I'm pretty sure my Mass Air crapped out on me today. I went to start my GN and I got my check engine light flashing rapidly at me while the engine is running very rough and dumping fuel in the motor. I unpluged the Mass Air and got the same result. I'm going to verify this tomorrow with my friend's working unit tomorrow. My Mass Air is a 3.5 inch LS1 so my question is: Should go back with that or is it worth it to upgrade to a ZO6 Mass Air? Also, I thought I saw a setting in my GEN II for the Z06 MAF am I right about this? I have a Precision 62/62 with 4" intake pipe. Any advice is appreciated.
I think Mass Air Crapped Out. Also have a question
- Thread starter 87gnguy
- Start date
Welcome!
By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.
pontiac69fb
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2004
- Messages
- 357
True, remember OP if your maf is bad and is causing the car to barely run then unplugging it will cause the car to run differently, if you unplug the maf and don't notice a change then that means something else is the problem.
Good point. I did remember reading that somwhere. I didn't think about the chip. I'll try R&R the chip tomorrow making sure it's in properly and if that doesn't work, I have a TT chip I'll try tomorrow. If that's it, I'll send the current chip back to Full Throttle and get it fixed.
I did not have any issues with my idle when my MAF went out. It did not trip any code either. When I unplugged it, the Check Engine Light lit up. There was NO DIFFERANCE in idle (which was fine) or under load with it unplugged. Two other people including a mechanic thought it was ignition related. Replaced with a known good MAF and discovered that it was my MAF all along.
pontiac69fb
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2004
- Messages
- 357
I have gone through 4 bad MAF in the past two months and while I'm no expert I have determined 2 main issues.
Issue #1 terrible idle and car will barely run. This can be caused by a fried maf sensor or in the case of one of my maf's one of the resistor chips inside cracked. Diagnosis for this is unplug the maf and if the car idles better and runs somewhat normal then the MAF was the issue. Surprisingly the car did not throw a maf sensor code. I had 2 maf's with this issue. The reason I'm close to positive his maf isn't bad is because his OP says his car had an idle issue and unplugging the sensor didn't change the idle. Your problem is something I have experienced as well and this is what I learned on another sign of a maf that is not functioning correctly.
Issue #2 calibration of the MAF. GN maf's require a specific calibration and two of the MAF's I have tried had this issue. Your car will idle fine and will cruise around town just fine, however when you go wot the car will buck horribly like you're out of fuel, or like the car is hitting the rev limiter. Unplugging the maf will not cause the the idle to improve as there was nothing wrong with the idle to begin with , nonetheless if you unplug the maf you will notice a difference when the boost kicks in, however the best way I have learned to discover the issue in this case is to check the MAF readings at WOT with the sensor plugged in. Disclaimer "I would not recommend going wot with maf unplugged." If the wot maf readings are 200+ then your maf is good, however in my case the MAF readings were only reaching 67 which shows there was an issue with the calibration of the 2 maf's that had this issue.
Cliff Notes
1. Bad maf- Extremely rough idle, popping and backfiring, and car will barely run. Unplug maf see if it fixes the idle.
2. Bad calibration on a good maf- Good idle, fine around town, and wot MAF readings with the sensor plugged in are way below 200 possibly around 60-70
P.S. I'm hard headed and just bought another stock maf today bringing the tally to #5, wish me luck with this one guys.
BRAD_PADGETT
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
- Messages
- 3,560
Issue #2 calibration of the MAF. GN maf's require a specific calibration and two of the MAF's I have tried had this issue. Your car will idle fine and will cruise around town just fine, however when you go wot the car will buck horribly like you're out of fuel, or like the car is hitting the rev limiter. Unplugging the maf will not cause the the idle to improve as there was nothing wrong with the idle to begin with , nonetheless if you unplug the maf you will notice a difference when the boost kicks in, however the best way I have learned to discover the issue in this case is to check the MAF readings at WOT with the sensor plugged in. Disclaimer "I would not recommend going wot with maf unplugged." If the wot maf readings are 200+ then your maf is good, however in my case the MAF readings were only reaching 67 which shows there was an issue with the calibration of the 2 maf's that had this issue.
I figured out the above MAF issue myself last Sept. Backfire at high boost. Replaced the MAF with a good one and backfire/bucking is gone. Unfortunately my head gasket couldn't take the 23 PSI boost spike while backfiring/bucking. In retrospect I should have used my powerlogger when the backfire first showed up. Brad
I figured out the above MAF issue myself last Sept. Backfire at high boost. Replaced the MAF with a good one and backfire/bucking is gone. Unfortunately my head gasket couldn't take the 23 PSI boost spike while backfiring/bucking. In retrospect I should have used my powerlogger when the backfire first showed up. Brad
jasjamz
THS Racer
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2004
- Messages
- 5,982
"In retrospect I should have used my powerlogger when the backfire first showed up."
So true. Learning to read and use the power logger and the scanmaster will save you a lot of time and money when dealing with these cars. They pay for themselves when you think about it.
So true. Learning to read and use the power logger and the scanmaster will save you a lot of time and money when dealing with these cars. They pay for themselves when you think about it.
All these are good points and I'm going to look into them when I get off work. My friend's car is the exact same setup as mine. So I'm stopping by his house and borrowing his ECM,Chip, and MAF. If I turn the key to the on position without starting the car, my check engine light gives me a rapid flash which I'm kind of thinking it's the chip or ECM. I'll post what what I find out. Thanks for all the advice 
Well, looks like it's my chip. I put an old TT chip in while I was home for lunch and it ran. If you put it in gear it'll sputter a little bit but still runs. I'm figuring that's just because my GEN II is plugged in. So I guess I'll give Full Throttle a call and see what happens.
Thanks for the quick responses! :biggrin:
Thanks for the quick responses! :biggrin:
pontiac69fb
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2004
- Messages
- 357
Glad you got it figured out, it's always a relief resolving the unknown.
Well, I talked to Mike down at Full Throttle. He said it's probably not the chip but the ECM where the chip plugs in but that I could send him the chip and he'd check it out for me. I said thanks and I'll try his advice first. So, my buddy had a spare ECM and I installed both chips in that and it worked great and the car actually ran better with the new ECM. Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm glad I didn't waste my time and money on a MAF. :biggrin:
