Analog-to-digital fault detection, isolation, and mitigation for a low-voltage communications network

A method for detecting, isolating, and mitigating a recoverable fault in a low-voltage communications network bus having a host electronic control unit (ECU) connected to a plurality of control modules, the method comprising:

• measuring a bus voltage using a voltage sensor, wherein the measured bus voltage is the same for the host ECU and the control modules;
• converting the measured bus voltage to bus voltage data via an analog-to-digital converter, the bus voltage data including high-side data and low-side data indicative of the measured bus voltage;
• comparing the bus voltage data to a calibrated voltage range, via the host ECU, to thereby detect a bus fault on the low-voltage communications network bus;
• isolating the detected bus fault, via the host ECU, as the recoverable fault using a data pattern in the bus voltage data when the bus voltage data is outside of the calibrated voltage range;
• and
• recalibrating the voltage sensor via the host ECU to thereby mitigate the detected recoverable fault;
• isolating a non-recoverable “stuck-at-fault”-type of fault via the host ECU using the data pattern, including determining whether the control modules are transmitting and receiving messages on the low-voltage communications network bus and a variance in the bus voltage data is less than a threshold variance, and thereafter recording a diagnostic code in memory of the host ECU indicative of the “stuck-at-fault”-type of fault.