Method for checking the plausibility of the function of a pressure sensor

A device controlling an injection system of an internal combustion engine for checking the plausibility of a function of a pressure sensor of an injection system of an internal combustion engine, wherein the injection system has a high-pressure pump configured for feeding fuel from a low-pressure region into a high-pressure region, at least one electrically actuatable injection valve, actuatable as a function of operating characteristic variables, configured for injecting the fuel from the high-pressure region into combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine, and the pressure sensor configured for measuring an internal pressure in the high-pressure region, the device comprising:

• an engine controller, wherein the engine controller is configured to:
• acquire a calibrated actuation profile by which peak current values, for opening the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve, of a current profile of a control current of the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve are assigned to existing internal pressures present in the high-pressure region;
• measure an existing internal pressure in the form of an actual sensor pressure value by the pressure sensor;
• obtain the electrical peak current value corresponding to the measured actual sensor pressure value from the calibrated actuation profile;
• apply the obtained electrical peak current value to the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve;
• and
• assign a functional state of the pressure sensor as a function of an opening state of the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve monitored in reaction to the applied electrical peak current value.

A motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine with an injection system, wherein the injection system has a high-pressure pump configured for feeding fuel from a low-pressure region into a high-pressure region, at least one electrically actuatable injection valve, actuatable as a function of operating characteristic variables, configured for injecting the fuel from the high-pressure region into combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine, and has a pressure sensor configured for measuring a pressure in the high-pressure region, wherein the motor vehicle includes an engine controller, wherein the engine controller is configured to:

• acquire a calibrated actuation profile by which peak current values, for opening the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve, of a current profile of the control current of the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve are assigned to existing internal pressures present in the high-pressure region;
• measure an existing internal pressure in the form of an actual sensor pressure value by the pressure sensor;
• obtain the electrical peak current value corresponding to the measured actual sensor pressure value from the calibrated actuation profile;
• apply the obtained electrical peak current value to the at least one actuatable injection valve;
• and
• assign a functional state of the pressure sensor as a function of an opening state of the at least one electrically actuatable injection valve monitored in reaction to the applied electrical peak current value.