Patent ID: 8825282

Claim:
A method for identifying a short circuit to a positive terminal of a battery in an electrical circuit of a motor vehicle having an electronic power switch ( 123 ) that is actuated by a control device ( 120 ) and having at least one electrically operated switch that switch(es) on and off loads ( 110 , 111 , 112 ), a switched state of said at least one electrically operated switch being reported to the control device ( 120 ), the method comprising: determining that an operation is fault-free when the loads ( 110 , 111 , 112 ) are supplied with voltage when the electronic power switch ( 123 ) is switched on and a “short circuit” or “load drop” message is produced at the at least one electrically operated switch when the electronic power switch ( 123 ) is switched off, and determining that there is an error when a “short circuit” or “load drop” message is not produced at the at least one electrically operated switch at the end of a driving cycle of the motor vehicle when the voltage supply is switched off by the electronic power switch ( 123 ).