What To Do After Replacing Mass Air Flow Sensor? (Expert Guide)

Did you recently change your mass airflow sensor, and you are confused about what to do next? Do you want to know what to do after replacing mass air flow sensor?

Here you will find the answers to these questions.

The mass air flow sensor is an important component of your car that helps in the proper functioning of the car system, particularly the engine.

In this article, you will learn quite a lot about the MAF, including what to do after replacing mass air flow sensor, how to properly maintain the mass air flow sensor, and more.

Below is a detailed explanation of the steps you need to perform after resetting the mass airflow sensor

1. Disconnect Your Battery

After replacing the MAF sensor, leave the car for about thirty minutes to 1 hour or disconnect the car’s battery for a few minutes ( 10-15), then connect back the battery. When you do this, your car’s computer resets itself to the factory settings leaving the previous parameters.

As soon as you disconnect your battery for about 10 minutes and then connect it back, your computer starts to learn the new MAF sensor parameters.

Steps for disconnecting the battery:

1. Switch off the engine. You cannot skip this step. Safety equipment like gloves and goggles are recommended.
2. Locate the battery’s negative terminal. You can ask for a mechanic help if you’re finding it difficult to find. Mechanics can easily locate it.
3. Make use of a wrench to lose the Nuts.
4. Get rid of the negative connection point.
5. Do the same step with the battery-positive terminal too
6. Disconnect your Battery.

2. Do Regular Proper Maintenance

The MAF doesn’t always appear on the maintenance schedule list. Regardless, don’t neglect this since It only degrades occasionally.

Regular proper maintenance will help in reducing the need to replace.

If you don’t know exactly what you should do, follow the steps below one after the other. It only requires some minutes.

Step 1: Locate the Air Intake System

All vehicles are not the same; check the manual or online to know your vehicle’s air intake system. For example, for the air intake of the Ford E250, you can find it directly beneath the hood. (It is dirty).

Step 2: Look for the Mass Airflow Sensor After Removing the Air Intake System

The intake system comprises different tubes that are normally plastics and, at times, are metal. So, take out the engine’s air filter and then find the mass air flow sensor around the engine and the filter. For the Ford van I use, the MAF is just behind the filter, and you can take it out as soon as you remove it.

This is an opportunity for you to also inspect the air filter to observe if there’s a need for replacement.

Step 3: Wipe the Mass Airflow Sensor

Switch on your engine. Generally, you would not want to start your engine if there’s no air filter, but you can do that for this for a brief period. Spray your intake cleaner at your mass airflow sensor (For me, I make use of the CRC MAF sensor cleaner).

The car’s engine would slow down as you do this, which is normal. However, the engine should operate well again after a second or so from when you spray. Instead of using one brief squirt, use plenty of brief squirts so your engine can continue running and breathing. Spray all the sensor parts you can access.

Don’t bother yourself with spraying the fluid inside the engine. However, it’s made for that purpose. While you do not want to start spraying this liquid into the engine, your cleaner will combust alongside the gas, which is the reason you run your engine whenever you are spraying it.

You might get extra OBD2 codes when doing this. For example, I activated a P2197code when I cleaned the mass airflow sensor of my vehicle. Usually, this implies that your engine gets a lot of air for the amount of gas it can give. However, as this occurred when I cleaned the sensor, I ignored it this time because I knew that was not the real cause, and it was safe to do so.

Step 4: Rearrange the Air Intake System

You can install the air filter back after cleaning the sensor and every other thing you took out before you accessed it. This is also an opportunity for you to replace an old filter that is dirty with a new one, just like I did. Arrange everything well as it ought to.

Step 5: Use the Scan Tool to Get Rid of the Engine Codes

Ensure you have successfully resolved the issue, get rid of the codes, and continue driving. If the cleaning fixed the MAF sensor, the engine would operate smoothly, and your check engine light will stay off. After doing this, I ran my vehicle on highways and for 80 miles trips to different cities.

If the problem remains or returns, then you should go for MAF sensor replacement. One good thing is that you know how to locate the MAF sensor beneath the hood since you cleaned it not quite long. You would be competent to do the replacement yourself in place of a mechanic.

Also Read: How to Reset Mass Airflow Sensor (Step by Step)

When Should You Change the Mass Airflow Sensor?

It can be difficult to know when to replace the MAF sensor. Regardless, you can follow procedures that will guide you from having to replace the sensor. For example, a good cleaning schedule would help to prolong the car’s Mass Airflow sensor’s life. Before you think of replacing it, you should try the MAF sensor cleaner alternative because it’s less expensive.

If the car exhibits chugs or sporadic hiccups, you might have to change the MAF sensor. In addition, how do you know if your Mass Airflow is faulty before considering a replacement? Let’s see some possible circumstances:

• Insufficient maintenance
• Engine sound

1. Insufficient Maintenance

Prioritizing your vehicle’s maintenance is important to prolong its durability. For example, a lot of sensors can identify faults under the vehicle’s hood. But sometimes, these sensors could fail due to various reasons.

One common reason for the malfunctioning of the Mass Airflow Sensor is a dirty filter. The filter gathered dirt and clogged the mass airflow sensor. This is one major reason the MAF sensor fails. In addition, these issues make it difficult for sensors to observe the amount of air flowing. As a result, the fuel-air co-dependence system could be put at risk.

The amount of fuel and accurate airflow are vital parts of the ignition chamber. You must maintain a balance between the airflow and fuel. If the air is insufficient and there’s a lot of fuel flowing or vice versa, it could damage your engine.

2. Engine sounds

The sound of the engine is one possible scenario. A damaged Mass Airflow sensor is a major indication that your engine is not properly functioning. The damaged sensor is often detected when you find it difficult to start your engine.

There are things you need to know to identify the issue on time. Like when:

• Your engine stops running after you start your vehicle.
• Your vehicle slacks or dries out when it’s dragging under load.
• Your car jerks whenever you accelerate.
• The car’s prolonged idling happens when starting your vehicle.

Note: Before you replace the MAF sensor of your car, be cautious of false warnings. You need to ensure the MAF sensor is truly the cause by double-checking.

A damaged hose can cause engine leakage, leading to unexpected air infiltration. Also, the ECU might send a wrong mass airflow code, even if the fault is not from the MAF. So you have to check the cause of this false warning and resolve the reason for the false alarm.

Also Read: Car Won’t Accelerate but RPM Goes Up (Causes & Fix)

What Next After Installing a New MAF?

When installing a new MAF, your vehicle will acknowledge the new tool, and everything functions well.

Nevertheless, the engine sometimes may not welcome the new MAF sensor. So, the first thing that should come to mind as a car owner is that your new sensor might be broken, which is very uncommon.

So if the new Mass Airflow sensor is not working, here is what you should do;

Make sure the item you receive is exactly what you ordered.

Compare the numbers in the seller’s description and the number on the old one. You can also check with the supplier if you are not sure of the particular one for your vehicle.

After replacing the Mass Airflow, the control unit studies the correct data through self-adaptation. The studying process can take a long time, and during this period, the engine operates unevenly, and you can feel a defective airflow sensor. Allow the engine to run idle for about twenty minutes; if this doesn’t work, disconnect batteries for about ten minutes.

Before you install the new MAF sensor, do the following;

• Try to compare the supplier’s reference number and the OE number of the old mass airflow.
• Clean the air filter housing and change the air filter.
• Wipe the air hose, ensuring that no dirt or oil is inside.
• Make sure the connector has no indication of corrosion and that it’s clean.

After you install the new Mass Airflow, do the following if it still has faults: 

• Run the engine for about 20 minutes to 30.
• Disconnect the batteries for ten minutes to reset the ECU.
• Make sure you check the rest of the components that can result in such warnings to assure it’s not just the airflow sensor that is broken.

How Do You Reset the Maf Sensor?

How do you reset the MAF sensor? The following simple steps will guide you on how to reset your vehicle’s MAF sensor.

1. First, turn on your car’s ignition and allow it to run idle until it gets to the normal temperature before going to the next step.
2. After getting the right temperature, turn off the ignition switch.
3. The MAF sensor connected to the harness can be disconnected at this point.
4. Switch the car’s engine on and allow it to run idle for 5 seconds at most before you continue.
5. Start the engine again and connect the MAF sensor to the harness.
6. Confirm that the DTC P0102 is showing on the dashboard.
7. You need to wipe the DTC memory from the computer at this point. And then make sure this last step relates to the type of vehicle you own because I am not sure if it relates to all vehicles.

Also Read: RPM Going Up And Down At Idle (Causes & Solutions)

Frequently Asked Questions – What To Do After Replacing Mass Air Flow Sensor

Conclusion – What To Do After Replacing Mass Air Flow Sensor

In summary, after you replace the MAF sensor, the first thing to do is reset the car’s battery. Besides, proper maintenance also plays a vital role.

An accurate understanding of any manufactured goods or electrical connectors would help lessen replacement.

For more assistance, do not hesitate to drop your comment below, as we will come back with further helpful articles.