Patent ID: 7789067

Claim:
Control method in the case of a fault on an internal combustion engine ( 5 ) comprising: at least one cylinder ( 6 ), at least one injector ( 17 ) to inject fuel, at least one butterfly valve ( 12 ) to regulate the flow of air sucked into the cylinder ( 6 ), a position sensor ( 20 ) to determine the position of an accelerator control, an electric actuator ( 19 ) coupled to the butterfly valve ( 12 ) to control the position of the butterfly valve ( 12 ), an electric drive ( 24 ) to pilot the electric actuator ( 19 ), and an electronic control unit ( 18 ), which is connected to the position sensor ( 20 ) for reading the position of the accelerator control and is connected to the electric drive ( 24 ) to send a desired position value for the butterfly valve ( 12 ) to the same electric drive ( 24 ); the control method is characterized in comprising the phases of: cyclically checking the correct functioning of the connection between the electronic control unit ( 18 ) and the electric drive ( 24 ); switching off the electric drive ( 24 ), in the case of interruption in the connection between the electronic control unit ( 18 ) and the electric drive ( 24 ), so that the butterfly valve ( 12 ) sets itself in a predefined limp-home position; and piloting the engine ( 5 ), in the case of interruption in the connection between the electronic control unit ( 18 ) and the electric drive ( 24 ), to keep the number of revs constant and equal to a predefined emergency value.