Possibly a bad MAF sensor? "Update" New development

[2002 v6 camaro uncharged]

I think a bad MAF sensor may be the cause to all my problems. I did some searching earlier and someone said if you unplug it and the car idles better than the MAF is bad. So at lunch I left the car running and disconnected the MAF and the and if car idled so much smoother. So does this mean my MAF is bad? The guy at advanced Auto said I could try cleaning it before I buy a new one. Would cleaning it a waste of my time and should I just go buy a new one?
Thanks for the info

[ July 20, 2005, 08:34 AM: Message edited by: 2002 v6 camaro uncharged ]

[kinetic]

don't post false info. -nb

[ June 27, 2005, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: navyblue2000 ]

[V8 Killer]

Originally posted by kinetic:


v6s don't have MAFs.

?

[2002 v6 camaro uncharged]

Originally posted by kinetic:
don't post false info. -nb

Thats funny, maybe your car doesn't have a Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) But mine does and its $140 dollars and if you do a search on MAF sensors it seems that other v6's on this borad seem to have them too. If your -nb is calling me a noob than I suggest you look at the member # and realize you are newer than I am. So please don't post false info :D

[V8 Killer]

NB meant it was edited by "navy blue200"

[kinetic]

thanks, and i wasn't aware V6s had them (3800s do?.. 3.4s don't come with them; thought it was just for the larger throttle bodies on V8s)

mah bad. [img]graemlins/bowdown.gif[/img]

[2002 v6 camaro uncharged]

Sorry didn't see that part, my bad Navyblue2000 :D

[navyblue2000]

:D

[2002 v6 camaro uncharged]

If the MAf is unpluged and the car runs smoother at idle and my missing at cruising speeds goes away does that mean that the maf is definitely bad or is ther a possibility it could be something else?
The only thing I notice bad with the MAF unplugged is after a cold start and you start to drive the RPMs will fluctuate. Ater I give it gas and then push in the clutch the RPMs will drop almost to the point of stalling out then jump up to about a 1000. This will level off after the car warms up. But, once I plug it back in at idle the car starts idling real rough and it has a miss at cruise speeds.
I think the car runs much better with the MAF unplugged and I think this is because my jet chip somewhat controls the air/fuel mixture (I think). What would be the consiquences of driving with the MAF unplugged all the time and what are all the functions of this sensor?
Thanks.

[redbird8628]

take the MAF off and blow it out with some compressed air and clean the plugs with some electrical component cleaner or something, if that doesnt do it, you'll need a new one

[arthansen]

Do not get a MAF from Advance Auto Parts, get it from the dealer. I went through two from Advance before I gave up and got it from the dealer. The one from the dealer works great. The dealer said that a lot of people have problems with the off brand rebuilds. Save yourself a lot of headaches and get it from a dealer.

Your next question will be "How did I know it was bad" so I will tell you. It was melted into a clump (Nitrous Explosion). There was no doubt mine was bad. ;)

[2002 v6 camaro uncharged]

Originally posted by arthansen:
Do not get a MAF from Advance Auto Parts, get it from the dealer. I went through two from Advance before I gave up and got it from the dealer. The one from the dealer works great. The dealer said that a lot of people have problems with the off brand rebuilds. Save yourself a lot of headaches and get it from a dealer.

Your next question will be "How did I know it was bad" so I will tell you. It was melted into a clump (Nitrous Explosion). There was no doubt mine was bad. ;)

Too late, I just installed mine from Advanced last night because it was not sealed in anything so I thought I woud try it and if it did not fix the problem then I was going to take it back and say the mechanic I took the car to said the problem was not the MAF. But, after the install the car idled great, my miss was gone and acceleration was alot smoother. That is, till this morning. From a cold start the car had a little bit of a rough idle but not nearly as bad as it was and the car surged twice and threw and SES code while I was driving to work.
I am guessing I probably have your problem I just hope they take it back now. How much was one from the dealer? Also, have you heard anything about Autozones MAF. They said they had rebuilt ones and new ones and the new ones were $190.

[Red]

get it scanned now that it threw an ses, maybe that will help you out more. If it shows it is the maf (not sure if its that specific) take it back where you got it as defective.

[grayman]

try and find the gm part number for the maf and see what it costs at www.gmpartsdirect.com

you might get more detailed answers about the maf over in the other forums. try the tuning forum as well. I think with the maf disconnected you are running in speed density mode. ok at WOT but can be goofy at other times. (?)

[arthansen]

GM parts direct would be a good place but I have waited 3 weeks for a part from them. If you need your car, get it from a dealer. It was about $200 and you needed a trade-in.

I not only got Advance to take the part back, but because they could not give me mine back (it had already been sent back), they gave me the $50 core charge that GM charged me. They were pretty cool.