Patent ID: 7775102

Claim:
A method for testing the function of a high-pressure pump of a fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine without requiring the removal of the high-pressure pump from the fuel supply system, said pump having a plurality of pump elements each defining a respective work chamber which is in communication, via a suction valve with a low-pressure region, from which fuel can be aspirated, and via a pressure valve with a high-pressure region which includes a central high-pressure fuel reservoir, serving to supply fuel to the internal combustion engine, into which high-pressure reservoir the high-pressure pump pumps the fuel aspirated from the low-pressure region, and the pressure of which is detected by a rail pressure sensor, said engine including a control unit integrated with the engine, the method comprising connecting an adapter having an interface for a connection cable to the rail pressure sensor, connecting one end of a cable to the interface of the adapter, connecting the second end of the cable to an evaluation unit external to the control unit integrated with the engine, and using the evaluation unit and the values detected by the rail pressure sensor in the built-in state of the high-pressure pump in operation of the engine for testing the function of the high-pressure pump, wherein a signal of the rail pressure sensor is evaluated over time with respect to characteristic rail pressure oscillations.