Helogadget

Brett,

Clean out your MAF sensor plug as best you can with something that will cut the grease but not destroy the plastic/rubber. (Maybe Dawn detergent?) Dry thoroughly and reconnect. When you unplugged the MAF and it did the same thing probably means you aren't getting a signal from the MAF either plugged in or unplugged meaning that the grease is inhibiting the signal.

Try this and report back.

Hope this helps!

LexBrett

Blaster the MAF male and female connections with electrical parts cleaner. Still nothing.

Also disconnected MAF, because it's my understanding that if the MAF is bad the car will start with it disconnected (with CEL). Still nothing..

Should I replace the MAF? Starting to think its not the problem at all, but may need to try to rule out?

Thoughts anyone?

Helogadget

You said you fixed a leak in the intake. What was leaking and what did you do to fix it? Just trying to figure out what else it could be. It was running before, so the odds are something got disturbed when you worked on the leak.

jdiron29

DIY at its finest! Lol but on a serious note, did you unbolt or disconnect any ground cables in removing the headlight? Has your car been repainted/body work?

Bgw70

Symptoms of a Faulty Mass Air Flow Sensor
A faulty mass airflow sensor will cause problems similar to low compression or low vacuum, and will also show symptoms similar to when your vehicle has low fuel pressure from a faulty fuel pump. Here are some of the most common symptoms of a faulty mass airflow sensor:

The engine is very hard to start or turn over
The engine stalls shortly after starting
The engine hesitates or drags while under load or idle
Hesitation and jerking during acceleration
The engine hiccups
Excessively rich or lean idling

LexBrett

YES I agree my situation appears MAF related! BUT when I unplug the MAF the exact same thing happens. Doesn't that indicate that the MAF is fine? Shouldn't the car start without the MAF?

I'm going through ALL the fuses this morning and if no luck then will try a new MAF..

Bgw70

I just unplugged the MAF on my car and it started right up and codes P0100 and P0110 showed up.

So yes, the car not starting is concerning.

Do you have a code checker? If so, did you try to erase the P0110 code?

If you want to go down the fuel possibility, you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from the auto parts store.

Harold57

The fact that the car exhibits the same symptom with the MAF removed doesn't indicate that the MAF is fine, just that it probably isn't the no-start root cause.

LexBrett

A bit more info for everyone:

When the car does start briefly, I press on the gas and NOTHING.

So before she dies no gas is being sent when I depress the pedal!!

I'm going to check efi fuses now, the replace MAF, then figure how to test fuel pressure!!

Suggestions welcomed!!

Bgw70

Did you do anything to the throttle body, spray it out? Is the connector still attached?

Did you remove the tube from the throttle body, my point is, do you an air leak?

Also, Helo and Harold both commented that when you disconnect the MAF may actually mean that the MAF is "Dead" and that is why you see no difference when you unplug it.

LexBrett

Bought a new MAF, installed, and car died! Have to conclude its not the MAF..

Also checked all fuses in the engine compartment they are all good.

Then I started to remember the SAME thing happened to me a few months ago when I was working on my intake and repairing the O2 sensor housing that was damaged by the bad mechanic (ie, that's another story).

In that case I just unplugged battery, checked connections, and she fired right up.

Could an O2 sensor, perhaps a stray ground, be causing this chaos??

Also a bit more information for everyone. I was able to rev the throttle a bit, but only intermittently. Then I recalled reading about my sprintbooster throttle controller and this could be a sign of a malfunction, but it didn't say the car would die line it does..
Worth a shot to disconnect SB and see what happens..

Will report back

LexBrett

Still trying to figure out why my car won't start after replacing headlight and working on my cold air intake. To date I have done the following (nothing worked):

1. Checked every fuse in car
2. Checked relays for EFI and Fuel Pump
3. Replaced MAF.
4. Cleaned connection of Throttle Position Sensor. Could not remove to clean sensor (bolts seized).
5. Checked all connections, vacuum lines, and poked around for loose grounds.
6. Removed and reinstalled entire headlight assembly.
7. Checked connection on O2 sensor where I had previously done some work.
8. Ran diagnostic with Dashcommand App and inspected output for MAF, IAT, ECT, O2 sensor Bank 2 Sensor 1, and fuel flow. See diagram below.

Nothing. No conclusions or leads. I'm having an Independent come take a look this week; I'm just baffled.

The strange thing is that the same thing happened a few months ago, but the car fired up after reinstalling MAF and ECU reset. But I wasn't so lucky this time.

Here is the output from my Dashcommand App, which I imported in a csv file and made a graph with a pivot table. I do see positive fuel flow, but is this rate of flow correct?




Notice that the MAF and O2 sensors are getting a reading. I also tested IAT and ECT sensors, but did not show on the graph because the scale was different. Notice the positive fuel flow; wouldn't a positive fuel flow indicate the fuel pump is functioning??

I forgot to mention that this diagnostic was about over one minute, where I turned the key to the
"on" position, cranks the motor, it turned over, and then died in about 2 seconds. I continued to log data for about a minute after car died.

Suggestions/comments/criticisms welcomed...

Helogadget

You never answered my earlier question. What exactly did you do with the intake at the beginning? You mentioned you fixed a leak. What kind of leak? Did you take the intake off? Since it obviously isn't the MAF, there must be something else. Something must've happened when you worked on the intake.

LexBrett

One of the elbow joints on my customized cold air intake was coming loose, and I was getting a code for a lean condition. Not a big deal in my opinion, or so it seemed.

Have been doing some internet research and apparently this is s common One of the elbow joints on my customized cold air intake was coming loose, and I was getting a code for a lean condition. Not a big deal in my opinion.

Helogadget

Hmm...nothing there sounds like it should have caused this. I know this sounds like a dumb question, but how is your battery? The reason I ask is that I had a similar problem with my SC400 and it turned out that (well, at least the mech said) my battery was too small and not providing enough current to crank the car. It would spin over but not crank and smelled like it was flooded. I had it towed to the shop and the mech replaced the battery and it cured it.

I know it sounds dumb, but that's about the only other thing I can think of.