ADAPTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

An adaptive control system and method for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine is provided wherein a perturbation generator perturbs an engine control parameter of a cylinder about a base-line value, and a measuring means measures the slope of an engine output with respect to perturbations in the engine control parameter caused by the perturbation generator. A correction unit employs the measured slope to correct at least one engine control parameter of the engine so as to obtain a desired value of the slope measured by the measuring means. The corrected control parameter can be the same or different from the perturbed control parameter. The perturbation generator operates in a first perturbation mode in an upper speed range of the engine and in a second perturbation mode in a lower speed range of the engine. The slope measuring unit operates in different measurement modes corresponding to these perturbation modes.