help ! mass air flow sensor

hello everyone,,my wife owns a 99' intrigue and her check engine light has been on.. we had the vehicle scanned and it's reading a code 102 "mass air flow sensor low input" we had the mass air flow sensor replaced several weeks ago and were wondering why were getting this code.we had the code cleared twice at autozone and it comes right back on again.any ideas ? thanks

It would be helpful to post the engine size. SII 3800 or 3.5L?

sorry,,it's a 3800

hello everyone,,my wife owns a 99' intrigue and her check engine light has been on.. we had the vehicle scanned and it's reading a code 102 "mass air flow sensor low input" we had the mass air flow sensor replaced several weeks ago and were wondering why were getting this code.we had the code cleared twice at autozone and it comes right back on again.any ideas ? thanks
The mass air flow (MAF) sensor measures the amount of air which passes through the sensor into the engine during a given time. The PCM uses the mass air flow information to monitor engine operating conditions for fuel delivery calculations. A large quantity of air entering the engine indicates an acceleration or a high load situation, while a small quantity of air indicates deceleration or idle. The MAF sensor produces a frequency signal which may be monitored using a scan tool. The frequency varies within a range of around 2000 Hz at idle to about 10,000 Hz at maximum engine load. DTC P0102 sets if the signal frequency from the MAF sensor is lower than the possible range of a normally operating MAF sensor.
Inspect for the following conditions:

• A faulty connection at the PCM. Inspect the harness connectors for backed out terminals, improper mating, broken locks, improperly formed or damaged terminals, and faulty terminal to wire connections.

• Inspect the MAF sensor harness to ensure that the harness is not routed too closely to high voltage wires such as spark plug leads.

• Inspect the wiring harness for damage. If the harness appears to be OK, observe the scan tool while moving the connectors and the wiring harnesses related to the MAF sensor. A change in the display indicates the location of the malfunction.

• A plugged intake air duct or filter element. A wide-open throttle acceleration from a stop should cause the Mass Air Flow displayed on a scan tool to increase from about 4-7 gm/s at idle to 100 gm/s or more at the time of the 1-2 shift. If not, inspect for a restriction.

we had the mass air flow sensor replaced several weeks ago and were wondering why were getting this code.we had the code cleared twice at autozone and it comes right back on again.any ideas ? thanks

Where did you get the replacement MAF sensor from?

In my experiences with a SII 3800 engine DTC P0102 is consistently a bad MAF sensor. Many replacement MAFs are remanufactured and fail to meet specs or are defective out of the box. Especially true with A1 Cardone and Niehoff brands.

Get a GM/AC Delco, preferably new or a known good one and it should take care of the problem.


The frequency varies within a range of around 2000 Hz at idle to about 10,000 Hz at maximum engine load.

How about 1500 Hz to 10,500 Hz. :smokin:

thanks for the reply,very interesting,,one thing i seemed to notice is after the code has been cleared and the car is sitting at idel the check engine light seems to stay off.it apeared when accelerating or giving the vehicle gas it kicks the check engine light back on "po102"..is this pointing more to a air restriction problem (cloged air filter) rather then the other mentioned possible causes..i haven't really been able to look at the vehicle due to constant rain..the mass air flow sensor was purchased at advanvce auto..thanks again

In order to trigger the P0102 DTC the MAF would have to put out a low end frequency of less than 1200 Hz.

The throttle body (TB) has a screen which can get clogged up. It smooths and helps direct airflow to the MAF which is located on/in the throttle body. Remove the rubber duct at TB input and inspect it too. Just undo the c-clip retainer and it removes easily. Clean with carb or throttle body spray cleaner.

What specific brand was the MAF? The MAFs sold at Advanced or Autozone are remanufactured units and the ASIC electronic component used internally during reman. is garbage.

the mass air flow sensor was a cardone,from advance auto.i cant remember if it was new or re-manufactured ? you would think if the maf sensor was bad right out of the box,we would have other problems then just the check engine light staying on ?

it was a cardone brand from advance auto

I went through three A1 Cardones from AZ to find a good one and that did not work. I wound up getting one (pull) at a salvage yard off a similar year and model.

This is a common horror story and other AF members have run into similar problems. Good luck!

I had this code pop up last December. Had it cleared and popped up a month later. Changed the air filter and cleaned out the box; the box had small leaves and tons of dirt. Cleaned the MAF sensor and cleaned off the connectors. Cleaned the throttle body. The code has not returned since january. My guess is the MAF was not the problem. i would spend some time cleaning from the air filter to the throttle body to see if this makes a difference. then try a factory sensor if this does not work.

Good luck.

hello again everyone,,i would first like to say thanks to everyone who responded and provided information regarding this problem.you were ALL very helpful.i pulled the cover off this afternoon and removed the air filter.it was dirty so i replaced with new.i then checked the wire harness which was clipped onto the sensor.it seemed ok and was clipped on tight.(made sure by pushing on clip) i was told by someone that if you tap on the maf sensor with the handle of a screw driver(car running)and the car begins to stutter or run bad the sensor is bad.i tried this and noticed no differance.i put the cover back on got inside the car and to my surprise the check engine light was off.i drove the car around for awhile and the light hasn't come back on yet ? i'll let you guys respond with your opinions..thanks