Patent ID: 8731850

Claim:
A method for detecting a leak in an intake tract of an internal combustion engine, comprising: operating the internal combustion engine at a first operating point having a rotational speed and a first pressure difference between an ambient pressure and a pressure in the intake tract of the internal combustion engine; computing, by a processing device, a first expected mass flow into the intake tract; measuring, by the processing device, a first mass flow into the intake tract and computing a first difference between the measured first mass flow and the first expected mass flow; operating the internal combustion engine at a second operating point having the same rotational speed and a second pressure difference between the ambient pressure and the pressure in the intake tract of the internal combustion engine, the second pressure difference being different from the first pressure difference; computing, by the processing device, a second expected mass flow into the intake tract; measuring, by the processing device, a second mass flow into the intake tract and computing a second difference between the measured second mass flow and the second expected mass flow; and comparing, by the processing device, the first and second mass flow differences ascertained at the first and at the second operating point.