Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Is It Really Safe To Clean The MAF?

I've read numerous posts here that recommend cleaning the Mass Air Flow Sensor. Most say to use Electrical Contact Cleaner, the type that leaves no residue, & to be very careful, as the wire element is very delicate.

Is this really safe? Any here who would disagree?
Should this be done as regular maintenance, or only if having problems?

Are MAF's on different vehicles designed differently? Are some cleanable & some not?

I've mentioned the cleaning thing to my fellow workers & to some of our mechanic commercial customers, & they say they have never heard that this could be done, & would be interested in more info. I want to make sure this is really safe before recommending it to anyone, or doing it myself, considering the price of these buggers!

Thanks!

The MAF and MAF sensor should remain pretty clean. I had my MAF out for the first time at 80K miles and there was no visible dirt or grime and it was working just fine. I was doing some intake work and cleaned the sensor element with a quick spray of electronic parts cleaner as you mentioned. It's still working fine today and remains very clean when ever I check it during routine air filter changes/cleaning. I rarely clean it, and have not had any MAF problems. Long story short: A quick spray won't hurt it, chances are it rarely will ever need to be cleaned. (Just don't scrub it with a wire brush )

Thanks for the input.

It is known that many things can contaminate/damage sensors - silicone, phosphorous, some gasket sealers, etc.

I'm just wondering if we really know for certain that contact cleaner won't harm anything. Claiming to leave no residue may not mean it has no effect whatsoever.

Has anyone else cleaned theirs many miles ago, & never had any trouble since?

Just thinking out loud, which is frightening, I know!

I cleaned my MAF about 25,000 miles ago with Electronic Cleaner I got at Radio Shack. The cleaner does not leave any residue.. it is something we use all time in Circuit board production without any problems. No CEL or any problems to date..

I have cleaned my MAF with degreaser and then Carb cleaner. No ill effects as of yet.

I cleaned my Taurus SHO's MAF sensor with brake cleaner before. Don't know how safe it is, though. I don't think I mess'd anything up.

I've seen MAFs cleaned with Gensolv (industrial electronics cleaner) at the Ford plant. Funny thing is that most of the NTF (No Trouble Found) warranty returns were "fixed" this way.

Where do you get gensolv?

Stay clear of Rat Shack electronics cleaner. Last time I tried it, it left a residue so bad that the stuff I "cleaned" practically stopped working entirely until I re-cleaned it with a different brand of stuff. Next time I need to clean a rheostat I'll probably use chemtool or brake cleaner.

The MAF wire is somewhat fragile, but not really delicate, at least in the zetec. Like, you could maybe poke it with your finger without breaking it, but don't drop it while exposed. I brushed mine gently with the edge of a torn piece of cardboard to get residue off of it last time I cleaned it (there was a lot, for some reason) -- no harm done. That MAF is, I think, made by Hitachi. Dunno about the duratec.

Ok so after reading all this what is the best thing to use to clean the MAF ? electronic cleaner or carb cleaner? i got carb cleaner but wasn't told about the electronic cleaner at all

and do you clean it on the car or off the car?