Ok so here is a simple common sense kind of mod that has been around but is still kinda cool. This is a way to listen to your motor to actually hear if your motor is detonating. Or if you need to make connector ends for some thick cable (I recommend copper tubing)

I used these to connect my trunk mounted battery to a HF cut off switch and also to connect the cable to the battery itself as I have an electric wheel chair battery that doesn't have traditional terminal ends just two 10mm bolt holes. The ones at Autozone were $10 for 2 connectors that were also too small for the cable I use and I need 4. That could be all I make in a day so screw Autozone  

 

Stuff you need some metal  tubing (I suggest copper if it will be conducting a current) I used some left over stainless fuel line for my det sensor

You will need a hammer and a drill with a bit that is what ever size you need.

Some kind of tool that can cut the metal tubing hacksaw dremel grinder what ever you have.

A vise or someone dumb enough to try and hold the pipe whist you drill.

If you are making the det sensor you will need some kind of plastic or rubber tubing. Long enough to run from the motor to the driver seat

And if you want to get extra fancy a stethascope that can be sacraficed

 

First take a hammer to the end of the tubing wail on it so the metal is good and flat.

 

Cut the end off and that is it, your analog det sesor is born.

 

You can now find you OEM det sensor that sucks or some other useless bolt/hole on your motor's block and bolt  in your new sensor. Then you just have to stick the rubber tubing on the end of the metal tube and run it into the passenger cabin, and stick that end on the stethascope. ( My camera battery died at this point sorry for no more pics of this part.)

( I think you could keep the OE det senor in place by doing just stacking the two like this. I just took mine off motor completely and taped it away from the motor so the ecu still thinks it is there).

Now just listen to your motor and get used to what is ok noise, and when you first hear det you will know.

 

If you are using this for a cable connector solder in your wire or else insert the wire and wack with a sledge until it stops wiggling.

 

Hope this helps someone

A better idea is to get a detonation sensor off of an old Volkswagen. The output of that can be wired into a standard stereo headphone jack, which you can simply plug a pair of headphones into.

Yeah that is a good one too. I picked the one I did because of it's simplicity and it uses some junk that I was tripping over in the garage

Dusty_Duster for others looking to use headphone jacks which model Volkswagens det sensors work?

Posted By jere on 12-21-2010 10:32 AM
Yeah that is a good one too. I picked the one I did because of it's simplicity and it uses some junk that I was tripping over in the garage

Dusty_Duster for others looking to use headphone jacks which model Volkswagens det sensors work?

A buddy of mine made this for his sick 11-second Dodge Shadow.

You can find the sensor on most 1990+ VWs.  The sensor is on the front of the engine.  You wire an inline resistor, connect a headphone jack to it, and boom, you're done.  (You might need some sort of amp to boost the signal, though.  My buddy used the mic jack on his laptop.)

I'd like to give him credit for the idea, so I'll link to it on another forum.  The post is here.