we had the car go in for a maintenance check and they said the car was running rich.... is it possible the replacement K&N replacement flat panel filter be the cause for this, the car has not been tuned since its purchase or after install of filter...
Thanks
Maxim

 

unless its super hella clogged , Id say no way

 

Not very likely.

 

maybe the filter oil got all over the wires on the maf (which is very common) and now it's getting a bad reading? Clean your maf, takes all of 1 minute.

 

Yes it is common that if you oversoak the filter that it will throw the maf off.

 

The first question I have is who told you it was running rich and how did they reach that conclusion?

 

I would say unless you looked at the Block learn that you have another issue. The computer will make adjustments for rich or lean. I have seen people over oil a K&N and it will not flow as well but on a computerized car like I said the computer should make up for it.

 

It wont make as good of a correction if one of the sensors vital to correcting the a/f mixture is giving a bad reading.

 

GM came out a while back and told their mechanics at their dealerships that The K&N filters that are overoiled could skew the MAFS readings.

Look up GM Corporate Bullitin # 04-07-30-013A (Jan 25,2005)

http://www.alldata.com/tsb/General-M...ndex-post.html

 

The family auto electrician had the car checked out, mind you i live in Australia, so finding people who knows there stuff about this car are minimal, so im trying to learn as much about it so i dont waste my money on specialists in the field. The auto electrician has a program to read the cars status electronic wise, bare with me, i know little about the mechanical jargon, just the simple stuff. My question is how to check and clean the MAF(and what is it?) and if i want the car reprogrammed to run more smoothly and not run rich, is it hard, should the guys down here know what to do?
Sorry if i sound like an idiot...
Maxim

 

I'm skeptical as to whether or not it's really running rich and being where you are, really don't have any suggestions. You should never 'tune' a stock vehicle to compensate for problems like this supposed problem. If your car is indeed running rich, something needs fixing (not the tune). Either you have bad O2 sensors or something else.

To clean the MAF, get some electric parts cleaner that "leaves no residue" and spray the small wire inside the MAF housing with it a few times. Shake the unit a bit to sling off any excess left on it then let it dry for an hour or so to make sure no puddles are left.

It's the housing between the air filter box and the throttle boddy. It has a big plug about 1 1/2" x 2" going to the top of it you'll need to unplug. Be careful, the unit is sensitive. You should search for some pics or something.

Try http://shbox.com/1/maf.jpg

 

The MAF or Mass Airflow sensor is what measures the air temp and amount of air among other thigs that is going into your motor through your intake. This sensor among others will tell the computer how much fuel to add although once warmed up the O2 sensor is supposed to do most of the work. What youi need is a good scan tool. You can look at your o2 crosscounts to see if it is switching back and forth correctly and look at the reading from your O2 sensor. If your block learn is very high it means it is running rich alot and the computer is trying to compensate for it. It will help you to claen your MAF with some carb cleaner like others have said be careful just spray it on and it should clean it off no need to dry or mess with the insides. I know back in the late 80's early 90s if you 2.8 or 3.1 would backfire just once through the intake it would cook the MAF I dont know if these new ones have been improved on but I would assume so. I would think if it is running rich like you think you would have a check engine light on. Why do you think it is running rich?

 

Just to clarify a couple of misconceptions in the above post:
While the MAF sensor needs its INTERNAL air temperature measurement to calculate the mass air flow rate, it does not provide temp data to the PCM. That still comes from the IAT sensor.
The MAF sensor ALWAYS measures the air mass flow rate, and the PCM adds the required amount of fuel to meet the "target" A/F ratio. The O2 sensors are simply used to make small adjustments to the calculations.
Its the other way around. If the O2 sensors see a "lean" condition, the BLM's (long term fuel corrections) increase to add extra fuel over the PCM's standard calculation.
Do NOT use carb cleaner on your MAF sensor. It has solvents that are way too harsh. Use electonic parts cleaner. The 4th Gen MAF uses thin film resistors.
You will only get an SES light if the weighted average of the BLM's are approaching the maximum allowable level (160, or +25%), and are still not able to control the A/F ratio. In theory, the BLM's "correct" the condition, and you get the target 14.7:1. Its "false" data to the PCM that causes a "false lean" condition, and adds fuel the engine really doesn't need. That's the only way it can actually run rich in closed loop. Faulty O2 sensors, wiring problems, exhaust leaks and misfires are common causes of false leans, that lead to a very rich operating condition.

To reiterate what others have said, do NOT get it "tuned". Solve the problem, don't cover it up with a band-aid. Simply changing the filter panel should not require any sort of retuning.

 

Thanks Injuneer its been 8 years since I have dealt with most of that stuff I was trying to get as close as I could remember. I was under the belief in closed loop that the ECM used more data from the o2 sensor than anyting else for the fuel corrections

 

PS so it wouldnt be a good thing to use a can of carb cleaner to see if the fuel pump is shot.LOL we used to just pull of the air box snorkel after you check for spark spray some carb cleaner in. If it started it was a fuel problem. I am a Network Admin for the Federal government now I get to play on the computer dont tell my boss LOL