So my car is sitting at Midas down the road right now. I was having hesitations/bucking and stalling problems. Found plug wires arcing, had that fixed (they did my tuneup it was free). Truck warms up, same problem, brought it back to them, got a call today with the bad news.

Recommended repairs
-MAF Sensor (REPLACE) - Quoted: $415 + tax for parts and labor
-Brake Booster (unrelated, REPLACE) - Quoted: $437 + tax (was not going to do this)
-MAF Plug (REPLACE due to fault wires? But just a MAF plug could not be found and would replace ENTIRE engine wiring harness) - Not quoted because of ridiculousness of labor


I really don't wanna pay the shop $1,000+ right now, are these prices outrageous, how difficult would it be to buy a MAF Sensor from Nissan/Advanced auto(?) and install it myself? And what would cause it to need REPLACING instead of just cleaning.


I'm getting sick of throwing money at this thing just to have it get me down the f'ing road.

I'm starting to realize why more and more of you are selling for Heeps.

From what im thinking, if the MAF is this: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=934142

It should be really easy to change out... But if it is all the wireing attached with it, im not sure on how much work.

Yea, that's the MAF sensor, I'm just going to buy one of those and do it myself and hope it fixes the problem without doing the wiring, I'm not having the shop do anything and I'm picking it up from them in the morning.

I think they are messing with you. I could see the MAF sensor being bad, or maybe the wiring to the MAF sensor being bad, but it seems real unusual for both to be bad. And at the money they are talking, I would check the wiring to the MAF sensor with a multimeter before replacing the wiring.

Also, the first thing I would look at is that maybe the MAF sensor is just dirty. A little MAF cleaner spray may resolve the the whole issue for just a few bucks. If not, I would then check the wiring for the plug to the MAF sensor. Next, I would try to get a hold of the factory service manual and find out what the readings should be from the MAF sensor and see if the one you have is ok based on those readings before replacing it.

k_enn

IIRC, you are local on Long Island, right?
You can try my MAF sensor from my truck to see if it requires replacing.
Hell, I'll sell you mine if it works.

If you need a brake booster, I got one of those too. LOL
Just unbolt it from my truck and throw it on yours.

Don't just start throwing money at parts on your truck.

Let me know if you want to take me up on the offer.
My truck will be parted out.

I do need a brake booster eventually, I'm currently upstate at school though, not sure when I'll be back on the Island but I'll probably take you up on the booster, I'm going to get my truck back now and stop at autozone for some maf cleaner on the way back

And thanks K_enn I'm going to go through those steps.

Just brought it home from Midas, the SES light is on and it wasn't before...

P0328 - have had
P0102 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Circuit Low Input

Have MAF cleaner, running to class now though, don''t have a chance to do it until tomorrow.

I'm curious about that code though....

I would try cleaning it. It's easy access. Be careful and very gental when you clean it...it's very delicate. I spray mine, allow it to dry and then spray it again. You can use a Q-tip, but wouldn't unless you have to.

Nick, if cleaning it does not work.
and you need one I found a Few in NY for $100 to $80 used
Inspect the connector on the MAF for corrosion and dirt
you may be able to clean it with some electrical parts cleaner found at any parts store.
also if the plug needs replacement give the yards a ring and Maybe they will sell you the plug and some of the harness.

found some NY Yards @
http://www.car-part.com
with your MAF and possible harness part.

I cleaned it cleared the codes and drove around, was fine and better than before for about 10 minutes, then back to the same old game. It started first randomly hesitating when accelerating at around 2500-3000 RPM and before long when I was at a stop or crawling it was drop from 900-100 back to 900 randomly or it would stall. I had it stall twice before I made it back up the half mile block I was drive down. There was no corrosion on the connector but there was some dirt, I have QD so I sprayed some and let it dry but that was all before I tried to drive around too.


Thanks, Ernie, I'll check out that site. I guess under the drop down thing I'm looking for Air Flow Meter?

There's no way a weak battery could have anything to do in this situation right?

Possibly...it would be strange, but remember the ECU is just a glorified volt meter. It just measures the voltages of the sensors in microvolts. If that were the case, however, I would think you would be lighting up your dash like a Christmas tree.

Then again, if you have a leak in your harness, that could cause an errant. low voltage situation. I have had this problem a few times after wheeling in mud and cleaning the connectors where the codes are coming from has solved the problem without replacing sensors.

It's possible, I guess. If you have a bad battery, you might as well replace it and rule that out as part of the problem because you're going to need one anyway.

Ernie would know more about this than I do. I'll let him chime in.

Thats correct Scott,
if the Battery is low it will cause concerns.
but it should run off the alt anyway .
if you have a volt meter you can check the charging state. 13.8 to 14.5 is is the norm. anything lower than 12.3 and it will cause concerns.
MAF has a 5 volt reference voltage that is controled by the PCM so low voltage can change that voltage to the MAF.
Let me do some home work and I'll let you know what I find.

Nick Your's is an S/C right??

Yup, S/C. I'll look into switching out the battery tomorrow or this weekend in the rain.

Ok Nick,
Did some checking no service bulletins for your code. p0102
but states to check all vaccum hoses and the main hose for intake to the S/C for cracks loose clamps or holes.
a leak will cause a false reading of air flow throught the meter itself.
throwing the code for low voltage.

RPM= air flow through meter= voltage back to pcm.

the voltage signal back to the PCM is only 1.7 @ idle to 2.3 volts @ 2,500rpms. so any voltage loss is critical.

Check List stated for p0102 was

loose connections or cracks in air hoses
poor connections in the wires or the MAf connector or PCM connector
and the MAF itself being faulty

It is a Hot wire style MAf and if it got contaminated somehow it would cause the condition. water or mud, dirt then it can't read the correct air flow.

There are a series of tests but not sure what you have to work with there.
Scan tool
volt meter, ect.