Method for detecting malfunctions in a motor vehicle
First Claim
1. Method for determining causes of malfunctions in a motor vehicle having a plurality of subassemblies and means for communicating data words generated in said subassemblies to an analysis unit, said data words containing information concerning said malfunctions of said motor vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating respective first data words in each subassembly in which a malfunction is detected;
generating respective second data words in each subassembly which is peripheral to a subassembly in which a malfunction is detected;
communicating said first and second data words to said analysis unit;
generating a functional chain in said analysis unit in response to said first and second data words, said functional chain comprising potential causes of said detected malfunctions;
generating a list of test steps in said analysis unit, said list comprising test steps to check said potential causes of said malfunctions, including potential causes of malfunctions which cannot be detected automatically by a subassembly and for which no data word is therefore formed;
storing said list of test steps;
executing said test steps;
checking said functional chain and locating causes of said malfunctions in said subassemblies;
generating and displaying remedial measures corresponding to said causes of said malfunctions; and
optimizing a sequence of test steps in said list of test stepsby eliminating redundant test steps in said list which occur due to listing of particular potential causes of malfunction more than a single time, whereby each test step is performed only once; and
by executing first those test steps which relate to potential causes of malfunction for which probability of a malfunction is higher than for other potential causes of malfunction, and those which relate to a potential cause of malfunction which must be checked before further potential causes of malfunction can be checked.
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Abstract
A method for detecting malfunctions in a motor vehicle, in which data words formed in subassemblies (sensors or components) upon detection of a malfunction therein are read by an analysis unit. The data words are also formed by the subassemblies when a malfunction detected by a peripheral subassembly is not traceable to said subassembly. Functional chains are determined in a device on the basis of the malfunctions detected by the subassemblies and represented by the corresponding data words. The functional chains contain all the sources of error related to the malfunctions. A list of test steps is drawn up in the device and stored at memory locations provided for this purpose. The test steps allow checking all the sources of error, and the functional chain is completely checked after execution of the test steps.
60 Citations
17 Claims
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1. Method for determining causes of malfunctions in a motor vehicle having a plurality of subassemblies and means for communicating data words generated in said subassemblies to an analysis unit, said data words containing information concerning said malfunctions of said motor vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating respective first data words in each subassembly in which a malfunction is detected; generating respective second data words in each subassembly which is peripheral to a subassembly in which a malfunction is detected; communicating said first and second data words to said analysis unit; generating a functional chain in said analysis unit in response to said first and second data words, said functional chain comprising potential causes of said detected malfunctions; generating a list of test steps in said analysis unit, said list comprising test steps to check said potential causes of said malfunctions, including potential causes of malfunctions which cannot be detected automatically by a subassembly and for which no data word is therefore formed; storing said list of test steps; executing said test steps; checking said functional chain and locating causes of said malfunctions in said subassemblies; generating and displaying remedial measures corresponding to said causes of said malfunctions; and optimizing a sequence of test steps in said list of test steps by eliminating redundant test steps in said list which occur due to listing of particular potential causes of malfunction more than a single time, whereby each test step is performed only once; and by executing first those test steps which relate to potential causes of malfunction for which probability of a malfunction is higher than for other potential causes of malfunction, and those which relate to a potential cause of malfunction which must be checked before further potential causes of malfunction can be checked. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification