Water-in fuel detection using duty cycle calculation
First Claim
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1. A method for operating a vehicle having a fuel system that may be contaminated with water, comprising:
- automatically adjusting an operating parameter of a vehicle diagnostic system in response to a number of indications of a presence of water in fuel output from a binary water-in-fuel sensor relative to a total number of output indications from the binary water-in-fuel sensor; and
adjusting an actuator of an engine in response to the operating parameter.
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Abstract
A method for operating a vehicle having a fuel system that may include unwanted water is described. The method includes, adjusting an operating parameter in response to a relative amount of high and low readings from a water-in-fuel sensor coupled in the fuel system.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for operating a vehicle having a fuel system that may be contaminated with water, comprising:
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automatically adjusting an operating parameter of a vehicle diagnostic system in response to a number of indications of a presence of water in fuel output from a binary water-in-fuel sensor relative to a total number of output indications from the binary water-in-fuel sensor; and adjusting an actuator of an engine in response to the operating parameter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for a vehicle, comprising:
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a fuel system having a fuel-water separator; a multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor coupled to the separator, the multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor providing a first output when in contact with water and a second output when in contact with fuel; a diagnostic system coupled in the vehicle for receiving sensor outputs from the multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor, and adjusting an operating parameter indicative of water in fuel during agitation of the fuel system based on a first number of indications of a presence of water in fuel output from the multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor relative to a total number of output indications from the multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor over a predefined interval; and a control system including executable code stored in non-transitory memory to adjust an engine actuator in response to the operating parameter indicative of water in fuel. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for determining a presence of water in fuel within a liquid containing fuel-water separator, comprising:
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automatically adjusting a diagnostic code of a vehicle diagnostic system in response to a first duty cycle based on a first ratio of samples from a voltage signal generated by a multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor coupled in the fuel-water separator during high agitation conditions, and in response to a second duty cycle based on a second ratio of samples from the voltage signal during low agitation conditions, the multi-prong binary water-in-fuel sensor sensing conductivity of the liquid, where the diagnostic code is set to indicate the presence of water in fuel when the first or second duty cycles fall outside of different individual ranges, and where the diagnostic code is re-set to indicate acceptable operation only when the first duty cycle falls within its individual range; and adjusting an actuator of an engine in response to the diagnostic code.
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Specification