got my knock sensor harness... is this broken?

[EstoMax]

hey guys, i just ordered my knock sensor harness from courtesy Nissan and it arrived yesterday. so i looked at it closely today to see how i should go about removing the old one from my car and noticed that 2 wires go in from the engine harness side but only 1 comes out on the knock sensor harness. also the other (black) wire at the end of it is just bare and chilling there while the white knock sensor wire goes through to the connector. the connector only has the metal clip for the white wire too which makes it look like the black one shouldnt even be there. what is the black wire i took a pic u can barely see it in the wire harness

sorry if i sounded confusing

but help me out here, im gonna go try to remove the old harness now without takin the intake manifold off, but i probably wont be able to do it

tia,max

[Q45tech]

No the harness is fine. The other terminal is for the center wire shield.

The knock sensor must be bolted in place to work, ground returned thru engine block.

[EstoMax]

alright nice, i went ahead and made me a custom tool out of a long thin metal bar stock to get the knock sensor harness out from the knock sensor without removing the intake manifold and it looked similar so that confirmed it.

now i gotta figure out a way to put the new one in and HOPE that was the CEL code problem

how often do knock sensors go out? i read that they almost never die.

tnxmax

[ILikeMy240sx]

there is a guide in the 240sx.org website on how to remove the knock sensor. I will be doing the same job soon. Go take a look at it.. its helpful.

If that method works I wouldnt have to remove the manifold at all. I was just planning to remove the knock sensor and plug the new harness and install the knock sensor again.

BTW, i have a new knock sensor at home so ill go take a pic of it to confirm.

They do crack sometimes because of heat...

[ILikeMy240sx]

My harness also has only one white wire connected to the big connector... Although my black wire is not showing like yours is...

[Q45tech]

Knock sensor failure is quite common on high mileage engines [especially V8/V6 with over 200k] where continued exposure to overheats [after engine turned off] and any coolant leaks reacts with plastic sensor body [cracks in plastic].

Contact corrosion is a more common problem. Be glad you only have 1 to worry about.

[EstoMax]

i am glad. i succeeded in removing just the harness and installing the new harness without removing the knock sensor nor the intake manifold. had a metal bar that i made a custom tool out of and then the lil wire thingie on the knock sensor i clipped underneath it with my tool and pulled it off, then the knock sensor came off easy. the new one i installed similarly but i nudged it on the knock sensor and then gave it a push from behind. tricky job and took a lot of patience but im happy. now i hope the CEL will not come on.. b4 it came on after about a day of driving if i reset ECU

max

PSi read that knock sensor removal thing and i gave it a shot but i failed.. ill have to try again if my CEL returns and i order a new knock sensor