Patent ID: 8417440

Claim:
A hydraulic control device for an internal combustion engine, the device having a pressure level switch mechanism that switches a pressure level of oil supplied to components of the engine between a high pressure level and a low pressure level, the hydraulic control device comprising: a detecting section that detects the pressure of the oil that has been regulated by the pressure level switch mechanism; and a determining section that outputs a command signal instructing to switch the pressure level of the oil to the low pressure level to the pressure level switch mechanism and determines that the pressure level switch mechanism has a malfunction on condition that, after the command signal has been output, the pressure of the oil detected by the detecting section is greater than a low-pressure-level switching malfunction determination value, wherein the low-pressure-level switching malfunction determination value is set to a value between a value that is expected when the oil pressure is at the high pressure level in the engine operating state at the time of the determination and a value that is expected when the oil pressure is at the low pressure level in the engine operating state at the time of the determination.