Vibration sensing and diagnostic system for vehicle drive train components

A combined drive train assembly and monitoring system comprising:

• a drive train assembly including a transaxle for distributing rotative power within the drive train;
• a sensor responsive to vibration of said transaxle for generating a signal which is representative of a frequency of said vibration of said drive train assembly and which is representative of a magnitude of said vibration of said drive train assembly;
• and
• a controller responsive to said signal from said sensor for comparing said signal from said sensor with a predetermined signal characteristic and for generating an indication of an operating condition of said transaxle when said signal from said sensor deviates from said predetermined signal characteristic by more than a predetermined amount.

A combined drive train assembly and monitoring system comprising:

• a drive train assembly including a differential housing for distributing rotative power within the drive train;
• a sensor responsive to vibration of said differential housing for generating a signal which is representative of a frequency of said vibration of said drive train assembly and which is representative of a magnitude of said vibration of said drive train assembly;
• and
• a controller responsive to said signal from said sensor for comparing said signal from said sensor with a predetermined signal characteristic and for generating an indication of an operating condition of said differential housing when said signal from said sensor deviates from said predetermined signal characteristic by more than a predetermined amount.