Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Question about MAF sensor

I apologize to the admins and mods beforehand -- I've tried this question at a Thunderbird forum, and then again at Stangnet, but no one wants to offer any advice, and this is my last bastion for Ford knowledge.

My wife drives a '94 Thunderbird LX, 3.8 V6, non-supercharged. I recently discovered that the MAF sensor was bad. The car was sputtering and wouldn't rev beyond about 2500 rpm's. I disconnected the MAF sensor and instantly the car came back to life; runs like brand new. A new MAF sensor is going to cost $310, which we're going to have to wait until next payday for. My question is, is there anything wrong with running the car with the MAF unhooked until then? Thanks to anyone who can advise me about this!

Trey, go to Ford Parts Online . They have your MAF sensor listed like this:

Electrical, Powertrain Control, Mass Air Flow Sensor, 3.8L, W/O Supercharger $124.97

To answer your question about running w/out the sensor, I don't see how your car can do it. That sensor plays a vital role (in my car, anyway) on how the engine runs. Maybe it was less important on a '94 Thunderbird.

I don't know, either! It's my understanding that the computer uses the info from the sensor to determine the proper mix of air and fuel. So, if the computer is getting zero input from the sensor, I don't know how the computer adjusts itself. All I can tell you for sure is that the MAF is completely unhooked at the connector, and the car runs like a champ now.

Thanks for the link! I think North County Ford was trying to steal some money from me! Bastiges!!! Too bad for them I figured out the problem myself instead of paying them to do it! W00T!!!

Watch out for North County Ford. That's where I bought the 'tour. They have excellent Sales people, but the only guy I trusted in Service left about 8 months after I bought it. I never found anyone there I liked after that.

Of course they tried to rob you. They were probably trying to sell you the entire assembly, not just the sensor. Bookmark that site; they have great prices on almost everything I've looked up. We also have a fellow named Bill Jenkins that gets us good prices, but he's in the middle of relocating and I don't know if he'll still be able to pull off the hookups at the new dealership.

Since you aren't running on the sensor right now, try this: Remove it from the sampling tube, very carefully take a cotton swab (or anything else gentle that will reach) and clean the filaments with rubbing alcohol. I did that when mine was running lean and it helped out. I still need to replace it, but right now it's okie-dokie.

I'll give that a shot. I'm also gonna give NCF another call and have someone in Service look up the price for the sensor again. If they still give me the $300, I think I'll have him put his supervisor on the phone so I can let him know that his salespersons aren't being very helpful. I don't think it will come out worded that way, but that will be the underlying message...

Try cleaning the sensor element with a good shot of carb cleaner followed by some brake cleaner to leave it dry and petroleum free. It's worth $5 of chemicals and you'd be amazed at how many times it solves driveability problems.

Go to http://www.car-part.com and get a salvage yard MAF for $35 or so.

That's what I did when I upgraded my '88 Mustang GT to mass-air. Works as well as a $200 brand-new MAF.

MAFs do not wear out and are one item I would definently consider buying from a salvage yard.

Brian

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm gonna try to clean the one I have first (using the aforementioned technique), and if that doesn't work, I'll try that salvage yard link. Thanks again!

The reason your car runs OK with the MAF disconnected is that the PCM has failure mode logic. When it detects a sensor is out, it either infers the value based on input from other sensors, or inserts a fixed generic value, depending on the sensor. You won't hurt your car if run it like that for a couple of days, but get it repaired/replaced as soon as you can.

Thanks for the additional info Rob! That's kinda what I was thinking, that there had to be some kind of base value that the computer used if something wasn't working, but I didn't know for sure. I intend on cleaning the MAF today, and if that doesn't work I should be able to have a replacement within a couple days. Thanks again!