Tips For Troubleshooting And Fixing Your Vehicle's Mass Air Flow Sensor
Do you have a suspicion that your vehicle's mass airflow sensor needs to be repaired or replaced? If so, it will help to know the following tips to troubleshoot the part. The process is fairly straightforward, and you should be able to do it on your own.
Unplug The Sensor
The first thing that you will want to do if you think the mass airflow sensor has gone bad is to actually unplug the sensor. You're likely looking into the mass airflow sensor because your car is acting up and the signs are pointing towards the sensor. That's why you want to remove the sensor to see if these problems still happen once it is removed. Look up the specific instructions for your vehicle, but it should be as simple as disconnecting the electrical connection, removing some screws, and pulling it out from your vehicle. After unplugging the sensor you will see some warning lights go off on your dashboard, but you can ignore those for now.
Try starting your vehicle and see how it is behaving once the sensor has been removed. Does the vehicle still perform in weird ways without the sensor in place? Then it is likely a different problem with your car. If the problem is fixed as soon as the sensor is removed, then you know the sensor is your problem. You can now clean or replace the sensor to try to fix it.
Clean The Sensor
Your local auto parts store should sell a cleaner for the mass airflow sensor. It is essentially a contact cleaner, and you will want to thoroughly spray down the part without poking around inside it. You can use the same contact cleaner to spray down the socket that the contact cleaner went into. Make sure that the sensor and the socket have completely dried before you put the sensor back into the vehicle.
Cleaning the sensor is going to be a very cheap way to try and resolve the problem. If the vehicle starts behaving properly with the clean part reinserted, you'll be good to go.
Replace The Sensor
The other option is to replace the sensor with a brand new one. You may want to try this if cleaning the mass airflow sensor did not do the trick, or if the sensor is damaged in a way that you are unable to diagnose. If you're unsure of what part to get, you can always take your vehicle to a local auto repair shop and have them do it for you.
For more information, contact a company that offers car repair services.