The fault analysis and detecting algorithm for a 3 phase diode rectifier is proposed. The 3 phase diode rectifier is used for the AC
power rectifier of the PWM inverter. The input power or diode faults cause the ripples of the DC voltage, degradation of the control
performance and life shortening of the DC link capacitor. In this paper, the ripple of the DC voltage is mathematically analyzed for the
earth fault of input power and open circuit fault of the diode, respectively. The fault detection and type of fault can be obtained by
comparing the average DC voltage and the instant DC voltage which is sampled with 6 times of grid frequency. The proposed method
can be easily applicable and doesn't require additional circuit. The experimental and simulation results are presented to verify the
validity of the proposed method.