Patent ID: 7885753

Claim:
A method for operating an internal combustion engine with a number of cylinders and an exhaust gas tract, in which an exhaust gas probe is arranged, of which the measuring signal is representative of an air/fuel ratio in the respective combustion chambers of the cylinders, the method comprising the steps of: in a first operating state: during each working cycle, controlling the metering of fuel in one of the cylinders using a number of first metering pulses having the same pulse characteristic, and during each working cycle, controlling the metering of fuel in each of the remaining cylinders using one or more second metering pulse having a different pulse characteristic than the first metering pulse, wherein the number and pulse characteristic of the first metering pulses is predetermined such that based on an assumed characteristic of the injection valve, the same fuel mass would be metered with the number and pulse characteristic of the first metering pulses as would be metered with the one or more second metering pulse, detecting a measuring signal of the exhaust gas probe during the first operating state, determining for a second operating state a correction value for the metering of fuel in the one cylinder as a function of at least the measuring signal of the exhaust gas probe detected during the first operating state, and during the second operating state, adapting the determined correction value based at least on: an operating temperature detected at the then current time and on an operating temperature detected when the correction value was determined in the first operating state, and a fuel pressure detected at the then current time and on a fuel pressure detected when the correction value was determined in the first operating state.