Methods and systems for common rail fuel system maintenance health diagnostic
First Claim
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1. A method for controlling a system having an engine, the method comprising:
- during a no-load condition of the engine where the engine is rotating,stopping fuel injection by a plurality of fuel injectors of the engine;
closing a valve that is operable to control fuel flow to a fuel pump that pumps fuel to a common fuel rail of the engine; and
setting a degradation condition in response to a fuel rail pressure decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration.
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Abstract
Dynamic health assessment systems and methods related to monitoring fuel flow control are provided. In one embodiment, a method for controlling a system having an engine is provided. The method includes during a no-load condition of the engine, stopping fuel injection by a plurality of fuel injectors of the engine, closing a valve that is operable to control fuel flow to a fuel pump that pumps fuel to a common fuel rail, and setting a degradation condition in response to a fuel rail pressure decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for controlling a system having an engine, the method comprising:
during a no-load condition of the engine where the engine is rotating, stopping fuel injection by a plurality of fuel injectors of the engine; closing a valve that is operable to control fuel flow to a fuel pump that pumps fuel to a common fuel rail of the engine; and setting a degradation condition in response to a fuel rail pressure decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system comprising:
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a low-pressure fuel pump operable to pump fuel from a fuel source at a first pressure; a high-pressure fuel pump operable to pump fuel from the low-pressure fuel pump to increase the first pressure to a second pressure; a valve positioned between the low-pressure fuel pump and the high-pressure fuel pump, the valve being operable to adjust a flow rate of fuel to the high-pressure fuel pump; a common fuel rail fluidly coupling the high-pressure fuel pump to a plurality of fuel injectors that is operable to inject fuel to cylinders of an engine; and a controller having instructions to, during a no-load condition of the engine, stop fuel injection by the plurality of fuel injectors, close the valve, and set a degradation condition in response to a fuel rail pressure decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration, the controller having instructions to verify closure of the valve prior to initiating the first designated duration by starting the first designated duration in response to an electrical current of the valve being greater than an electrical current threshold. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a low-pressure fuel pump operable to pump fuel from a fuel source at a first pressure; a high-pressure fuel pump operable to pump fuel from the low-pressure fuel pump to increase the first pressure to a second pressure; a valve positioned between the low-pressure fuel pump and the high-pressure fuel pump, the valve being operable to control fuel flow to the high-pressure fuel pump; a common fuel rail fluidly coupling the high-pressure fuel pump to a plurality of fuel injectors operable to inject fuel to cylinders of an engine; and a controller having instructions to, during a no-load condition of the engine where the engine is rotating, stop fuel injection by the plurality of fuel injectors, close the valve, shut down the engine in response to a fuel rail pressure decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration, and shut down the engine in response to the fuel pressure being less than a fuel rail pressure threshold for a second designated duration in which the first pressure is greater than an engine fuel pressure threshold and an engine speed is in a designated engine speed range. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22)
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21. A non-transitory electronically-readable medium having one or more sets of instructions stored thereon that when accessed and executed by an electronic device cause the electronic device to:
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during a no-load condition of an engine where the engine is rotating, generate one or more first signals for controlling stopping fuel injection by a plurality of fuel injectors of the engine; generate one or more second signals for controlling closing a valve that is operable to control fuel flow to a fuel pump that pumps fuel to a common fuel rail of the engine for providing fuel to the common fuel rail; and generate one or more third signals, for controlling operation of the engine, in response to a decay rate of a fuel pressure in the common fuel rail being greater than a decay threshold after a first designated duration, the first designated duration initiated in response to an electrical current of the valve being greater than an electrical current threshold corresponding to an electrical current of the valve when the valve is fully closed.
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Specification