Ping on 87 Octane with Knock Sensor

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Just came off a 3700 mile run up and down I-95 with my 05 4.6 Vic..While I was in New Jersey I picked up a slight ping..It continued on and off [mostly on] till I got back here to Miami..With the radio on you do not hear it..Since I have been back here [a couple of days] I have not heard it..I am sure I will be back.

I thought the knock sensor would adjust the engine not to ping when if there was some kind of change in the fuel..I was using mostly 87 Exxon-Moibil and Sunoco.

I have made this run with this car about 8 times already and never had a pinging issue whatsoever in 135K miles.

Thanks in advance.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My car will ping sometimes when I really put my foot in it between shifts (and this is with premium unleaded). I think it`s because today`s gas is total junk,with all that stupid ethanol. Our cars aren`t designed to run properly on it.

 

[JasonC]

You could potentially have some carbon build up on the tops of the pistons, effectively raising your compression ratio, causing the ping. More than likely, your car didn't agree with some of the gas that was in it.

 

[mechtech2]

The car has to ping/knock before the knock sensor can sense it. Then, the computer has to react to the microphone's input.
Generally, we may hear a slight tick or two at onset. Lots of knocking is no good.
Maybe the sensor is faulty, it's wiring, or engine management problems. High engine or intake heat can contribute to ping as well.
Try a tank of good gas first. Maybe that's all it is - a bad tank of fuel - it happens.

 

[AuthorEditor]

I agree that you probably just picked up a bad load of gas somewhere on the trip.

 

[Rickey]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Just came off a 3700 mile run up and down I-95 with my 05 4.6 Vic..While I was in New Jersey I picked up a slight ping..It continued on and off [mostly on] till I got back here to Miami..With the radio on you do not hear it..Since I have been back here [a couple of days] I have not heard it..I am sure I will be back.

I thought the knock sensor would adjust the engine not to ping when if there was some kind of change in the fuel..I was using mostly 87 Exxon-Moibil and Sunoco.

I have made this run with this car about 8 times already and never had a pinging issue whatsoever in 135K miles.

Thanks in advance.



Not to be alarmist.....what I am speculating is probably incorrect anyhow.

Could it be a mechanical noise instead of spark knock?
The reason I ask follows:

My company Ford expedition with a 5.4 modular developed a slight ticking/knocking sound that came and went for a few days.
I was thinking of taking it to the dealer to have it listened to.
Too late, accelerating to merge with traffic the #6 spark plug and it's coil blew out leaving no threads in the cylinder head.

Apparently the ticking sound I heard earlier was from the loose spark plug.

Good luck.

Rickey.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
I agree that you probably just picked up a bad load of gas somewhere on the trip.


That what I thinking at first but I figured by the 3rd or 4th tank it would be quiet again..But instead 1500 miles later I am still getting a slight ping out on the highway..On low speed surface streets I do not hear it.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: Rickey
[/quote]


Not to be alarmist.....what I am speculating is probably incorrect anyhow.

Could it be a mechanical noise instead of spark knock?
The reason I ask follows:

My company Ford expedition with a 5.4 modular developed a slight ticking/knocking sound that came and went for a few days.
I was thinking of taking it to the dealer to have it listened to.
Too late, accelerating to merge with traffic the #6 spark plug and it's coil blew out leaving no threads in the cylinder head.

Apparently the ticking sound I heard earlier was from the loose spark plug.

Good luck.

Rickey.


I am sure it is just ping..I have had this issue in the past on other cars but by the 3rd tank full I was good to go..I had to take one car to the stealership to get it under control..I am trying to avoid the stearlership if I can.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Sounds pretty basic, but I would run a bottle of Techron on a full tank of Hi-Test and see how it sounds after. I've picked up some bad gas before that took a few tank fulls to run completely through--I suspected a big load of water, which doesn't play well with ethanol.

 

[JamesBond]

I have a '00 Town Car (no knock sensor) that will ping on the highway but only after its been running for a half hour or so, it never pings around town or on shorter trips. The worst part is that sometimes it won't ping at all, even on long trips. I recently replaced the factory coolant cap that wasn't holding pressure (but wasn't leaking or causing over heating) and after test driving I couldn't get it to ping. I will have to take a few more long trips in it before I decide if the issue is resolved. Good luck, I know how annoying that sound can be.

 

[MarkStock]

How about disconnecting the battery to reset the computer?

Maybe it got confused and hasn't sorted itself out.