Method of identifying a faulted component in an automotive system

A method of identifying a faulted component in an automotive system, the automotive system comprising an internal combustion engine managed by an Electronic Control Unit, the method comprising:

• operating the internal combustion engine according to a predefined detection routine;
• recording a noise signal emitted by the activated internal combustion engine in a memory system;
• analyzing the recorded noise signal with a signal treatment algorithm to determine a plurality of vibration modes of the automotive system from the noise signal;
• comparing the amplitude of the noise signal at each vibration mode with an acceptable amplitude threshold;
• and
• identifying a faulted component of the automotive system if the amplitude of the correspondent vibration mode is greater than the acceptable amplitude threshold.

A method of identifying a faulted component in an automotive system, the automotive system comprising an internal combustion engine managed by an Electronic Control Unit, the method comprising:

• operating the internal combustion engine according to a predefined detection routine which includes ramping up an engine speed over a predefined range of revolutions per minute for a predefined amount of time;
• recording a noise signal emitted by the activated internal combustion engine in a memory system with an acoustic sensor;
• analyzing the recorded noise signal using a Fast Fourier Transformation to convert the noise signal from a time domain to a frequency domain for determining a plurality of vibration modes of the automotive system from the noise signal;
• comparing the amplitude of the noise signal at each vibration mode with an acceptable amplitude threshold;
• using a relation of vibration modes to a fault condition of the automotive system for identifying the faulted component;
• and
• identifying a faulted component of the automotive system if the amplitude of the relation of vibration mode is greater than the acceptable amplitude threshold.

An apparatus for the identification of a faulted component in an automotive system having an internal combustion engine managed by an Electronic Control Unit, the apparatus including a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer code, which when executed on the processor, is configured to:

• operate the internal combustion engine according to a predefined detection routine;
• recording a noise signal emitted by the activated internal combustion engine in a memory system;
• analyze the recorded noise signal according to a signal treatment algorithm to determine a plurality of vibration modes of the automotive system from the noise signal;
• compare the amplitude of the noise signal at each vibration mode with an acceptable amplitude threshold;
• and
• identify a faulted component of the automotive system if the amplitude of the correspondent vibration mode is greater than the acceptable amplitude threshold.