Patent Document ID: 9506992
Application ID: 14668784
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for determining a weld state of a contactor included in a vehicle comprising: receiving current information from a current sensor associated with an actuator coil of the contactor following initiation of actuation of the contactor; receiving voltage information from a voltage sensor associated with an actuator coil of the contactor following initiation of actuation of the contactor; identifying a plurality of characteristics based on the received current and voltage information; comparing the plurality of characteristics to characteristics associated with a reference contactor; and determining a weld state of the contactor based on the comparison, wherein the plurality of characteristics comprise an actuator coil current rise time following the initiation of actuation of the contactor and a number of sign changes of a derivative of the actuator coil current following the initiation of actuation of the contactor.