Car Maintenance And Repairs

What Does A Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF) Do?

Mike Cross
Updated Feb 12, 2022
What Does A Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF) Do

Your car has a lot of different sensors to help keep it running right. The sensors can measure all kinds of different things from tire pressure, to fuel pressure, to exhaust output, and even more.

The mass airflow sensor is one of the many sensors in your car to help keep your car running.

In this article, we will take an in-depth look at what your mass airflow sensor actually does for your vehicle. Read on to learn everything you need to know about your mass airflow sensor and get any questions you might have about it answered.

Contents

What Does A Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF) Do
What Does A Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF) Do?

What does Mass Airflow Sensor do?

Your mass airflow sensor is one of the key sensors for your car. If it is not working right, then your vehicle won’t work right either.

Before getting into detail on why this is, we will first cover what your mass airflow sensor actually does.

Your mass airflow sensor is responsible for measuring how much air is going into the engine so it can make sure that the right amount of fuel is added into the engine to mix with the air to get proper combustion.

If the mass airflow sensor isn’t reading right and too much fuel is added, you get a rich mixture that has issues, but if not enough fuel is added, then you get problems as well.

Types

There are varies types of mass airflow sensors out there, but they are all responsible with measuring the amount or density of the air going into the engine.

The hot wire type

The most common type of mass airflow sensor is the hot wire type.

With this type of sensor, there are two wires. One is hot, and the other isn’t, which should be obvious from the name. The way it works is the computer measures how much current is required to keep the hot wire hot. Normally the hot wire is kept two hundred degrees hotter than the cold wire.

It then uses this information to estimate the amount or mass of air that is coming into the engine. When the temperature difference between the two sensing wire changes, the computer is able to adjust and increases or decreases the current to the hot wire. This means more air or less air is going into the engine and it adjusts the fuel injections according.

Uses waves to measure the airflow

Another type of sensor is one that uses waves to measure the airflow.

In these types of mass airflow sensor the air passes thru a vortex and inside this vortex are waves. The computer is able to see how much the waves move and this is how it measures the airflow going thru the sensor. These vortex type sensors are not as common now but are still seen some.

Now a day’s most mass airflow sensors are the hot wire type, and a lot also have an air temperature sensor built into them so the computer can read the temperature of the incoming air as well as the amount of it.

Proper Working

So, now that you know what the mass airflow sensor does, the next thing you should know is how to know if it is working properly.

It is great to know what the mass airflow sensor does and how it works, but if you can’t tell if it is working right, then it doesn’t do you much good.

It is pretty easy to know if your mass airflow sensor is working right.

For starters, the cars computer will probably tell you if it isn’t, but if the computer doesn’t, then all you have to do is listen to your car run to know if it is working properly.

If the mass airflow sensor is working properly, then your car will run smoothly, but if the sensor is not, then the car will run rough.

What is meant by running rough? Well, the engine will backfire, and the car will sputter.

Depending on if the air-fuel mixture is to rich or to lean the car might die. Your vehicle will also get poor gas mileage if the mass airflow sensor is not working right.

Basically, the mass airflow sensor controls how well your car runs and if your car will run right, so if the mass airflow sensor isn’t working right, then your car will not work right either.

What to do?

So, what should you do if your mass airflow sensor isn’t working right? Well, the first thing you should do is locate where it is at on your vehicle and remove it. Normally it isn’t too hard to find and take off. Once you have it taken off, you can clean it. It isn’t hard at all to clean your mass airflow sensor, and we actually have a guide here for you to follow. Once you have cleaned it, you can reconnect it. This should help solve your mass airflow sensor problems. If it does not, then you will need to replace your mass airflow sensor which is as simple as ordering a new one and putting it on. Sometimes mass airflow sensors do go bad and need to be replaced, but normally a good cleaning will help get your mass airflow sensor working properly.

Conclusion

Now you know what your mass air flow sensor does. You know it is used to measure the amount of air that is going into the engine and that the computer uses this information to put release the right amount of fuel into the engine to give a proper mixture so your car will run smoothly. You also know that there are two main types of mass airflow sensors these days and you know how they work. More importantly than knowing what your mass airflow sensor does and how it works though, you also know how to tell if it is working properly. You know that if your car is getting poor gas mileage, is sputtering, backfiring, or dying, that the mass airflow sensor is probably not working right. On top of all this, you know what to do if the mass air flow sensor isn’t working right. You know to clean it or replace it. After reading this, all your questions on what a mass air flow sensor does should be covered, and all your other questions about it should be answered as well.

Mike Cross
Life is too short to drive with stock audio

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