Today, let’s talk about what are the Major Causes of Engine Knocking. Getting information from your mechanic saying that your engine just knocked is Annoying but could be could cost you a lot of money. You may not understand what it means for an engine to knock but I bet you it never good news. As you read on you will get to know what engine knocking is and the causes of engine knocking.
What are the Major Causes of Engine Knocking
Engine knocking or detonation occurs when the combustion of fuel and air in the cylinder doesn’t occur through the propagation of the flame front triggered by the spark plug instead of more than one pocket of fuel and air blast outside the normal combustion front. When engine knocks it’s said that fuel burns radically making shocks go off at uneven times below are reasons why your engines will get knocked.
Carbon deposition
Some fuels were produced with carbon reduction agents. To help reduce the deposition of carbon in your cylinder but carbon still forms. When carbon becomes compacted in the cylinder there would be no space for fuel and air to reside causing compression in the cylinder that creates noises.
When carbon is excess in the cylinder it causes a problem in the process of combustion and damages cylinder and causes it to decrease in performance leading to overheating or mileage.
Faulty spark plug
Spark plugs are essential for starting your engine and getting it rolling. There create electrical sparks that lighten the air and fuel in the cylinder. As far as they keep your engine going they also wear over time. Its advice to changed spark plug after working a vehicle 30,000 miles. But most sparks plugs can last longer. Depending on the products quality and the type of spark plug
Leaving spark plugs unchanged for a long period of time can lead to engine power reduction and loss of fuel management.
Low fuel quality usage
The use of low-quality diesel can cause engine knock by burning spark plug earlier than usual time. As a result of low compression in the engine fuel. Burns incompletely resulting to debris been created by the remaining fuel component and compound to stick to the inside cylinder which results to engine knock
Formation of debris inside the cylinder
Fuel and air need to mix properly in the engine for proper functionality. But this won’t happen because the dirt has taken almost all the space in the cylinder. The compression in the cylinder increase as debris continues to form in the cylinder. And this will cause an engine to knock if the compression doesn’t tally with the temperature of the engine or the quality of fuel.
Overheating in the engine
Most vehicle tends to knock due to a bad or damaged coolant system. Engine overheating can cause wrong combustion and the overheating can be triggered in many ways.
If engines overheat and knock it’s probable that the cooling fan in the engine is faulty. It should be checked and replaced according to the manufacturer’s schedule.
Faulty knock sensors
Some manufacturers provide knock sensor for their engines that helps detect vibrations created by pre-ignition and knocking. The computer of your car uses this information to retard timing. When the knock sensor is faulty it longer read frequency of the vibration causing the engine to knock suddenly.
You can test a knock sensor by hammering the engine close to the sensor when the engine is not on the motion. If the computer gets a bleep from the sensor it means that the idle RPMs of the engine should be changed.
Exhaust backpressure
Exhaust backpressure occurs when the catalytic converter and exhaust pipe are been blocked. When the converter is blocked it stops proper airflow in the engine causing it to work at a very high temperature that will eventually lead to engine knocking.
To verify if the knock came from the exhaust system check for high air pressure. Raise the front of your car with a jack stand, tap the converter with a rubber mallet if it jiggles its sign that the catalytic material has reduced.
It is a good idea to check your engine for any knock. It helps you keep your engine in shape and also help prevent damages in your engine. Ensure that abnormal combustion is diagnosed on time. And fixed immediately to prevent engines from knocking.
