maf not working

Hi every one I have a little problem with my mass air sensor on my 1988 iroc its seems to only work when I first start the car then it shuts off as soon it stars giving me a check engine light but when I remove the sensor the cars performance is the same so im wondering what can be done to repair or replace

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this thing dosnt work and i dont know what to do can any one help

Save your money on that E-bay crap. I would first replace the two sensor on the Firewall. about $14 ea.

Save your money on that E-bay crap. I would first replace the two sensor on the Firewall. about $14 ea.


He means the 2 Relays. There are 2 relays that control the MAF, one is the MAF burnoff relay and the other... I can't remember the name. Get yourself a manual and look them up. Always replace the lesser expensive parts if you can and work your way up.

If that doesn't work, you may need to investigate WHY your MAF doesn't work and possibly buy a new one. They are about $160ish i have seen before on the 'net.

Are your screens still on the ends of the MAF? If they are, can you see the filament wire in the middle of the MAF? If its there then the module has died OR the relays have died. On the other hand, if your motor is not stock and you are pulling a lot more air through the MAF there is a calibration in the chip that needs to be bumped up so that it doesn't set a code.

get back with us.

ok thax for the help guys but the people at autozone did some tests for me to see what the problem was thay also refused to sell me the parts untill it was done put thay found out its a vacume leak some ware and that the maf whasnt working becouse of it

Did you have a vacuum leak in the intake tract AFTER the MAF?

Simply having a vacuum leak somewhere else won't make your MAF not work. Trust me on that one. I think by now I have seen it all with these cars... that confounded red bitch I have is always giving me greif.

the problem is that i dont know whare the leak is and i dont know how to find out whare it is do you guys now of a way?

Starting from Maf to the throttle body check connections and the ribbed rubber tube for cracks and that the clamps are tight.

i belive the leack is ferther down that the maf but now i think it may be at the exaust manifold

Here is the test that the GM techs used to do when one came in with a maf problem.It's called the tap test.Very simple to perform. Start the car. Tap the maf with a screwdriver.If car dies. You need a new one.simple and easy. I go to school at Nascar Technical Institute in mooresville, nc. I asked a former gm tech who now owns a 1998 trans am that can pull the wheels about it. says that is the test to do.

If you can get your hands on the 1988 GM shop manual for your car, there is a lot of tests that can be run with simple electrical tools for MAF problems if it is not the MAF itself. The Haynes and other manuals of these sort don't get far enough into this problem. These things can be tricky. Just because the engine code says it is MAF reading does not mean it is the MAF sensor. I have had problems with the MAF relay and the MAF burn-off relay (note: the two relays on the firewall next to the fuel pump relay). I have also ran into broken wires, bad connections and many things that I haven't been able to explain yet. This is not a fun problem to have, but try and narrow the possibilities down and don't get frustrated. Trust me, it is easy to do. I have thrown a few screwdrivers across the shop when I wanted to throw the MAF sesor, but they are do damn expensive.