Cummins Intellectual Property, Inc.

Damon C Salo

Norman C Blizard

Thomas O Hahn

Kent A Lobsiger

Cary J Marston

This disclosure relates a system for heating fuel supplied by a common rail fuel supply to an internal combustion engine. The system includes a high pressure fuel line, plural fuel injectors connected in series along the high pressure fuel line in the common rail, and a continuous low pressure passage including a heat exchanging portion in close proximity to the high pressure fuel line. A heated fluid source is operative to fluidly communicate with the continuous low pressure passage and circulate heated fluid to heat fuel present in the high pressure fuel line prior to, and during a cold start operation of the internal combustion engine. Other embodiments relate to a method of providing fuel to an internal combustion engine that includes sensing the temperature of fuel supplied to a fuel system and determining whether the sensed fuel temperature is greater than a predetermined value. The method includes circulating heated fluid in a continuous low pressure circuit to heat fuel present in a high pressure fuel line if the sensed fuel temperature is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and evacuating fluid for heating fuel from a portion of the continuous low pressure passage and fluidly connecting the evacuated portion of the continuous low pressure passage to a fuel leakage detection device if the sensed fuel temperature is greater than the predetermined value.

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Columbus, IN, United States of America

Damon C Salo