Knock Sensor

[Mazza]

Hey guys,

Just have a quick question about the knock sensor circuit,

When I first got the car, every week or so the CEL would blink randomly(not steady), I pulled the code and it came back for the knock sensor.
Forgot about it, and then we did an engine swap and now it does it a lot more, my guess is somethings wrong with the wiring and not the sensor itself. And during the swap the harness got moved around alot so maybe it just finished off those wires?

Would it be a bad idea to just run new wires for the sensor back to the ECU?

[zachattack_5491]

If you can run new wires it wouldn't hurt. Test them first to make sure it's worth your time. Could just be a corroded connector pin or something.

[airman86]

Running new wires wouldn't be a terrible idea, just keep in mind that the knock sensor wires are shielded - so running unshielded wire may make the problem worse if the issue is due to poor/old wiring.

[Mazza]

Alright, so it seems straightfoward, just 4 snips and 4 solder connections? Using shielded wire?

This makes me wonder though, as soon as I do this, are more and more wires going to get old? Maybe ones that won't trigger a cel?

[airman86]

Yes, shielded wire. Are you familiar with coaxial cables? (Like, cable tv) Or RCA cables? The "ground" is usually a braided sheath that protects the signal wire from EMI, static, etc.

are more and more wires going to get old?

They're getting older by the minute. :P Certainly I wouldn't worry about changing the wire running to your horn, there are really just a few important ones - i.e. knock sensor, o2 sensor, CAS, etc. I wouldn't replace all of them unless they are visually worn are causing problems, though.