Car suddenly started pinging today...

[Twisted2]

...pretty badly. I was getting on the freeway today, and mashed the gas in second gear, as I often do. At around 5k rpms, I heard some pretty trashy pinging happening and, horrified, let off. I noticed my fuel level was around the 1/8 mark, and immediately went and filled up...hopefully with a different brand, but I can't really recall where I last refueled. The pinging happens every time, just as I start getting into the powerband, and persists till I let off. Given, today in CA, we had a sudden hot flash...but I've romped the thing in much hotter weather, and never heard any predetonation. Any thoughts? Thanks.

EDIT: I've visually inspected all fuel and vacuum lines I can see, and all looks normal.

 

[racecougar]

When was the fuel filter last replaced? Are you running an oiled air filter (K&N for example)? If so, when was the MAF last cleaned? Doublecheck for vacuum leaks while the engine is idling. In the future, don't go WOT with less than a 1/4 tank of fuel. :nono:

 

[Twisted2]

Thanks for the reply, racecougar. I have no idea when the fuel filter has been changed; I'll swap that out for good measure. I wanted to look at the MAF element that day, but saw that the torx screws have that little post in the center, and walked away from it. The interesting thing is the car hasn't done that again since that day. I filled the tank, and reset the computer and then all was well. Hasn't been hot again though yet. Anyway, thanks for the info--and I hear you on keeping some gas in the tank. Good advice.

 

[MustangMatt77]

Is your knock sensor working? It should sense the pinging and retard your timing.

 

[Twisted2]

Is your knock sensor working? It should sense the pinging and retard your timing.

I believe it is working; I felt the car bog down pretty bad as it happened. Hard to say though, for sure. Good question.

Incidentally, ever since I reset my computer, some other little idle issues have seemingly vanished as well. I think the computer had just been making some poor choices.

 

[MustangMatt77]

What octane do you usually fill up with?

 

[Twisted2]

What octane do you usually fill up with?

Thanks for the reply. I fill up with 91. It's the highest available in CA.

 

[MustangMatt77]

We'll it would seem your fuel is ok, and I would not think your getting bad gas from multiple sources.
All that I can think of is if is high mileage possibly high carbon build up, or the A/F ratio is off, or it's timing is advanced too far.
A new sensor will set you back about $100.
Not even sure if trying to clean one is an option. I wonder why your not throwing a CEL?

 

[mach1197203]

I had the same problems last summer right before my fuel pump went out. It was weird, it wouldn't do it all the time and when it did was only on hot days, didn't matter how much fuel was in the tank either. Ended up putting one out of a 2000 focus for $65 from AutoZone and cleared all the problems up. I had a buddy hook the pump to a bench tester he has and when it was getting hot it would start to fall on it's face.

 

[MustangMatt77]

I read about another guy with a similar issue now to think about it. Turned out to be a $15 dollar air charge temp sensor. He ran 93 octane and anything over 4k would cause the ping.

I'd hold off on swapping out your fuel pump. If it were going out it would cause you to run lean and you would or should throw a code.

 

[mach1197203]

I read about another guy with a similar issue now to think about it. Turned out to be a $15 dollar air charge temp sensor. He ran 93 octane and anything over 4k would cause the ping.

I'd hold off on swapping out your fuel pump. If it were going out it would cause you to run lean and you would or should throw a code.

It may not throw a CEL, it deends on the time that it does it. Mine never showed signs with a CEL and we had already checked everything else and then one day it finally died on the side of the road. got it trailered back to the house and it fired up to pull it off the trailer and was fine.

I'm not saying that the fuel pump is what it is but I would actually go through and start checking things before just throwing parts at it guessing.

 

[MustangMatt77]

It may not throw a CEL, it deends on the time that it does it. Mine never showed signs with a CEL and we had already checked everything else and then one day it finally died on the side of the road. got it trailered back to the house and it fired up to pull it off the trailer and was fine.

I'm not saying that the fuel pump is what it is but I would actually go through and start checking things before just throwing parts at it guessing.

If the op has two volt meters, heat gun, scan diagnostic tool, and electrode pins then yes he can test or diagnose his air charge temp sensor.

I would not actually call it a guess if someone else's vehicle (same model, one year newer) is experiencing the same issue and replacing the ACT sensor resolved the issue. At the end of the day though it's the op's decision and when he fixes it and shares, maybe it will help someone else down the road with similar issues.

A faulty air temperature sensor may also affect the operation of the EGR valve is the PCM uses air temperature to determine when the EGR valve opens (on most, it uses the coolant temperature input).

A faulty air temperature sensor that is reading warmer than normal will typically cause in a lean fuel condition. This increases the risk of detonation and lean misfire (which the op mentioned warm temp days which could only exaggerate his problem if the sensor already thinks it's getting hot air).

 

[MustangMatt77]

OP, any update?

 

[mach1197203]

If the op has two volt meters, heat gun, scan diagnostic tool, and electrode pins then yes he can test or diagnose his air charge temp sensor.

I would not actually call it a guess if someone else's vehicle (same model, one year newer) is experiencing the same issue and replacing the ACT sensor resolved the issue. At the end of the day though it's the op's decision and when he fixes it and shares, maybe it will help someone else down the road with similar issues.

A faulty air temperature sensor may also affect the operation of the EGR valve is the PCM uses air temperature to determine when the EGR valve opens (on most, it uses the coolant temperature input).

A faulty air temperature sensor that is reading warmer than normal will typically cause in a lean fuel condition. This increases the risk of detonation and lean misfire (which the op mentioned warm temp days which could only exaggerate his problem if the sensor already thinks it's getting hot air).

MustangMatt77, I'm not trying to stir no crap with anyone earlier I'm just not one to start replacing parts on vehicles without checking things first, that can get expensive, mechanics change parts technicians diagnose problems first. If he has a scan tool not just a code scanner then he only has to go into the live data and look at what the ACT/IAT is reading at start up and see if it is reading screwy. A simple volt meter, a lighter, and a paper clip cut in half he can test the ACT/IAT to see if it is reading properly. I absolutly agree it's up to the OP how he wants to go about it and that using this forum is for the purpose of getting an idea of where to look. When I put my two cents in about my fuel pump problem I was giving him an idea of something to check was all. I sure hope he wouldn't go and change his fuel pump without checking it first since that is a hell of a lot harder to change then an ACT/IAT and more costly yes.

Also you are correct that our cars use coolant temp to adjust EGR adjustments. Now if it is a ACT/IAT it will normally throw a code P0112 (low input) or P0113 (high input). Also the ACT/IAT reading should run right around where the temp sensor reading is as long as the engine has not been ran for more then an hour or so. I also did not see that the OP said anything about idling issues, which a bad ACT/IAT is known to cause problems with.

OP, hopefully you get it figured out and it is something cheap and easy like the ACT/IAT, unfortantly I am not that lucky and it always seems to be something more expensive at the time that I have the least amount of money for it. Sorry for the thread high jacking. GL

 

[MustangMatt77]

MustangMatt77, I'm not trying to stir no crap with anyone earlier I'm just not one to start replacing parts on vehicles without checking things first, that can get expensive, mechanics change parts technicians diagnose problems first. If he has a scan tool not just a code scanner then he only has to go into the live data and look at what the ACT/IAT is reading at start up and see if it is reading screwy. A simple volt meter, a lighter, and a paper clip cut in half he can test the ACT/IAT to see if it is reading properly. I absolutly agree it's up to the OP how he wants to go about it and that using this forum is for the purpose of getting an idea of where to look. When I put my two cents in about my fuel pump problem I was giving him an idea of something to check was all. I sure hope he wouldn't go and change his fuel pump without checking it first since that is a hell of a lot harder to change then an ACT/IAT and more costly yes.

Also you are correct that our cars use coolant temp to adjust EGR adjustments. Now if it is a ACT/IAT it will normally throw a code P0112 (low input) or P0113 (high input). Also the ACT/IAT reading should run right around where the temp sensor reading is as long as the engine has not been ran for more then an hour or so. I also did not see that the OP said anything about idling issues, which a bad ACT/IAT is known to cause problems with.

OP, hopefully you get it figured out and it is something cheap and easy like the ACT/IAT, unfortantly I am not that lucky and it always seems to be something more expensive at the time that I have the least amount of money for it. Sorry for the thread high jacking. GL

I'm good. I'm just curious now what the OP did and if it's fixed.
I had time today and pulled every sensor I could without draining oil or coolant and cleaned them. Needless to say it took a bit to get it started afterward with all the cleaner sprayed into everything, but it did sound louder. Not sure if it was just in my head or not.