Patent ID: 7793640

Claim:
A method for operating an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, and injection valves assigned thereto for metering fuel into a combustion chamber of the respective cylinder, the method comprising the steps of: actuating a respective injection valve at least once by at least one specified control value of an actuating variable for metering at least one specified minimum quantity corrected by a correction value, adjusting the correction value according to a deviation of an expected response value of a response variable from an actual response value of the response variable as a result of the actuation of the respective injection valve wherein the adjustment is effected by way of a reduction in the deviation between the expected response value of the response variable and the actual response value of the response variable, comparing the adjusted correction value to at least one of a specified negative correction threshold value and a specified positive correction threshold value, and based on the comparison, if the correction value undershoots the specified negative correction threshold value or overshoots the specified positive correction threshold value, detecting a fault in a component which is affecting the exhaust gas of the cylinder assigned to the respective injection valve.