Well I did this and there are so many things that make it seem like it's all BS. I'm just making these assumptions on the fact that everyone who did this noticed changes immediately. Ok, gas mileage went up to 110 miles in the first 1/4 tank, 38 in the second 1/4 of the tank. Seeing as it takes 2-3 gas fill-ups to notice difference with all other mods I'll wait with this one too. Low-end power doesn't suck AS much, still sucks because of the intake. There is NO hesitation when suddenly going WOT, and the car pulls like crazy now. At first the resistor value is what it should be. After driving a while if I check the resistance between the resistor( checked with 592k and 490k resistors) and ground, it goes to 288k and then to around 3k ohms. Guessing this is due to the heat under the hood, if so how to shield it? Electrical tape doesn't work as it can only handle 170 degrees F. Shouldn't the resistance be close to the resistor value all the time? To all those that did the mod was the gas economy improved right away or over time???

 

my mileage went up right away

 

1234567890

 

You used a 470K right? They didn't have those, I had to use 2 1M resistors in parallel...

 

is doing this mod better than just getting a brand new ks?

 

i used 3 different resistors to get the desired resistance

 

SteVTEC has timing advance plots for various RPMs and throttle positions that show the resistor really does affect timing.

 

So what value did you end up using? I tried a 592k and a 490k...

 

I'll look for that, can you post if it's not a bother???

 

mine was right at 550k

 

I think I got it. In the harness connectiing to the KS there are 2 holes for the leads, one is for the resistor and the other is for a ground wire right???

 

yup one is for a ground

 

The power went up right away. Gas mileage actually went down for a couple of weeks because of excessive testing (ha ha). For the past three months, milage increases about 10%, same driving mix 50/50 Hwy/City.

 

Oops, my mistake. I actually put in a new KS. Never tried the resistor mod.

 

okay, i know im just a stupid noobie, but what does the KS actually do?

to all those with knowledge

 

the ks is a knock sensor, what it does is detect engine knock and sends signals to the ecu to retard timing accordingly

 

cant find this mod.....must need new glasses....perscription getting old.

 

CAN SOMEONE WITH A GOOD KS MEASURE ITS VALUES WITH ENGINE ON AND OFF!!??!!

OK, I tested the old KS again and I got a 602k value which means it's good, it's really not. This is with the engine off, as soon as the engine is started the value drops down to 477k. What I'm going to do now is make a 700k resistor and put it in one slot of the harness and the other will be made a ground. Also when you connect one resistor into both those slots the resistance is cut in half once the engine turns on. Would putting a 1M resitor in there do any damage or would it be the same as having a broken KS???

 

Can someone make me one of these super resitors, or put up the write up on making the resistor?

 

Write up for what? Just go to RADIOSHACK and buy them. Of course you can't buy a 590k or 490k or 692k. You have to make them. For a 490k, 2 1M resistors in parallel(put them on top of each other stretched out and twist 1 lead from each resistor to one on the other resistor, repeat other side). For a 592k make a 490k and solder a 100k to one side. for a 692k just solder another 100k to the end of the other 100k. DON'T DO THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE A MULTIMETER TO CHECK THE VALUES...

 

i used one 470k resistor that i bought from frys electronic.
resistance w engine off is 480k.

 

Another question, The more***k you the better the device will work? (*** stands for any 3 digit number) What if i got 4 1m Resistors and made a super resistor?

 

i have no idea what you guys are talking about. . . i am so retarded at stuff like that. . .
so if i do this resistor mod i don't have to replace my KS?

 

No. You need to be near the rated resistance of the resistor, 470 kohms, I believe. If the resistance is too low or too high the ecu thinks the KS is bad and goes into a default timing mode which is very conservative and causes you to lose power, especially in the low-mid range. Two 1 Mohm resistors in parallel is close enough to the 470 kohm value to work.

 

This is basically a way to determine whether or not your KS is actually bad, since it is the opinion of some that if you get an 0304 MIL code it doesn't necessarily mean your KS is bad. If you replace the KS with a 470 kohm resistor and your midrange power improves and your mpg improves, then you know your KS is indeed bad and needs replacing.

 

Need Resistance With Engine On!!??!!??!!

OK I went back to the car and smacked the KS a few times with a 14" screwdriver, just bumped it hard a few times. Now with the car off the resistance of the KS is 1170k and with the engine on it falls to 770k range. Gonna go put another 50 pointless miles on the car to see any difference...

 

If you can change the resistance by smacking on it, then the KS is bad.

 

Tell me about it. But I read that a few people had a bad ground or stuff like that and they just took out the KS, smacked it around and it's been working...

 

Okay, yes you can have a bad ground. But smacking on the KS doesn't cure a bad ground, removing it and re-installing it can improve grounding. Especially if you take some sandpaper and remove any oxidation or contaminant at the bottom surface of the KS.

 

One question. Does the ground connection go to the KS cable or is it in the harness that the KS cable plugs into???

 

The ground for the KS is actually at the point the KS base attached to the engine block. The harness does have two wires, but only one wire is connected to the KS. The other wire is the ground shield and it does not connect to the KS ground pin.

 

UPDATE

I got the same gas mileage through 3/4 of the tank I always got before, take into account though that this time 30+ 90% throttle runs to 60mph+ were made.

I was trying to record some vids, so I was getting only up to 6000rpm and the car felt much stronger...

 

The resistor trick most definitely DOES work.

It kept my car performing well for a few months until I finally had the time to replace the sucker. I did a bunch of monitoring and datalogging on with my OBD-II scanner to confirm the changes in performance vs knock sensor operational state (connected working, connected not working, bypassed, etc)

Link: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=2192331

 

ok so this is how you do it

1. get my lasy @$$ up and go to radio shack to buy Two 1 Mohm resistors in parallel

2 How do you remove the Thing?
Also what does Stephen Max mean by in Parallel?

 

KS has only one wire, the connection harness has two wires, One goes to ground.

 

The harness has two wires. One wire is an electromagnetic shield for the KS signal to suppress false signals generated by EM fields coming from the alternator or induction coils. The other wire is the KS signal that goes to the ecu. At the KS itself, only the left pin is used, that is the signal wire connection. The KS is grounded through its interface surface with the engine.

 

The ks is a piezoelectric device meaning that when it is vibrated by the engine it CREATES a voltage. The voltage level out depends on the vibration - a smooth running engine will generate a certain voltage while a knocking engine will generate a different voltage. I don't know the specific values yet other than it's between 0-5 volts. I haven't played around w/ mine yet. The only way I see a resistor working is if the ks is detecting knock and it's voltage ouput goes up, the resistor will drop some of that voltage so the ECU won't see that it's detecting knock. I don't think that is a good way to go. I'll post more if I ever get around to testing this out.

 

Got 0304 code ? That means that the KS sensor or its wiring are bad. I wonder why people even bother to measure the impedance or play with resistors... As some treads said before, IT COULD be bad even if the impedance is there.There is a reason why the ECU triggers the code . I would say that if the car has some miles and the 0304 is there ,just replace The KS . It s an expensive part,but sooner or later needs to be done anyway. I replaced mine ,but actually the KS was not bad (it was a O2 sensor heater problem ) I just ASSUMED that the KS was my problem.It was a $1oo mistake,so I learned something .

 

You don't understand. The resistor is not meant to work as a knock sensor. It is used only to determine whether or not your KS is indeed bad after pulling an 0304 diagnostic code.

 

There are two things that can cause 0304, and one of them is not due to a bad KS. Using the resistor isolates the problem by simulating a good KS.