since i bought a used 96 maxima the check engine light has been on and it was the knock sensor, i dont know how long it has been dead for, prob a while, but i wanted to know is there any bad effect outcome from running on a bad knock sensor? i'm gettign a new one asap, but dont know how long previous owner drove with it on, and i'm assumming it was running 87 oct gas too. should i be very concerned on this? i did a compression test and all cylinder was ok reanging from 175-185. any help will be appreciated

 

You shouldnt be concerned because the K.S will retard the timing as long as the sensor is dead, meaning no engine damage should occur because there is no possibility of pre-ignition as the timing is held way back. Only power loss/ gas mileage loss will be noticed, when you change it, you will be amazed, it's like one of the best "mods" ive done haha. Those are normal comp. ratings, was the car fully warmed up when you did the tests ?

P.S mine was dead for a long time before I knew it, maybe about a whole yr, I was so used to the low power I never noticed it.

 

the car was warmed up minus the time it took to take the spark plug out test each cylinder, ~20min at most...is that ok/?

 

You should be fine. Get a K.S. for 110 dollars, and enjoy. Easy to install, check the FAQ's or stickies

 

I've got a question regarding the knock sensor...

But first, a story!
So I installed my new knock sensor about a week ago, cleaned the ground connection, and reset the ECU. The check engine light hasn't come on yet, but I still feel that my car is low on power as I'm trying to drive it hard. It might just be me, but I have reason to think it might be something else.
I ordered the knock sensor from eBay and the guy shipped it in a big box with barely any packing stuff, leaving it open to lots of banging around which we all know knock sensors don't like. Also, I use premium (anti-knock 93 octane) gas, would this make a difference in the knock sensor's ability to hear the engine's knock? Could it actually be that I installed a bad knock sensor??

 

The KS will not trip the light. Check for codes again and see if the KS code comes back up.

 

I just checked it, and I didn't get the 0304 code, thank goodness.

Is it still possible that I have a bad knock sensor though? I've put plenty of driving time in since I installed it (probably 2-3 hours), and still no code...

Maybe this power loss is all in my head...