engine light turns on after cleaning MAF sensor

[AdamHC]

Hi guys.

Just a little while ago cleaner my maf sensor for the sake of maintainence with the maf cleaning spray I got from autobarn. Carefully cleaned it, didn't touch it. Let it dry then put it in. Left it about 2 hours before turning it on and check engine light appears. Drives fine though for the minute before I noticed. So what's going on here :s is the sensor screwed ? Tried unplugging and plugging back in. No success. Am I supposed to reset something ?

[rysermon]

you didnt squirt it too close cause the cans have a fair amount of pressure in theM. pull it back out and see if you can see the contacts and if theyre still connected theres a total of three. also make sure you plug it in and it clicks.. if you didnt the first time thats what couldve triggered the light and im pretty sure once its on you cant turn it off till its cleared with a diagnostic tool..

[boxhead55]

If your ignition was on when you disconnected it would have logged a code. Disconnect the battery wait 10 min reconnect. All souls be good.
If your radio has a pin you will need it after reconnecting.

Have fun.
They are pretty tough man.

[AdamHC]

I did squirt it pretty close because some of it still seemed a bit dirty and I thought it wouldn't damage it as long as I don't touch it. Still didn't look clean. Seemed a little caked on.

But anyway tried to start again a couple hours later and light came on again. Turned it off, went and opened the garage and started it again so I could move it inside the garage, put it in reverse and before let the clutch out noticed the light had turned off. Not sure what changed but hey I'm not complaining. Took it for a drive and the fuel consumption seemed to be higher than normal but I'll see how it goes the next few days.

Hopefully the light doesn't decide to turn back on.

[Talktheroo]

Always disconnect the negative on the starting battery when you are unplugging anything.
You will have some fault codes stored in the DLC.
The Roo.

[AdamHC]

Always disconnect the negative on the starting battery when you are unplugging anything.
You will have some fault codes stored in the DLC.
The Roo.

Thanks mate, will keep that in mind next time. Going for a long drive tomorrow so will fins out for sure about the fuel consumption. How long should the sensor last and is it recommended to change it for maintainence before it dies ? I couldn't get it fully clean its still has some brown spots on it I couldn't get off.

[Talktheroo]

Hmmm..... can you post a picture of your MAF sensor?
I usually always get them pretty clean.
I use MAF cleaner, CRC brand.
The Roo.

[AdamHC]

I'm a little worried to do that just in case the thing decides not to work again haha.

It was just a few brownish specks left on it that didn't wanna come out.

And after driving 4 hours yesterday they economy has definitely gone UP a bit by 1L/100km

[ashh]

Did you let the engine cool before cleaning the MAF?
If you drove down to autobarn and bought the cleaner, drive home popped the hood got out and sprayed the sensor straight away, there's a good chance you may have damaged it, the sensors get really hot, and the cleaning spray comes out of the can really cold, such temperature fluctuations could stress and damage the sensor.
Not cheap to replace either...

[AdamHC]

I did it about an hour after getting home from autobarn...

Saw them on eBay for $200 (denso), installation is simple enough so I may just replace it in coming months. It's got 150k on it so maybe it's time anyway.