Innovative circuits to detect faults in accelerator pedal sensor wires in modern vehicles

Abstract

Unintended acceleration incidents in modern vehicles occur when vehicle sensors send wrong information to the electronic management system or for example when this system is unable to detect short or open circuit faults in the accelerator pedal position sensor wires. In this paper, novel detection circuits are proposed that are able to detect, identify and localize both open and short circuit faults. The proposed circuit will allow the electronic control unit to place the engine in idle mode when specific faults occur on the accelerator pedal position sensor wires. Full simulation results are presented in this work.