Systems and methods for controlling a vehicle engine

A method of controlling a vehicle engine including one or more cylinders, each of the one or more cylinders including at least one fuel injector associated therewith, said method comprising:

• storing, in a memory of an engine electronic control unit (ECU), a plurality of patterns each including a sequence of operating states of the one or more cylinders;
• receiving one or more signals about current operation the engine;
• determining a sequence of recent operating states based upon the one or more signals about the current operation of the engine;
• comparing the sequence of recent operating states to the plurality of patterns to determine a current operating state for the engine:
• determining, by the ECU, based on the current operating state, expected air-to-fuel ratio (ATFR) value data;
• receiving, at the ECU, actual air-to-fuel ratio (ATFR) value data from at least one sensor of an exhaust system of the vehicle;
• determining, by the ECU, a difference between the expected and actual ATFR value data;
• and
• controlling operation of the at least one fuel injector based on the determined difference.

An engine electronic control unit (ECU) comprising memory and at least one processor, the memory having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

• store a plurality of patterns each including a sequence of operating states of one or more cylinders of an engine, wherein each of the one or more cylinders includes at least one fuel injector associated therewith;
• receive one or more signals about current operation the engine;
• determine a sequence of recent operating states based upon the one or more signals about the current operation of the engine;
• compare the sequence of recent operating states to the plurality of patterns to determine a current operating state for the engine:
• determine, based on the current operating state, expected air-to-fuel ratio (ATFR) value data;
• receive, from at least one sensor of a vehicle exhaust system, actual air-to-fuel ratio (ATFR) value data;
• determine a difference between the expected and actual ATFR value data;
• and
• control operation of the at least one fuel injector based on the determined difference.