Theory Of Operation

Knock is the spontaneous auto-ignition of the remaining fuel/air mixture in the engine combustion chamber that occurs after normal combustion has started. It can occur under extreme vehicle operating conditions such as high engine temperature, high MAP, low humidity and heavy loads to the engine. Knock is caused by excessive spark advance for the given engine operating conditions. Severe, continuous knock may be caused by carbon deposits, bad gasoline and/or low octane fuel. Avoiding light audible knock is important for customer satisfaction while preventing excessive knock is important to protect engine components. The output voltage from the knock circuit represents the strength of the engine knock and is read by the engine controller. The knock system output voltage is not zero due to engine background noise, even when knock is not present. When the engine is operated under high load conditions where knock is possible, the knock voltage is tested to decide if it exceeds the knock voltage threshold. Knock has occurred when the knock voltage is at or above this knock threshold. When knock is detected a calibrated short term knock spark retard to be subtracted from the spark advance is calculated. The amount of retarded spark advance is based off a calibrated severity of the knock event. This retarded spark advance is used in the next ignition event to prevent further knock events. If knock continues, an additional amount of short term spark advance retard is added. When knock stops, short term knock spark retard is eliminated, the long term knock spark retard is reduced by a calibrated amount to recover some previously retarded spark advance. This decreases spark retard to improve engine performance.