P0325 will NOT go away (knock sensor)

[Devbot]

Fixed the hood release. Hopefully it'll last another 20 years
What are the chances of finding one of these connectors, outside of buying an entire engine harness? Roped in my pops to help me and he had the same idea about splicing in some new connectors and running it to the ECU, if they're easily found that is
Hopefully this will be the last step; really want to put this behind me so I can get to building this into a crawler :yield::yield:

 

[jbtvt]

I'd just cut the wires a few inches up and solder new to it, and ground shielding to anywhere handy. If you really want to replace, spade connectors are readily available, as far as the knock connector you might be able to find something here - Toyota parts catalog

 

[Devbot]

Well, tried to tap a new wire in today to no avail, but it did help shed some light. CEL came back pretty fast.
The new wire was soldered to the knock sensor harness as opposed to the engine harness, which was done for this situation; if the code came back (which it did) then we know for a fact the problem would lie in the KS harness since the wires connecting from there to the ECU are completely out of the equation (or could be the sensors themselves, but given that the waveforms were almost textbook, and the harness is much more inclined to giving out, I'll take the cheaper route.) I'm forced to take it down to the manifold again, but at least now I know which "half" the problem lies on.

 

[Devbot]

Fixed?

Think I've done it. Today I went the full nine and removed the bypass and replaced both the KS harness and sensors themselves - this time using Denso sensors as opposed to Matsu's, which tested out MUCH more cleanly in comparison, and were also much more sensitive. To boot, the old harness ended up having a hard pinch in it (from the manifold) but the continuity still tested fine through it. I'm not sure which of these were the potential source.
Regardless, everything was replaced brand new for a 2nd time. Car was left to idle with occasional revs for maybe 5 minutes, then I drove it like a bat out of hell for maybe 10 with no codes returning :jump:
Eventually I did get another P0171 code but it's because of a vacuum leak at the plenum/manifold, thanks to a good ol carb clean diagnosis, which I can tackle again later. Hopefully this is the last of it. Will come back in a week or so with a verdict

 

[Devbot]

Fixed.

Been a week and I feel comfortable in saying;
:usa2: the gremlin has been caught :usa2:

In the end I'm not sure what exactly remedied the issue. I did read iffy things about Matsu's knock sensors, and Denso's seem to test out much more cleanly, so if there's anything to be taken away - use OEM Denso sensors

Thanks for everybody's help.

 

[LittleCaesar]

In 30+ years of wrenching I keep seeing the quality of replacement parts, even OEM replacement, continue to slide. I went through three Delco crank sensors on a Chevrolet Silverado before finding a good one last year.

Hats off to you for getting it fixed.

 

[jbtvt]

Congrats! Also bear in mind (future searchers) that continuity needs to test out both positive and negative. If you pinch a wire you might still have continuity, but if you break the insulation and now have continuity between the grounded shielding wires and signal conducting wire (where there shouldn't be any), it's likely to be just as bad as having no continuity on your signal wire. So also check continuity between signal wire and ground to make sure it doesn't exist.

 

[IrishJohn]

Hey, guys... I'm in desperate need of some help over here. I have a 2003 V8 and I got the P0325 code the other day and need to get it fixed ASAP. I'm going to get both done, I just can't find OEM sensors online anywhere. They have been out of stock or the sellers look way too sketchy and cheap to be authentic. Can somebody please help me out and throw up a link to the Denso knock sensors and wiring harness? Any help is much appreciated!

Oh, and I'd get them from my local dealer but they want $250... each.

 

[Devbot]

Are you positive the KS are the same for the 4th gen V8 as they are for the 3rd gen V6?
If not the part numbers are;
89615-12090 Denso Knock Sensor
82219-34010 Toyota Knock Sensor Harness

Of course you will need all the necessary gaskets too, whatever they may be. Just so you know, the Denso's don't get much cheaper than $160-180.
You COULD try Amazon, which has them for $100, but what raises my eyebrow about Amazon and listings like this is it says it's genuine, and it's being sold directly by Toyota, yet lists it at less than half of what Toyota puts it for on their own website. Idk, just seems funky to me.

 

[IrishJohn]

I was sure until I checked a second time. They aren't. Thanks for bringing that up.

The only choices I have from Rock Auto are these --

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And the only ones I find on ebay are listed for $14.
OEM# 8961522050, 8961552010 New OEM Replacement Knock (Detonation) Sensor | eBay

They say OEM but for $14 doesn't seem legit. All I've read says to make sure and use OEM parts for this job but I'm not able to find any that look legitimate.

 

[Devbot]

Have you tried partsouq? Got my harness from them for pretty cheap, and was OEM. I was a little wary of them but they seem g2g, and I cant find any negative reviews on them
From what I understand some people like Toyota have bases of operation over in the UAE, and retailers like partsouq are local to them and able to do business directly