Method for automatically controlling an internal combustion engine

A method for automatically controlling an internal combustion engine (1), comprising the steps of:

• detecting and storing an individual accumulator pressure (pE) of a common rail system in a measurement interval;
• determining an evaluation window (F(i)) for the stored individual accumulation pressure (pE), within which window an injection was brought about;
• determining, in a first step, both a representative injection start (SB) and a trial injection end (SEp) in the evaluation window (F(i)) as a function of the detected pressure values, and, in a second step, determining both a trial injection start (SBp) and a representative injection end (SE) in the evaluation window (F(i)) as a function of the detected pressure values;
• checking the representative injection start (SB) for plausibility against the trial injection start (SBp);
• and
• checking the representative injection end (SE) for plausibility against the trial injection end (SEp), including determining the evaluation window (F(i)) as follows:
• filtering the individual accumulator pressure (pE) with a first filer cutoff frequency (fG1);
• computing a gradient variation (GRAD pE(F1)) from the filtered individual accumulator pressure (pE(F1));
• the minimum (MIN(i)) in the gradient variation (GRAD pE(F1)) of the injection;
• and, starting from the minimum (MIN(i)), setting a first crank angle (W1) before the minimum (MIN(i)) in a direction of smaller crank angles and a second crank angle (W2) after the minimum (MIN(i)) in a direction of larger crank angles as limiting values for the evaluation window (F(i)).