Patent ID: 7411771

Claim:
An electric circuit arrangement for controlling a solenoid-operated fluid valve, comprising: a solenoid coil; connecting lines; and an amplifier circuit including an input stage and an output stage, the amplifier converting a voltage supplied to the input stage into a current of a corresponding magnitude, the current flowing from the output stage via the connecting lines to the solenoid coil; a monitoring circuit including a current-measuring device for the current, wherein: the monitoring circuit is supplied with a setpoint voltage determining a magnitude of the current, the monitoring circuit continuously reduces the voltage supplied to the input stage starting from the setpoint voltage if a time average of the current has exceeded an upper threshold value, the monitoring circuit interrupts a connecting line leading to the solenoid coil if the time average has not fallen again below the upper threshold value after a specifiable time, and the monitoring circuit increases the voltage supplied to the input stage again to the setpoint voltage after the time average of the current has fallen below the upper threshold value.