Patent ID: 8587323

Claim:
A method for diagnosis of an electrical connection to a load, a first voltage for operating the load being produced by a first output of a first output assembly, and a second voltage for operating the load being produced by a second output of a second output assembly, the method comprising: (i) performing, in the first output assembly, a test of the electrical connection using the first output; (ii) evaluating, in the first output assembly, a current by measuring value obtained from the evaluated current and subjecting the measured value to a test criterion, satisfaction of the test criterion being initially noted in the first output assembly as a diagnosis fault; (iii) operating the second output assembly within a time period comprising a waiting time such that the second voltage at the second output is switched off for a time period comprising a switched-off time; and (iv) re-evaluating, in the first output assembly, the current, by measuring the value obtained from the re-evaluated current by subjecting the measured value to the test criterion, if the test criterion which was satisfied is still satisfied, then the first output assembly producing a defect message.