Improvised Diagnostic Strategy for High-Side Switch Power Stage

A vehicle electronic control unit consists of various high-side power stages for driving different loads. Common faults that these power stages experience are Short Circuit to Battery (SCB), Short Circuit to Ground (SCG), and Open Load (OL). These faults can occur during either on-state or off-state of the power stage output. It is essential to diagnose a fault such as SCB during switch off-state, SCG during switch on-state, and OL during both on- and off-state of the switch in order to avoid system malfunction or power stage damage.