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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Mass Air Flow (MAF)


The Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) in a car responds to the amount of air flowing through the air intake. Most cars have this, others may have a Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor (MAP) sensor. The MAF sensor has a thin wire that gets hot and measures the amount of air flowing into the engine. The computer then reads this accurate data and makes decisions based on this data. Over time, the sensors can accumulate dirt and oils which can reduce its accuracy. It may cause the engine to have a rougher idle, a slower throttle response, and torque converter slips.




Buying a MAF cleaner can be bought at your local auto store for about 5 dollars. This is simple 10 minute job that anyone can do. Depending on your car you may need a 10mm. socket, a Philips screwdriver or a Flathead screwdriver to remove the air intake. The air intake is removed from the air filter box. Or the MAF can be pulled out depending how it was built in the system. The cleaner is simply sprayed on the hot wires and let to dry. To finish the job, just assemble everything the way it was.




Side view of the MAF sensor with the air intake removed.
The MAF sensor reads the temperature and the amount of air flowing in the air intake. A clean MAF sensor will keep your mpg at its optimum, while a dirty MAF sensor will decrease your gas mileage. The voltage readings from the MAF Sensor are the first to be calculated in the air/gas ratio. Once the data is registered the computer sets the parameters for the combustion process in order to achieve maximum efficiency therefore saving you money and gas. If you liked what you read, please feel free to look at my other articles that can help you gain knowledge, save money, maintain your cars performance, save gas, and pollute less CO2 in  our environment. A click on any ad will be greatly appreciated as I will look for advanced methods of  gas mileage increment,.

8 comments:

  1. A mass air flow sensor is used to find out the mass of air entering a fuel-injected internal combustion engine. The air mass information is necessary for the engine control unit (ECU) to balance and deliver the correct fuel mass to the engine. Air changes its density as it expands and contracts with temperature and pressure.

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  2. I recently put an air intake on my car. I first left the MAF sensor uninstalled, and just ran it with the air temp sensor, and it ran great. But then I thought to myself, I better but that MAF sensor in there to just to be sure my car gets everything it needs to run. But once I but it in there, the car felt like the horsepower was restricted. The acceleration was poor, and the response was crappy. I then took it off, and the car ran as great as before. Is it really important to have the sensor installed?

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    Replies
    1. Having the sensor is necessary. Check for any vacuum leaks, make sure the MAF sensor is clean, and lastly disconnect the battery to reset the computer so that it can relearn its parameters. You may be also placing the sensor in the wrong location, hope this helps. Good luck.

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  3. Works really good now. Disconnecting and connecting the battery did the trick. Thanks very much!

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  4. I like the valuable info you provide on your articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and check again right here regularly. I’m quite certain I will be informed a lot of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!Gas Flow Meter: GFM100.

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  5. Does relpacement map affect fuel mileage I recently installed duralast map and noticed a decrease of m/gallon the oem is delphi

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    Replies
    1. Try cleaning your throttle body as well and reset the CPU. Disconnect the terminals of the battery for at least 30 mins and reconnect the terminals. Your car should relearn its parameters.

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