Modular temperature performance diagnostic for a vehicle

1. A vehicle comprising:

a power inverter module (PIM) having multiple phase outputs;

a motor/generator unit (MGU) electrically connected to the PIM, and having a motor winding;

a pair of vehicle components;

a first plurality of temperature sensors, wherein one of the first plurality of temperature sensors measures a temperature of the motor winding, and wherein each of the remaining sensors of the first plurality of temperature sensors measures a temperature of a corresponding one of the multiple phase outputs of the PIM;

a second plurality of temperature sensors that measure a temperature of a corresponding one of the pair of vehicle components; and

a controller having a temperature performance diagnostic algorithm, wherein the algorithm calculates an average temperature of the pair of vehicle components, and individually diagnoses the performance of each of the first plurality of temperature sensors using the average temperature.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a transmission and an electronics cooling loop for cooling the PIM, wherein the pair of vehicle components includes at least one of the transmission and the cooling loop.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the pair of vehicle components includes each of the transmission and the electronics cooling loop.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the first and the second plurality of temperature sensors are positive-temperature coefficient thermistors.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the controller is a motor control processor which is electrically connected to the MGU.

6. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the algorithm individually diagnoses each of the first plurality of temperature sensors using the average temperature by individually comparing measurements from each of the first plurality of temperature sensors to the average temperature.

7. A control circuit for use aboard a vehicle having a three-phase power inverter module (PIM), a motor/generator unit (MGU) electrically connected to the PIM and having a motor winding, and a pair of vehicle components, the control circuit comprising:

a first plurality of temperature sensors, wherein one of the first plurality of temperature sensors is configured to measure a temperature of the motor winding, and wherein each of the remaining sensors of the first plurality of temperature sensors is adapted to measure a temperature of a different corresponding phase output of the PIM;

a second plurality of temperature sensors each adapted for measuring a temperature of a corresponding one of the pair of vehicle components; and

a controller having a temperature performance diagnostic algorithm, wherein the algorithm calculates an average temperature of the pair of vehicle components, and individually diagnoses the performance of each of the first plurality of temperature sensors using the average temperature.

8. The control circuit of claim 7 , wherein the pair of vehicle components includes each of a transmission and an electronics cooling loop for cooling the PIM.

9. The control circuit of claim 7 , wherein at least some of the first and the second plurality of temperature sensors are thermistors.

10. The control circuit of claim 8 , wherein the controller is a motor control processor which is electrically connected to the MGU.

11. The control circuit of claim 7 , wherein the algorithm individually diagnoses the performance of each of the first plurality of temperature sensors using the average temperature by individually comparing measurements from each of the plurality of temperature sensors to the average temperature.

12. A temperature performance diagnostic method for use aboard a vehicle having a three-phase power inverter module (PIM), a motor/generator unit (MGU) electrically connected to the PIM and having a motor winding, and a pair of vehicle components, the method comprising:

using a first plurality of temperature sensors to measure a temperature of the motor winding and a temperature of a different corresponding phase output of the PIM;

using a second plurality of temperature sensors to measure a temperature of a corresponding one of the pair of vehicle components;

calculating an average temperature of the pair of additional vehicle components; and

individually diagnosing the performance of each of the first plurality of temperature sensors using the average temperature.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least some of the first and the second plurality of temperature sensors are thermistors.

14. The method of claim 12 , the vehicle further including a transmission and an electronics cooling loop for cooling the PIM, wherein calculating an average temperature of the pair of vehicle components including calculating an average temperature of the transmission and the electronics cooling loop.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein individually diagnosing the performance of each of the first plurality of temperature includes comparing measurements from each of the plurality of temperature sensors to the average temperature.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the vehicle includes a motor control processor (MCP) adapted for controlling the MGU and executing the method, and a hybrid control processor (HCP) in communication with the MCP, the method further comprising:

transmitting a diagnostic pass/fail result from the MCP to the HCP, and using the HCP to generate and record a diagnostic code.