P0102, Running Rich, Bad MAF? Not Necessarily

[JB601]

Yesterday I just finished my front end project on my 96Z. She was riding so so smooth. I was cruising down the road and all of a sudden my CES light flicks on and my "smooth white tiger" turns in a Tasmanian devil. At first I flipped out a little because I love my car. So I pull over and bang on my cat converter a few times felling that I may be clogged. I was able to make it to AutoZone and had them pull the code. P0102 - They told me to replace my MAF. So I go ahead and buy one and slowly (very slowly) get back home and in the garage. I installed the MAF and everything worked for a few moments then she went right back to sputtering, misfiring and just acting plain silly. After review a few threads I took the A1 Cardon MAF back to AutoZone and picked one up from Advanced. I get it home and it starts to the same thing. So I left it running while I thought. I could smell gas like she was running rich or had a bad plug. But no symptoms of a bad plug prior or coil pack prior to this incident. I listened to my tail pipes for a few moments and you could clearly hear that one or more sparks either weren't firing properly or firing late. I thought about the day and what, if any changes I had made to the engine. Then I realized that it is spring time and the weather is cold the warm then rainy hear in TN during the spring. Then it donged on me that it was raining very hard when my ride starting playing the village idiot. Think back to the days of the distributor. Exact same symptoms of moisture inside the distributor cap. So I removed the coil packs and noticed some condensation between the ignition module and the coil packs, but nothing that would just draw a red flag. Once they were all removed the coil packs and checked between the ignition module and the base plate (which acts as a large conductor) oh what a surprise. Condensation was everywhere. I cleaned it off with a paper towel. Took a wire brush and cleaned the all the grim off the plate and the all grim from bottom of the ignition module, then any grim on the coil pack terminals. Gave each coil pack a healthy dose of air intake cleaner to remove any grim that could be inside the opening. Next I simply sprayed a light mist of Wd-40 over everything especially were the module meets the base. Snapped everything back together and instant gratification. A few things to look for when it comes to moisture between of this nature. I was born a Chevy man and know that every now and then you will get a ping or knock during driving, but when you start knocking a little harsh during take off that could be due to condensation. Rough Idle, Hash start, running rich, not shifting properly, - Might want to check that plate. Not only does she running like new, it could have easily been resolve with a few paper towels and some WD-40 instead of a $150 MAF that I might as well keep since I can’t take it back. Hope this helps any one in need. (she might run a little hard and possible switch off on you during the first 5 minutes after you get done, but the computer is re adjusting and plus the engine likely has extra fuel to burn off since it was running rich and all.)

[j cAT]

if you use any non electronic cleaner solvents on electrical wires/coils etc you are looking for more failures....to prevent future moisture problems use dielectric silicone grease on your ignition wires/connections...i have seen your problem many times but never on my vehicles.....

[JB601]

Thanks for the advice J-Cat. I will go grab some. Honestly I used to carry a can of intake cleaner and a can of electronic connection cleaner. I just happen to be out of the electronic cleaner at the time and really didn't want to put my ride back out on the road in that condition. So had to improvise. I will go grab some of that dielectric silicone grease and put some on there. New to me. I guess the WD40 inside the distributor cap is a lil old school that is what I used to do to my 350 when it showed similar symptoms. I figured same principle=the same rules. Thanks again.

[j cAT]

[quote=JB601]Thanks for the advice J-Cat. I will go grab some. Honestly I used to carry a can of intake cleaner and a can of electronic connection cleaner. I just happen to be out of the electronic cleaner at the time and really didn't want to put my ride back out on the road in that condition. So had to improvise. I will go grab some of that dielectric silicone grease and put some on there. New to me. I guess the WD40 inside the distributor cap is a lil old school that is what I used to do to my 350 when it showed similar symptoms. I figured same principle=the same rules. Thanks again.[/

the silicone grease will keep the moisture out of the connections... when moisture gets into the boots of spark plug/distributor/coil it will arc , this then destroys the centre conductor , then the wires will read open.....

also the spark plug boots will come off easier so that damage when removing is reduced....

[peaches26247]

My 95 z34 has a real strong gasoline odor even when its not running any suggestions???

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by peaches26247

My 95 z34 has a real strong gasoline odor even when its not running any suggestions???

your posting here is not correct...make a new posting with YOUR ISSUE ....this will get more results...also this posting is too old even if you were adding info to help this forum member ...

your problem is usually the fuel leaking at the top of the intake manifold, removal of the plastic cover you will see this hose/fitting leak ..