1G knock sensor voodoo

[Eclipsethis90]

Recently rebuilt my head and remote mounted my ignition coil pack. Now I am pulling a code 31 Knock sensor CEL, but six months ago i replaced the knock sensor. Done some logs, all seems normal except when under acceleration (sometimes light and heavy) I will pull 9 counts of knock, no more no less for very short bursts on the logger. It is a pretty sporadic occurrence, but never at idle or under light throttle cruising. I have factory manuals and I have done the only test for the wiring harness. I should have 8-11 volts on the positive side of the harness. I am only pulling 5.8 volts. Now i assumed when i did the test that the engine should be off and the ignition on. Now the only thing i hear is the pcv rattling around and tomorrow i am taking it off to see if that may be an issue. One other thing i just noticed tonight is my intake cam skipped a tooth so the gear is on tooth off in a clockwise motion. I know i need to fix that asap, but i am hunting down a 8 X 1.25 threaded rod since my batt hold down is not able to do timing belt adjustments any longer. Any ideas?

 

[1stGenRocks]

if you timing belt skipped then you need to do more then just loosen it and put it back. if the tensioner and everything is working correctly the tbelt shouldnt slip.

 

[Eclipsethis90]

All the timing equipment is new, i think i missed it when i put it back together this last time. You know how it goes... late night + beer = bolts left over

 

[LessIsMore]

Check the connection and make sure its fully seated. I had the same problem, check engine light, 9 counts of knock under acceleration with a new knock sensor. Turned out I jammed the knock sensor side of the connection too far into the support (on the Y brace behind the intake manifold). This made it impossible for the harness side coming from the firewall to fully seat into the knock sensor connection.

I was also pulling only ~5 volts when I tested it, but once I made sure the connector was fully seated the code went away and knock counts returned to normal.

The car will go into safe mode when it throws that code and will not advance timing. Therefore it will be slow as a dog.

I find it easier just to unbolt the tensioner and compress it SLOWLY in a vice/clamp. The threaded rod is just such a pain in the ass, especialy if you've done multiple timing belt jobs.

 

[Eclipsethis90]

Thanks for the idea with the bracket, you bet i'll play with that one this weekend. I am going to use the threaded rod method and zip tie the exhaust cam gear to the belt then lock the exhaust cam in place with my wrench. Then loosen the intake cam gear and wiggle it counter clockwise a tooth and poof, fixed my odd idle. If anyone else has an idea i'd love to hear it. Also I agree the threaded rod method is a pain in the arse but this time I am not ripping the whole thing apart like i had to last time.

 

[Eclipsethis90]

Little update, got the timing fixed and check the wiring again. Still pulling a CEL even after clearing the ecu codes with my logger. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Eclipsethis90]

Just in case anyone is still watching this thread. I checked the wiring and lined up an ecu to borrow and bought a new knock sensor. Well i must have had a bad sensor since it only lasted one year. Well back to normal boost levels and working on a good tune again...thanks for the help