranking event has occurred, then evaluating one or more non-load related readings to determine whether there is a battery connection problem.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the evaluating step includes comparing the one or more non-load related readings to corresponding non-load reading thresholds to determine whether there is a battery connection problem.

15. A battery system for a vehicle, comprising:

a battery;

one or more battery connections;

one or more battery sensors electrically connected to the battery via at least one of the battery connections; and

a control module configured to;

gather one or more load related readings that reflect performance of the battery system during a cranking event and one or more non-load related readings from the one or more battery sensors, use one or more load related readings to diagnose a battery system problem and a battery specific problem, and alert a user of the vehicle of a battery connection problem when there is a battery system problem diagnosis and not a battery specific problem diagnosis.

16. The battery system of claim 15, wherein the control module is further configured to gather one or more non-load related readings from the one or more battery sensors and use the load related readings, the one or more non-load related readings, or a combination of the load related readings and one or more non-load related readings to diagnose a battery specific problem.

17. The battery system of claim 15, wherein the battery is a lead acid, starting-lights-ignition (SLI) battery.