My car broke down

[dontlift19]

I was on the way home Wednesday and all of a sudden the car starts shaking real bad like its missing, so I pull over on the side of the road and as soon as I come to a stop the car dies. The check engine light is on at this point, so I wait a couple minutes and try to start it back up. It started up but was missing like it did before it died, and after about a second it dies again. So I call a tow truck and he hauls it to the shop for me. Got it to the shop and they said the ecm fuse blew. So they put a new fuse in it, after they put the fuse in it they said it would start but it would not idle right. After a little more digging they saw that the maf sensor readings were all over the place, so a new maf sensor goes in and now the car runs perfect. Has anyone had this problem before? The only mod I've done recently was a cai about 3 weeks ago, but I'm using a dry filter so I know the the maf didn't have oil all over it.


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[Red2014SS]

Sensors die. Sometimes for no reason at all. Usually without warning. It's not like an old carb that slowly wears out and shows signs. Electronics either work or they don't. Glad you got it fixed!

[dontlift19]

Yea I don't know what else could have happened except that the maf quit working. I just didn't think it would quit working at 19,000 miles.


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[Tenring]

Wow glad you got it fixed.

[cajun1le]

Within the mass air sensor there's a heating element embedded within the sensor itself. In rare cases the heating element will short out causing a load on the ECM circuit. If the load is great enough it may cause a protection circuit to trip or activate (Hence the burnt fuse in your case).

[dontlift19]

Originally Posted by cajun1le

Within the mass air sensor there's a heating element embedded within the sensor itself. In rare cases the heating element will short out causing a load on the ECM circuit. If the load is great enough it may cause a protection circuit to trip or activate (Hence the burnt fuse in your case).

That makes sense, so what would cause the maf to short out? Maybe there's some wires rubbing together I can't see.


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[cajun1le]

The culprit in your case can be any number of reasons for it to fail, such as manufacturing defects or debris caught up within the sensor head. Its hard to tell without taking the component apart and inspecting it. In some cases there are core charges for old mass air sensors due to the use of rare earth elements in the construction of the sensors.

[dontlift19]

Originally Posted by cajun1le

The culprit in your case can be any number of reasons for it to fail, such as manufacturing defects or debris caught up within the sensor head. Its hard to tell without taking the component apart and inspecting it. In some cases there are core charges for old mass air sensors due to the use of rare earth elements in the construction of the sensors.

Well I guess there's not much I can do, but if it happens again I'll know there's something wrong. I appreciate the help.



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