What is a MAF sensor?
2 Answers
MAF sensor refers to the Mass Air Flow sensor, also known as the air flow meter. More information about the air flow sensor is as follows: 1. The air flow sensor is one of the most critical sensors in a car's electronic fuel injection engine. Since the amount of air inhaled by the engine during operation determines the fuel injection amount of the engine, the inhaled air volume serves as a crucial basis for the fuel injection amount. If the air flow sensor malfunctions, the car's computer will not receive accurate signals, leading to improper fuel injection regulation. This can cause the air-fuel mixture in the engine to become either too rich or too lean, which can easily affect the engine's normal operation. 2. How MAF works: After the external air enters the throttle, it flows through the sensor and then into the engine, carrying away a significant portion of heat. The greater the external air flow, the more heat is carried away. To maintain the necessary temperature of the air flow sensor, additional current is required to heat the sensor. The sensor then uses this current to regulate the air flow volume.
I guess you noticed something wrong with how the car was running and that’s why you’re looking this up, right? The MAF sensor is the device that measures how much air the engine is sucking in—it’s stuck right in the intake pipe. If your car feels sluggish, guzzles gas, or accelerates poorly, nine times out of ten it’s because this thing is either dirty or broken. If you don’t change the air filter often enough, dust cakes onto the sensor probe, and the data it sends to the ECU gets all messed up. The craziest case I’ve seen was a faulty sensor reporting low airflow, causing the ECU to dump way too much fuel—fuel consumption shot up to 18 liters per 100 km! Cleaning it yourself isn’t too hard—just take it out and spray it with the right cleaner—but if you’re clumsy, you might snap the fragile intake hose next to it. If the check engine light stays on after cleaning, just grab an aftermarket replacement at the auto parts market—it’s half the price of a dealership part.
