International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC

Richard Ptak

David M Hsia

Ly V Tran

Robert A Schmidt

A motor vehicle engine () has glow plugs () for aiding combustion of fuel in combustion chambers of the engine when the engine is cold and an ignition switch () is operated to crank the engine. An aberration in engine speed () is used to indicate an under- or non-performing glow plug. Data from sources other than the engine speed source (), such as data related to engine fueling, is also processed by a processor () to exclude them as the cause of the aberration.

Engine glow plug diagnosis using crankshaft sensor data

An engine () and a method of operating it during cold start and ensuing running using a cold start aid such as a glow plug control () and glow plugs (). The control () monitors all glow plugs to distinguish between one that is effective and one that is ineffective. When a glow plug is disclosed to be ineffective, the engine control system () reduces the quantity of fuel introduced into the respective combustion chamber () in comparison to the quantity of fuel that would be introduced were the respective glow plug effective. This is beneficial in keeping the collection of hydrocarbons of surfaces of a diesel particulate filter () from increasing due to an ineffective glow plug.

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Woodstock, IL, United States of America

Richard Ptak