Patent ID: 8260516

Claim:
A controller for determining whether a previously-detected, vehicle-sensor malfunction still exists, the controller comprising: an electronic, non-volatile memory; and an electronic processing unit connected to the electronic, non-volatile memory, the electronic processing module including, a malfunction monitoring module configured to monitor the operation of a brake light switch and generate a fault signal if the brake light switch malfunctions, the fault signal containing fault information and causing at least one of a tell-tale indicator to be activated and a vehicle control system to modify its operation from a first operating state to a second operating state, a failure handling module configured to cause drive cycle information and the fault information to be stored in the electronic, non-volatile memory, and a signal checking module configured to retrieve the drive cycle information and the fault information from the electronic, non-volatile memory, perform a signal check on information from the brake light switch by verifying that the brake light switch exhibits a predetermined pattern, and, if the brake light switch passes the signal check, generate a reset signal, the reset signal causing at least one of the tell-tale indicator to be deactivated and the vehicle control system to resume operation in the first operating state.