After cleaning MAF

ren

New Member
Oct 11, 2007
10
0
1
West Los Angeles
So I cleaned my MAF yesterday, went well, car is completely stock so taking apart the airbox assembly was annoying (good reason to get a cold air intake now, easy access) but got everything back together in one piece and definitely did not break the wires.

Started the car up and had a rough idle and check engine light, pulled the battery to clear it, waited until today because I was busy then drove the car on a few errands today with the same issue. Car starts fine idle is very rough initially and after a few seconds the CEL lights up, but after a few minutes the idle evens out and the CEL stays lit.

However anytime I push into the throttle, the rpm's drop then rise. So to my question, is this the car relearning the air/fuel and do I need to keep driving it? Or is it time to take it into a mechanic? I did only drive a short distance for some close errands.

I was quite smart and thought it would be great to do this before I'm due for my every other year state of California smog test so I don't have all the time in the world, but the car does run and when in constant throttle performs as normal, its just warming up to an even idle and initially pushing the gas coming out of a stop that has me worried.

Any advice?

(I've lurked here for years not posted much, had the car forever just now getting the money I would like to spend on it)
 
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Any chance you damaged the MAF sensor element while cleaning? Also, most sensors do age (they get lazy) and don't respond as quickly as they one did. If yours is the original you may just want to replace it. The CEL coming on usually indicates an emissions fault. You will need to pull the trouble codes to see where the problem might be.
 
I went ahead and ordered a cold air intake kit from American Muscle (on sale right now) and a stock replacement OEM MAF housing and sensor. Hopefully those can just be bolted in and fix the problem
 
Mine did the same thing when I cleaned mine a few years ago. Must've pushed too hard on one of the elements and broken the glass coating that protects the elements and caused a short. Your car goes into limp mode and lights up the CEL. You can drive it but that's about it.