Knock Sensor Light

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by rottenronnie, Jul 21, 2019.

Car Parts
  1. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    I think we are the only 2 members online. I miss being able to argue with Tony and Greg Good (sometimes) .:p
     
  2. Psycho1122

    Psycho1122 Full Access Member

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    A Few facts to add to this discussion..... The Factory Cold Air (ambient) feed to the engine DOES WORK. Especially if you keep the grill block off panels that have the "scoop" that forces a slice of high velocity, high volume air into the fender cavity. This is where the air slows down and recovers "some" pressure that the "Airbox" with the filter in it draws from. If your moving at anything over 40 MPH, it is working. In addition, it directs airflow over the Coolant-to-oil "heat ex-changer" to moderate oil temperature not to mention the incredible Aero and handling benefits from the block off's. I have observed on my truck that the system ALWAYS stays within 6 degrees of ambient with full heat soak even on the hottest days out here in Arizona ;) That is impressive when you consider how much heat is dissipated from the engine under performance driving conditions. Also, when the ECU starts to pull timing at 104 degrees IAT, it is good to know (Like sitting at a light and temps rise) that getting on it or into a race now is not the time to do it. However, it does not take long once road speed and RPM come up that the factory intake recovers to the coolest possible temperature. Even better when the ambient temperature is well below 104. I have considered many times to add a "tiny" mist of water/meth to super cool the intake charge... Especially out here in AZ with our HOT and DRY conditions. I never pulled the trigger due to possible "stick-on" failure as Ronnie mentioned and time. I was however equipped with an additional "airbox" to put it together.

    Re; Tunes...Yes, "canned tunes" do not promote optimal performance. It is true that they are insidiously too rich. I was able to work with Torrie via e-mail to get my tune proper for my conditions. The "Road Dyno" was utilized. 4th gear pulls from 2K to 5,500 rpm and data logging with my AEM wideband. I would feed Torrie my environmental conditions and the A/F data. In return he would modify my tune and send it back. I rename and reload the tune and re-test. Voila'!! A Great tune that was never too lean or rich. (12.5 - 12.7:1 A/F average across the rev range). The lucky new owner of my truck now has all the custom tunes Torrie and I did back in the day.

    Cheers!
     
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  3. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Agreed. The factory intake system works very well. In fact, even on a hot day (and the vehicle has been moving and not sitting still for a long time) , you can pull over, pop the hood and check out the temp of the intake close to the throttle body, it is surprisingly cool to touch.
    The small mister idea could work particularly with a k&n drop-in as the element is oiled and shouldn't be bothered at all by water.
    I know some guys relocated their ambient temperature sensor with a little extra wire to relocate it outside of the engine bay. If it's alreasy 100+F outside, this won't really help, and you likely should be letting the ecu pull timing anyway.;)
     
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  4. VIPR PWR

    VIPR PWR Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Defiantly not many left on here ... nothing like the older days .. always something good , bad and sometimes ugly goin on lol
     
  5. Psycho1122

    Psycho1122 Full Access Member

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    Yep! My experience exactly. I was considering the micro mist (60 ml/min or smaller jet) just after the K&N at the exit plenum of the filter box. Have the system come in at 3 -3.5 Volts MAP. Allows ample time to evaporate and exchange heat prior to the bend into the intake and move across the IAT sensor. :D
    If you have ever vacuumed up some water droplets with a shop vac on a dry, hot day... the hose will turn "chilly" in your hands. That is the objective from my end. ;)

    Cheers!
     
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  6. Tcorsrt10

    Tcorsrt10 New Member

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  7. Tcorsrt10

    Tcorsrt10 New Member

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    Without reading all the comments, I would be interested seeing how this plays out. I also have a 1987 Buick Grand National, these cars came with a factory knock sensor. Aftermarket products through Casper’s electronics will have audible and visual indicators for this set up. I can see it working well on our SRT10 trucks.
     
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  8. Redtruck-VA

    Redtruck-VA New Member

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    Aeroforce Interceptor guage allows you to set "alerts". I have mine set to knock voltage and a red light comes on at the preset voltage level. Plus it just plugs into the OBDII port. Besides reading most all the the OEM onboard sensors it has a couple anolog inputs.
     
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  9. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    I'm not sure if Chuck Berry understood that cooler air holds more oxygen (to help his Ford catch the Caddie in the song Maybeline) BUT moisture itself takes up valuable room for oxygen; OR he was just going for the engine cooling effect of the mist from the rain.
    I like your mister idea. You'd just have to play with the volume of water to find that water amount vs. desired cooling from same. Have fun!
     
  10. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Thanks REDTRUCK-VA!
     
  11. NukeGM/Ford

    NukeGM/Ford Active Member

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    Following. Dyno pulls show knock sensors pulling timing and upwards of 200whp on Zilla. Verified through sct/laptop data logging program from Torrie while drag racing.
    Been thinking about disabling knock tune for track only but would still like to know WHEN its happening.
    At 97k miles I'm going to replace them now but hooking up a light while the intake is off would be nice
     
  12. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    And that's the whole point here. Turning off the knock sensors and dropping to sea-level is arguably dangerous without knowing if/when detonation is nearby.
    A light would make it clear if there was an issue or not.
     
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  13. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    If your replacing the knock sensors, it's important to get the attaching bolt torque right. I forget what it is off the top of my head but I'll post it tonight if you want.
     
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  14. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Looking at something called Knocksense. Their kit pulls from the knock sensor(s) so it may affect incoming ecu data and/or trip a check engine light.

    Maybe the Aeroforce unit mentioned by REDTRUCK-VA would be the way to go.

    The adventure continues.
     
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  15. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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  16. Slitherbeast

    Slitherbeast Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Is there NO aftermarket Knock sensor you can add to the block?
     
  17. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    The 05 and 06 have a couple on top, under the intake. It wouldn't be too tough to install them from scratch on an engine that doesn't have any. Sending that data to the ecu to have it pull timing at some predetermined level would be the much tougher part.
    For what I'm trying to do, as the knock sensors are unpowered, the small signal they produce under knock needs to be cleanly amplified enough to turn on a light of some sort. I'm working with a guy online to do just that.
     
  18. NukeGM/Ford

    NukeGM/Ford Active Member

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    Ronnie, did you ever find the knock sensor bolt torque info?
     
  19. rottenronnie

    rottenronnie Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Yes:

    According to John Edwards (engine assembler for FCA) it is 20 lbs. ft. dry.
     
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  20. NukeGM/Ford

    NukeGM/Ford Active Member

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    Thank you