Method and apparatus to evaluate a starter for an internal combustion engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9765746-B2
Application number	US-201615242413-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2016
Priority date	Jul 17, 2014
Publication date	Sep 19, 2017
Grant date	Sep 19, 2017

Abstract

An internal combustion engine including a starter is shown. A method for monitoring the starter includes determining electrical energy consumed by pinion and motor solenoids operative to activate and rotate a pinion gear of an electrically-powered motor meshingly engageable to a starter ring gear portion of a flywheel of the engine during an engine starting event. Current ringing in the pinion and motor solenoids is monitored during the engine starting even, and a fault is identified in the pinion and motor solenoids based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumption of the starter during the engine starting event.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Method for monitoring pinion and motor solenoids of an electrically-powered motor for a starter of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
initiating an engine starting event, comprising:
electrically connecting a starter motor to a battery; and
activating said motor solenoid to cause the starter motor to spin with corresponding activation of said pinion solenoid to urge a shaft and a pinion gear into engagement with a starter ring gear portion of a flywheel of the internal combustion engine; and

within a controller:
monitoring current and electrical energy consumed by said pinion and motor solenoids of the starter during said engine starting event;
determining electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event;
monitoring current ringing associated with activation of the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event, the current ringing comprising a quantity of current oscillations and a magnitude of the current oscillations; and
identifying a fault in one of the pinion solenoid and the motor solenoid based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event; and

permitting subsequent engine starting events based on the identified fault.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the electrical energy consumed by said pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event comprises:
monitoring battery voltage and current flow through the pinion and motor solenoids during activation of the motor solenoid prior to activation of the pinion solenoid;
determining an equivalent resistance of the pinion and motor solenoids based upon said battery voltage and current flow;
determining current flow during the engine starting event based upon the equivalent resistance of the pinion and motor solenoids; and
determining solenoid energy based upon the current flow during the engine starting event.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining solenoid energy based upon the current flow during the engine starting comprises integrating a term comprising the current flow multiplied by battery voltage during the engine starting event.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the electrical energy consumed by pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event further comprises:
adjusting the equivalent resistance of the pinion and motor solenoids based upon temperature;
determining current flow during the engine starting event based upon the temperature-adjusted equivalent resistance of the pinion and motor solenoids; and
determining solenoid energy based upon the current flow during the engine starting event.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a fault in the pinion solenoid based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event comprises identifying a fault in the pinion solenoid when the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event is greater than a threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a fault in the motor solenoid based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event comprises identifying a fault in the motor solenoid when the current ringing is greater than a threshold during the engine starting event.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a state of health (SOH) of the pinion and motor solenoids based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids; and
identifying a motor solenoid fault when the SOH of the pinion and motor solenoids is less than a first threshold and a time factor correlated to the current ringing is less than a threshold and identifying a pinion solenoid fault when the SOH of the pinion and motor solenoids is less than the first threshold and the electrical energy consumed by the pinion and motor solenoids during the engine starting event is greater than a threshold.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Ghoneim Youssef A
• Howell Mark N

Classifications

• F02N2200/045

  Starter temperature or parameters related to it · CPC title

• F02N11/0851

  characterised by means for controlling the engagement or disengagement between engine and starter, e.g. meshing of pinion and engine gear · CPC title

• F02N2200/044

  Starter current · CPC title

• F02N11/108 Primary

  for diagnosis of the starter or its components · CPC title

• F02N15/067

  the starter comprising an electro-magnetically actuated lever · CPC title