Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Damn maf sensor!

Ok, I wanted to clean the maf sensor this weekend, i know allready that you guys have posted to use Carburetor & Throttle Body Cleaner. I went to the shop to get it, and did't saw that. What i saw was a "Air Intake & Throttle Body Cleaner", but in the back of the spray can, says, DO NOT SPRAY THROUGH THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR.???? What the hell man??

I asked to an employee for info, and he said that I will damaged the maf sensor if i spray it with that product, then he said, to just clean it with a clean soft cloth very gently and thats it. Also he said, that if a want to clean it anyway with something else, he recommended a " QD Electronic Cleaner".

I will post pictures so you can see what i am talking about, so guys, i know this is not something new for a lot of you, but is my first time to clean this maf, so help me!

Thanks!

Here is the back of the spray can!

yeah, don't use that shit, BAD!!!!

use a clean cloth, you'll be fine

This is what the employee recommended!

another pic!

Do i have to touch the sensor, or just clean the area and the surroundings???

i've never seen that QD shit b4, so i dunno if that'll work... no clue

Do i have to touch the maf? i mean do i have to wipe the sensor, ??

I don't know what exactly what to clean man

when you touch the sensor, be gentle, act as if you were touching a baby, be VERY gentle with it, it will break if you scrub it, just lightly dust it, that's all i did

What did you use to clean the contacts and the temperature probe??

same, a clean towel, use a 100% cotton one, one w/o little thingies on it that can get caught on things, a nice smooth towel will work fine, try not to use a shop cloth, but if it's all you got, be gentle that's all i have to say

Ok, i will try to use towel, but for the contacts, i think i have to spray that, just don't know what to use.

I said before it might not be a good idea to use the air/throttle body cleaner on the MAF. People thought I was crazy. Many people do use it without any problems either, so who knows. I use basically the same stuff as that QD Electronic Cleaner. I spray some on a couple of Q-tips, maybe a little spray on the MAF, and clean away being careful not to even touch the MAF with my bare hands (I don't know if that matters, but I'm not going to find out). You will see all the dirt, grime, and oil that was on the MAF deposited on the Q-tips.

So you spray the Q-tips and then clean the area and the contacts and also spray a little bit on the maf sensor??

So, is safe to use then the "Electronic Cleaner"??

I would think so. Its good stuff.

Yeah, that's basically right. Just spray some on the Q-tips (not dirty ear jam Q-tips either) and clean everything very gently like said before. I would disconnect my battery first also. I'm sure you're going to reset the ECU afterwards anyway. The first time I did it with the electrical cleaner I didn't disconnect the battery and it made a frying sound. Nothing bad happened, I just disconnect my battery from now on. The non-residue electrical cleaner is safe to use.

Thanks everybody, I will go to the shop again, and get the Electronic Cleaner, and clean the maf this afternoon.

I wouldn't suggest that stuff from Radio Shack.
It has lubricant in it. You definately don't want lube on your MAF!!
They do sell a contact and electronic cleaner that would be ok.

ok, can someone tell me if this is ok???

and do i have to spray directly to the maf sensor or just the other parts that are near like the contacts???

sorry for the pic, i only had my cel phone with me.

another pic

Please pple, let me know if this is good!

Yes, this is what I have used in the past and no probs. I never liked the idea of using the carb cleaner its harsh on the ABS plastics and PP plastics. I highly recommend spraying it into a 100% cotton detailing diaper like others have said (one's w/o fuzzy threads that can snag). I avoid Q-tips as the cotton can detach or snag.

Most electronic parts stores sell similar products (NON-LUBRICATED), its just that the CRC Lectra is high pressure aerosol to clean large parts as depicted on the can is an alternator etc. But is safe and designed for what you need it to do. Just spray into cloth first then wiped all contacts gently.

I used the Air Intake & Throttle Body Cleaner. It worked fine and I've had no problems. Even the guy at Car Parts siad it was okay to use and he used it all the time.

just cleaned mine last week. I used NON-CHLORINATED brake cleaner. Worked great.

I will try it this weekend.

I keep having the same question,
do i have to spray directly to the maf sensor, or do i just have to clean it with soft towel???

get some Valvoline Carb and Throttle Body Cleaner, it's safe for maf sensors, it's right on the can

I got a can of the electronic cleaner (non-lubricated) and did my MAF for the first time tonight (203,000 KM on the odo). The engine idles smoother & seems to run smoother, but I think there is a loss of horsepower. I have to drive it for a couple more days & see. Strange.

reset the ECU after you clean the MAF

I pulled the battery cable off & turned on the headlights to drain the capacitors. That should reset the ECU should it not?

I highly recommend spraying the cleaner into a soft towel, then gently wiping the contacts, the temp sensor, and the wires within the MAF

you are correct but if you're worried about caps then turning the key to the "on" position (as if to start the car) would work better than turning headlights on with neg cable removed...I do not disconnect the neg cable anymore...I just remove the 15A EFI fuse in the fuse block located near the ECU, or the EFI (same loct'n) relay either does the trick...given time to allow for the reset ~10min.

Thank you! I'll try that next time. I got it though.

I had to reset the ECU on my Corolla a couple of times when I got water in the spark plug holes & the engine misfired & the engine light came on. I used paper towels to suck up the water, disconnected the battery & the engine light didn't come back on. I tried to hydroplane through a 1 foot deep puddle. I made it!

WHOA...lucky you...could have been the kiss of death for the Corolla

I've yet to hear of someone who hydrolocked a toyo with a stock airbox. Maybe it could be done, but it would be pretty difficult.

I drove through water with my Celi this spring during a flood. I didn't realize how deep it was & it kept getting deeper. Water started coming in the doors. It was a good foot & half deep.

Post 1200! Wooo hoo!

hahaha I tunred my Celi into jet ski during some flooding at the top of the year here in Houston...I rained pretty much 2 weeks straight one day in particular it caused flooding so my girlfriend and I were walking to my car in the UH parking lot and saw cars with 75% of the wheels under water...I pretty much said I was not getting stuck in H-Town, and said F-It I treaded water so high steam vented from the hood scoop and the wake of the water was as high as my side mirrors.

Side note there was a spec blue Celica in front of the Architecture builing that was hood high in water that same day. I had my SRI installed...hydro locking is hard to do, I'd worry more about water entering the exauhst before the Intake...look at the position of the exhaust vs the Intake.

I replaced all fluids in my car that next day just to be sure my baby was fine.

weehooo 364..oki my whoring offtopic is done I must sleep

congrats

Ok, so today i cleaned the maf sensor but i can't see much of a difference like most people say. I really don't know if i did it right.
I used the "Electric Parts Cleaner", and spray directly to the contacts in each side of the contacts. Then i sprayed a little bit of the cleaner to a couple of q-tips and then clean very soft the temp. thing and also the little so call sensors inside the plastic. I did not see any dirt beside the one that was in the plastic protecting the sensor.

I don't know if i did it correctly, please someone tell me if it is right or if i missed a step or something else.

Thanks.