Vehicle Coolant Fault Diagnosis via Water Pump Input Current
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for diagnosing coolant shortages in vehicle coolant circulation systems are limited to specific vehicle speeds, battery voltages, and road inclines, making it impossible to detect coolant leaks during vehicle operation, which can lead to safety accidents.
Innovation Solution
A fault diagnosis apparatus for a coolant circulation system that includes a water pump, a controller, a current sensor, and an RPM sensor, allowing for real-time monitoring of input current and actual RPM to determine if the system is experiencing a load shortage or excessive load, with fault counting and alarm systems to notify the driver of potential failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional coolant diagnosis methods are used, then diagnosis can be performed under specific conditions (vehicle speed ≤ specific value, battery voltage ≥ specific value, road inclination ≤ specific value), but diagnosis is impossible during vehicle running when conditions are not satisfied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the diagnostic parameters from multiple conditional parameters (vehicle speed, battery voltage, road inclination) to a single robust parameter (input current of water pump). By monitoring the input current to the water pump driver, the system can detect coolant circulation faults regardless of vehicle operating conditions, thus improving adaptability while maintaining diagnostic reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential diagnostic information from the complex multi-parameter condition set and focuses on a single key parameter: the input current to the water pump. This extracted parameter directly reflects the water pump's operational state and coolant circulation status, eliminating the need for multiple conditional checks and enabling diagnosis under all operating conditions
2Reliability
If multiple sensors and monitoring parameters are added to enable real-time diagnosis during vehicle operation, then diagnosis coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes the existing water pump driver and its input current signal for diagnostic purposes. The current sensor monitors the power already being supplied to the water pump, allowing the system to self-diagnose coolant circulation faults without requiring additional active diagnostic components or increasing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The input current monitoring serves multiple functions: it controls the water pump operation and simultaneously provides diagnostic information about coolant circulation status. This multi-functional use of the existing current signal enables fault detection without adding separate diagnostic hardware, thus avoiding increased device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A fault diagnosis apparatus of a coolant circulation system for a vehicle includes: a water pump for circulating coolant; a controller for applying a revolutions per minute (RPM) command to the water pump; a water pump driver for operating the water pump depending on the applied RPM command; and a current sensor for sensing an current input to the water pump driver. The controller determines whether the input current sensed by the current sensor is within a predetermined normal range to determine whether the coolant circulation system is failed or not.