OBDII Trouble Code Meaning?

[rocketpowered]

Hi All -

I have been having some trouble with my '97 stumbling on acceleration lately, especially when the car shifts into 2nd gear.
The SES light is on and engine sometimes runs roughly at idle.
I bought a DTC code scanner at my local parts place and pulled the code from the computer.

The only code showing is:
"P0101 Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit Range/Performance Problem"

Can someone tell me what this means and/or what part this relates to?
I would like to try to fix it myself if at all possible.
( I don't want to have to go to the dealer or pay my high-priced mechaninc! )

Thanks! Any help is much appreciated...

[Indy8]

What is the condition of the plugs, wires and air filter? I know these are basics but you need a baseline before proceeding when you don't know how the car was/is maintained. No offense intended.

[rocketpowered]

Plugs and Wires were done by me <6 months ago. I haven't pulled any plugs to check condition yet. Air filter is "Fair" but I wouldn't consider it bad yet.
I have done some other reading in the mean time and found that DTC P0101 seems to be affiliated with the MAF sensor.
Could the MAF sensor be going bad?

'97 with ~93,000 mi.

Originally Posted by Indy8

What is the condition of the plugs, wires and air filter? I know these are basics but you need a baseline before proceeding when you don't know how the car was/is maintained. No offense intended.

[Indy8]

The MAF meter is adjustable, just not something you can play with unless you have a full on scan tool and experience using it. Changes made to it will start a chain reaction of small problems and SES lights. I would eliminate any possibility of a mis-fire, even though it has its own code, the running conditions can set off different error messages which you can't do anything about anyway. MAF's rarely go bad but it could be the sensor not the meter itself.

[kidd94]

About 2 years ago I had a problem with our 96 stalling after it got warm. At the time I worked for a small home owned parts supplier who had a friend who scanned the code for me. He scanned it for an EGR valve code and a MAF code. He said that the EGR valve was stalling the car out.

He also stated to remove the MAF housing and remove the sensor, and to be very careful with it. Then to blow on the sensor. He said that a piece of dust probably is stuck on the sensor kicking the light on. He said that the MAF sensor could also cause the car to drive poorly as well.

Not sure if this is will help but you may want to give it a try.

[edhunt0r]

Had problem with 1998, P0101 would pop light on with short test drive. Also had history of P0174 on long drives 1-2 hour trip at about 70-80 MPH. cleaned MAF sensor wires with small brush and road tested with no problem's. See my post 1998 Aurora - Hesitation

Thanks for the info