Larry Michelon reports that a dirty Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor has caused stalling upon startup, refusal to idle when hot and excessive fuel consumption on both his RR Classic and his 97 Discovery. He first discovered it on his Disco when it generated an OBD-II fault code indicating "exceeding max air percentage". Cleaning the sensor solved the problem. On his Classic, he zeroed in on the MAF sensor incorrect air mixture message after his attempts to fix the stalling problem by changing idle air control valve did not work. During his investigations he accidentally disconnected the MAF sensor, and found that it made little difference -- leading him to suspect it might be inoperative. After removing the snap ring and screen, he gave its insides a good lean by injecting the following into the sensor hole: WD-40, diluted simple green, water, and low pressure air (the latter two to flush out any residual lubricant). If he was doing it again he would use tuner cleaner (the TV stuff available at Radio Shack), but would still recommend flushing out the lubricant/cleaner.
Take the sensor off, spray it out thoroughly and then let it dry. Put some dielectric grease on the wire connector where it connects to your sensor, and then go drink a beer.
When said beer is done, reconnect. That should do it.
Takes at least half a can to do any good
Disassemble the air horn from the MAF so you can actually see the sensing element. There are torx screws holding the horns on. Otherwise, you're not getting a direct shot at the sensing element and wasting much of the solvent.
Upon reassembly, try not to get the dielectric grease on the pins, the output from the MAF isn't much and we need al the signal we can get.
The CRC stuff is uber-expensive but definitely the only stuff to use on this critical and expensive component.
I cant find the 5 star security bit anywhere! I live in Denver CO... rather not order one, but does anyone know where to purchase the bit? I have been to Sears, Harbour Freight, O'reilly, Auto-zone... Thanks
Guys, I thought DiscoMike strongly advised against cleaning the MAF. Am I wrong?
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