Causes and symptoms of faulty MAF
The most obvious and early symptom of faulty MAF or bad is the flickering illumination of the instrument panel. However, this effect may cause a malfunction. It is therefore necessary to test the car's trip computer to ensure that it is connected with the sensor mass air flow.
Since the MAF plays an important role in maintaining the proper balance of air and fuel inside the engine, its failure can cause a number of problems with the performance of the power unit. They can include a small mileage after refueling, trembling with the engine running, problems starting of the engine, knocking or noises. These signs can appear much earlier than the MAF will reach a critical state and the instrument panel indicator lights, reporting damage.
Sometimes the sensor mass air flow contaminated and therefore start to not work. Despite the fact that the air passing through the MAF, clean it, microscopic particles of debris accumulate on its internal surfaces. Large concentrations of pollutants lead to failure. In this case, the part can be returned to original condition by simple treatment. However, it is worth remembering that the sensor is a very delicate device and careless handling it may come in complete disrepair.
There are other causes of faulty MAF. For example, if the device is all right, corrugated wire, which connects it with the onboard computer, can come into disrepair. As a result, the signal is fed to the CPU with a delay that will adversely affect engine operation. To make sure it is working, you need to ring the wire with a multimeter or other similar device.
Diagnosis
The mechanic can check the on-Board computer in the service center. You can also do this yourself using a digital scanner to diagnose. Such scanners are available in most auto parts stores. And though they all work slightly differently, they generally designed for connection to the port for vehicle diagnostics to OBD-II. So all scanners can read the data from the computer.
After scanning, the scanner will display one or more alphanumeric codes, which can be decrypted using the Handbook. More advanced models display summary information about the code on the screen. If after decoding it becomes clear that the problem concerns with DFID, it must be replaced or repaired. It is worth noting that the sensors are mass air flow rarely be repaired, as they are easier and cheaper to just replace.