Patent ID: 8285469

Claim:
A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine including a variable valve operating mechanism, comprising: a fuel injection valve which is capable of injecting fuel into each cylinder; a variable valve operating mechanism which is capable of halting an operation(s) of at least one valve of an intake valve and an exhaust valve in a closed state independently for each cylinder; abnormality detection means which acquires an abnormality evaluation index value during an operation of the internal combustion engine and, based on the abnormality evaluation index value, detects an abnormality which has occurred in at least one cylinder of the internal combustion engine; first cylinder-halting execution means which, when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection means, executes a cylinder halting to perform a halting of fuel supply and a halting of the operation of the at least one valve in the closed state, with a first partial cylinder made up of at least two cylinders as a target; second cylinder-halting execution means which, after the cylinder halting by the first cylinder-halting execution means, changes cylinders to be halted, and thereafter executes a cylinder halting with a second partial cylinder made up of at least one cylinder as a target; and abnormal cylinder identification means which identifies an abnormality-occurring cylinder based on a change in the abnormality evaluation index value associated with the changing of the cylinder to be halted, by the second cylinder-halting execution means.