P0102- Bad MAF?!?!

So I did the iso bolt fix about three weeks ago- thanks to pcitizen and all the helpful posts here! While doing the fix, I noticed when I had the upper plenum off that the throttle body was really coated with oil on the inside. Last weekend I was cleaning these things out of the intake. I took off the intake bell housing to get to it, and while my wife was revving the van so I could spray out the TB, the bell housing with the MAF fell off the front of the van and hit the driveway. Oops. The MAF was back in the bell housing, so one would think that the housing would absorb most of the impact, but what do I know...

I had just replaced the air filter and sprayed down the MAF with CRC MAF sensor cleaner; I took it apart and got the sensor out of the housing to do it right. I know that it's put back together correctly. I went to Auto Zone to have the codes read, and the guy behind the counter was a retired Army motor sergeant who told me that the CRC stuff is crap, that it leaves a residue behind and that the best stuff to get is STP Wire Dryer spray. Guess the guy knows his stuff. Anyhoo, the code is P0102- Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor circuit low input.


So I could have damaged the MAF, it could have a residue from the spray, or both. Wiswind repeatedly mentions 'non-residue cleaner' in his codes sticky, but I'm not sure about the best spray to use now that my bubble about CRC is burst. :disappoin I'm sure that all connectors and the vacuum line on the side are connected. What are your ideas? I don't know what the heck is going on with this, but after pulling the connections and reseating them, the CEL is still there after a long trip out of state that my wife took this past week. It's running fine, and I haven't noticed a difference while driving it. She drives it more, and even she says that it's fine. Although, it seems to want to either stall or slip accelerating quickly while turning left. I'm not sure the two are connected, but they may be, and I offer the info so someone can see this obscure problem and say, "Oh, yeah, this happened to me on such-and-such, and here's the fix..."

Help? :runaround:

One thing to keep in mind is that the PCM will store a fault code, and that code will STAY there until some number of "drive cycles" without a repeat of the failure.
We can hope that this is the case.....as it is the cheapest and easiest solution.

I have used a non-residue electronic (not electrical) cleaner that I bought at radio shack.
Now they sell a "MAF cleaner" which should be non-residue....as if it left a residue....it would not be appropriate for using to clean any MAF....on any vehicle.
Not that the guy at AutoZone does not know what he is talking about.....it is just that it does not make sense for CRC to market such a product.
And I would expect the wire dry to leave a residue.........

By the way......I dropped my MAF assembly onto the concrete.....and it came apart.......and I put it back together and it was fine.
If I listed all my butter-finger car repair acts......this would be a long post indeed.

I fixed the MAF issue- I took it all apart again, then put it back together and the light was gone. It's supposed to clear after three driving 'cycles' if the problem was fixed; I guess it needed some more time to dry out or just needed reseating.

Apparently the Army has pulled all CRC products from Army motor pools because of the residue issue. It turns out that the guy I talked to was a motor sergeant for 19 years with multiple trips to Iraq running motor pools. I have heard from other colleagues of his (not him) that he never had any deadlined vehicles using the STP sprays and PB blaster instead of the CRC stuff in the Army supply system. I guess they got a lot of feedback from the people maintaining the vehicles and got rid of CRC. I know it makes me think twice about using it now.

I used the CRC MAF cleaner with no problems. I did like the instructions said. Make sure fully dry before operation.. But I may think twice now. Of course we all know the Army paid 42.95 a can for it.. LOL Just joking.. Maybe..:grinno:

We count on the product inside the can to be....and to do....what the label on the outside of the cans says it is.....and will do.
It really throws a monkey wrench into the works when it does not work out that way......
"I cleaned the MAF....why is it worse than when I started?"

I used the CRC MAF cleaner with no problems. I did like the instructions said. Make sure fully dry before operation.. But I may think twice now. Of course we all know the Army paid 42.95 a can for it.. LOL Just joking.. Maybe..:grinno:

I was thinking more like $429.50... :wink: I'm not a trans guy, so I'm talking out of my fourth point of contact, most likely.