Fault Diagnosis and Protection of Phase Auxiliary Output for Automotive D+ Alternators

In heavy-duty vehicle applications, the D+ alternator with the alternator-voltage-regulator (AVR) is widely used to supply electric loads due to lower cost and wide application possibilities. The phase voltage of D+ alternator is usually connected as auxiliary output, such as techometer; however, its wiring may short to ground through the vehicle frame due to the damage of the isolation. This would result in severe thermal events and safety issues. In this paper, a novel phase fault diagnose and protection method is proposed to prevent the thermal event and safety issue for phase auxiliary output fault in D+ alternator system of heavy duty vehicles. The method detects the voltage dip from D+ terminal without extra wiring or external components. Besides, prior art issues such as complex design, high noise sensitivity, and higher cost can be solved. The analysis and LTSpice simulation of D+ voltages in normal conditions and fault conditions set the foundation and parameter design for the proposed method. The experimental platform with a three-phase D+ alternator verified that the proposed method can diagnose and protect the ground fault while the alternator is generating power with rotating speed ranging from 2000 to 6000 rpm, and the AVR can stop the alternator output to prevent the thermal event. As soon as the fault is removed, the AVR can automatically reboot the system and return to a normal operation mode.