I got home from work before my wife and just happened to go into the garage for something and saw a 3" to 4" DIA puddle on the floor about where the water pump would be when the OUTLOOK is parked. The 1st thing I thought was condensation from the AC system but when I stuck my finger in the puddle I could tell right away that is was coolant. My wife got home shotly after that so then I put it up on ramps and got a good look, I could see where it had dripped but it was dry and the reservior was right where it had been so I dont know what's going on, I guess I'll have to take it in. Just what I wanted to do, it has to go to the dealer where I bought it from, formerly Saturn, now KIA and is about 45 min away to get the DVD player fixed, the DR side screen just went blank and has no power to it. I'll take it to my new Chevy,GMC,Buick dealer for the coolant leak. 31,750 miles!
Basically the knock sensors detects "ping" caused by poor fuel/poor combustion conditions. It causes the engine timing to be changed to prevent the pinging which could otherwise damage the engine.
Many cars which say to operate only on premium fuel can run on lower grades of fuel because the knock sensor and other sensors will adjust the engine to run on the lower grade of fuel. The mileage and power will be somewhat negatively affected, but there are those who say they have never run the "required" premium fuel in their engines with no problems.
Answers.com > Wiki Answers > Categories > Cars & Vehicles > Auto Parts and Repairs > Car Electronics Electrics and Lights > Car Computers and Sensors > What does a knock sensor do? Answer: Improve
It allows the engine to run with the ignition timing as far advanced as possible. The computer will continue to advance the timing until the knock sensor detects pinging. At that point the computer retards the ignition timing just enough for the pinging to stop.
A knock sensor assures that you're getting as much power and fuel economy as is possible from your engine.
knock sensor
The knock sensor responds to spark knock caused by Pre-detonation of the Air/Fuel mixture. As the flame front moves out from the spark plug ignition point, pressure waves in the chamber crash into the piston or cylinder walls resulting in a sound known as a knock or ping. This is caused by using a fuel with a low octane rating, overheating, or over advanced timing. Sometimes it can be caused by hot carbon deposits on the piston or cylinder head that raise compression. A knock sensor is comprised of Piezoelectric materials; Crystals that when impacted, generate a voltage (same idea as a BBQ ignitor). This voltage is monitored by the computer, and when an irregularity is detected, the computer corrects timing in VVT (variable valve timing) engines, or triggers a DTC Diagnostic Trouble Code) in older vehicles.
The knock sensor is a sensor that detects the point of detonation in the engines cylinders. The knock sensor sends this information to the cars PCM, which makes adjustments to keep the engine operating near its detonation limit and running more efficiently.
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