PCM Diagnostics & Tuning HP Tuners | Holley | Diablo

Knock sensor BS

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Old Jan 11, 2016 | 01:05 AM
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Default Knock sensor BS

Hey guys,
Ive built a 5.3/4l80e harness to run my ly6. My last obstacle is the knock sensors. Im planning on running the racetronix relocation adapter harness. How difficult will this be to tune? Any of you guys have any experience/success with it? Or any other suggestions? Thanks!
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Old Jan 11, 2016 | 04:32 PM
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I assume you are referring to LS1 knock sensors connected to a 411 PCM with a relocation harness?
I did this with my LS2 and without changing the tune (e.g. sensitivity) I did log Knock when I tried too much advance.
In other posts I recall people either increasing or decreasing the sensitivity a bit, but I don't recall which way and I cannot find those threads now.
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Old Jan 11, 2016 | 04:53 PM
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Well yeah the 5.3 harness has the single two wire connector for the knock sensors and my ly6 has the knock sensors on the side of the block like the ls2. So I was going to use the adapter but the guy that was going to program my pcm said that he wasn't familiar with programing knock sensors… I don't have my own tuner which is a pain. I would love to be able to do it myself but I can't afford one. I want my knock sensors functioning properly though. And yeah Im with you I can't seem to find much info on this.
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Old Jan 11, 2016 | 07:38 PM
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Use top quality AC Delco knock sensors for an LS1 and the stock tune should be fine. The sensitivity might be off by 20% from ideal, but it should be close enough. I'm not an expert on this, but that is my personal experience.

Now, making LS2/LS3 sensors work with an LS1 PCM (e.g. 411) is a much more complex issue which some people claim they solved, but others not.
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Old Jan 12, 2016 | 10:41 PM
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Sorry for the stupid questions but.. are you saying to replace the knock sensors on the side of the block with ls1 sensors? If I do this how would I just split the knock sensor pigtail I have into two? There is only two wires going into the knock sensor pigtail so how would I go about this? Thanks
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Old Jan 13, 2016 | 08:17 AM
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It isn't clear to me what PCM/ECM you are using. As mentioned my posts assume a LS1 PCM. So first, tell us exactly what PCM/ECM you have.
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Old Jan 13, 2016 | 09:36 AM
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I have the 5.3/4l80e harness and ecu from a 2004 chevy express van. I have completed the standalone build and I am left with the single, 2 wire knock sensor connector pigtail. I am running a 2008 ly6 motor. The knock sensors are located on either side of the block like an ls2. I am going to replace these knock sensors with ls1 knock sensors and use the adapter harness that allows the single pigtail for the 5.3/ls1 style to connect to knock sensors on either side of the block. Thoughts? Thanks for the help
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Old Jan 13, 2016 | 09:46 AM
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I don't know what knock sensors a 2004 chevy express van uses, whether they are 1-wire LS1 style or 2-wire LS2/LS3 style. Please research that further as will I. Perhaps someone else knows the answer here.
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Old Jan 13, 2016 | 05:36 PM
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A quick Google search for "2004 chevy express van knock sensor" shows pics of LS1-style knock sensor which use just one wire (the case is grounded).
Not sure what kind of harness you have. There are several type of relocation harnesses, but the typical one splits the rear-of-the-engine knock sensor connector into two wires, one for each side of the engine. Some harnesses also add the cam sensor relocation wiring which connects the rear-of-the-engine cam sensor connector to an LS2 style (X1) front cam sensor.

Here are some related threads, although I'm still not sure what you need:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/pcm-diagn...ensitiviy.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/pcm-diagn...-question.html

Is any of this helpful so far?
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Old Jan 17, 2016 | 12:15 AM
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mrvedit thanks for the help! Sorry I haven't gotten back with you. But I ended up getting some ls1 sensors and installed them where the ly6 sensors were which required drilling and tapping. I also have the harness to split my pigtail into two connectors for the ls1 sensors. I guess we will see if it was all worth it if they are working properly when I fire it up. Thanks again!
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Old Dec 23, 2022 | 08:59 AM
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How did this turn out?
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Old Dec 23, 2022 | 10:07 AM
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md93 hasn't been around here for over 3 years. Check post dates....
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Old Dec 26, 2022 | 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
md93 hasn't been around here for over 3 years. Check post dates....
Tha hammer has spoken. 😂.
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