Solved! Confirmed failure and cause of all these symptoms was the MAF sensor. And the alternator lights flashing on and off is because of a alternator that was about to fail and was not related to the MAF issue. Right after replacing the MAF and having the car drivable the alternator light came on and did not go off. A voltage test showed that the alternator was not putting out any voltage when the car is on and even during revs. Replacing the alternator turned off the warning lights.

I need some help from the expert diagnosticians on here, so here it goes.

CLIFF NOTES VERSION:
-CEL for lean fuel/air mix in right bank
-Assumed it was sticky injector
-Used Seafoam
-Erratic idle and stalling resulted
-Assumed it was fouled spark plugs
-Changed all 6 plugs
-Battery and brake light came on for alternator
-Power loss again along with shuddering and stalling
-No related codes again except 0115 and for knock sensor
-Alternator warning lights coming on and off
-Scratching head while wondering what to do next to make car drivable.

A week ago I was driving along with nothing done to the car and a CEL came on and it was something like 0104 or something but I remembered that it meant the right bank was too lean. I thought it was a problem with my intake or the vacuum lines so I made sure everything was snug and reset the light. 50 miles later it came back on, so I assumed a injector was dirty or something, so I got some Seafoam and figured that it wouldn't hurt since I've used this stuff millions of times and so I poured half into my gas, and half through the brake booster and reset the light. Then after driving off, I noticed my RPM beginning to go up and down when I was at a light. Then after a few miles things only got worse, when I was driving with my RPM at around 2-2.5K the car all of a sudden lost power and I could feel myself being pulled forward just like if I hit the brakes gently but it caught itself and the power came back. And this happened until my car just right out died at lights, the RPM would go from a idle RPM of 750, to 500, and 400, and then die. Sometimes it would catch itself at zero and the RPM would just jump an get back to normal and sometimes I would have to step on it to keep it alive. So after some digging I think that my spark plugs might have gotten fouled from the Seafoam so I replaced all 6 and when I started the car up again, my battery light and brake light start to blink on and off until it would stay on for like 10 minutes then go out by itself and everytime the lights came on, my car would shudder. And so when I went on a test drive the exact same thing happened only worse. When it died, it would not start back up, I can crank and crank and crank but it won't start. Then all of a sudden the next time I try it would be like nothing happened and it kept shuddering, with jumpy RPM and power loss at high RPM and speed.

So the big question today is, can a faulty alternator cause a injector to not fire fuel causing a lean code? Or cause erratic idle and power loss, that comes and goes with the alternator warning lights coming on and off?

 

Not gonna lie to you Leo, Im not a fan of SEAFOAM. I rather use Chevron Techron, jus works nicely to me.

Whenever i hear lean mix, my mind says o2 sensor. They prolly old and foued.

As far as studdering issues, as u kno, it could be coils or injector or MAF. Check CPS too. TIme for the multimeter and Voltage testing sir

EDIT:

U got the 97 too, dont forget to test the following too...

Rough idle: Rough running engine accompanied by check engine light may require revised powertrain control module. (1997)

Rough idle: Several problems (no-start, no A/C, rough running, etc.) can be traced to broken wires in the engine compartment where the harness bends near the right strut tower. (1995-97)

 

Yeah the strange thing is that I've been using Seafoam for a long time and all of a sudden it backfires. But ONE thing I noticed is that the color changed. Like I had a can of Seafoam from months ago and the color is clear like water, the one I just bought looks kind of yellow, but its just a slight hue of yellow. I guess from now on I am not adding any more cleaners into my car.

Oh also I messed around with the alternator today and cleaned all the connections and the light went away, so I guess thats not the cause of my stalling and shuddering. Because the car still stalled and had shaky idle. And its running EXTREMELY RICH unlike before where it was running too lean. Like I could look at the back and the smoke is almost pitch black and I have a new code for the ECT. Now the car won't die but it would idle at around 0-300 RPM and go up and down while spewing black smoke.

But I will go through what you suggested and see what I find, I think the bent wire breaking is a strong possibility and I will surely dig around, thanks

 

OKAY! A solution has been found after crying while sitting in my car for nearly a week, I went through just about every possible thing I can think of besides replacing every sensor in the car. And I was pissed and unplugged the MAF sensor and started the car with it unplugged with an evil laugh (Don't know why) and all of a sudden the RPM hopping stopped and my RPM in drive and reverse stabilized.

And so it was the MAF all along, damn plastic pieces of misery and deceit.

 

hey FYI Sea Foam is no good, can cause injector problems. I only use cheveron for fuel in anything i own.
glad u got it figured out!

 

Thank you 4thGen and Cashoit, I am not using Seafoam ANYMORE in my engine, although I believe in its magical properties I think my car is too old or too dirty for any of those cleaners and junk.

But what got me is that how come this RPM problem started exactly right after using Seafoam? Its almost as if my MAF decided to frame Seafoam just like a evil ex-wife.

 

Haha that's crazy, well I'm glad it worked out man. I'll make sure not to use seafoam. Mine ran like crap when my MAF went bad.

 

Yeah its weird I've been using Seafoam for quite a long time too. And also I used Seafoam to clean my O2 sensors sooooo........

But yeah it sucks when your MAF goes out, because on my car the MAF check engine light didn't show up, but I got a BUNCH of different codes as a result of a bad MAF like too lean in bank 1, too lean in bank 2, random misfires, I was about to tear my hair out when I saw like 10 different CEL codes.

 

Cleaning the MAF is always an easy step 1 to trying to solves rough idling/stalling problems like you described...even if there is no code. its a 10 minute job at most in my 1995, I assume the same in you 1997.

But in one of you subsequent posts you mentioned you got a code for ECT. Not sure if you meant ECTS (Engine Coolant temp Sensor, P0115). If it was, that could cause stalling in the future, and its another quick/easy part to test and replace.

When my 1995 had the idling/stalling usses, MAF cleaning didn't help but a new (junkyard) ECTS fixed my stalling problems and they haven't returned.

 

Yeah that was a odd one, the ECTS light showed up when it was having its stalling periods, I think it was some thing happened like a glitch or something because when I checked the code I got one for the ECTS and then after a while I pulled them again and it was gone.

But cleaning the MAF is a great idea, I will grab some MAF cleaner today and try to clean that sucker out to see if my car will stall with it connected.

 

Yea sea foam will actually cause an older injector to sieze up OR it will cause the injectors to not atomize properly.
good luck with your max

 

Thanks guys I just tried cleaning that crap today and same thing. I do have a question though, what are the side effects of driving with your MAF disconnected?

And also when i plugged in my MAF, if I were to jiggle the wire the car would stall but if I left the harness alone then it would get back to normal and stall slowly by itself. So is it my actual MAF sensor failing or could it be the harness connected to the MAF??? Because whenever I touched the harness my car's RPM would immediately dip and when I let go, the RPM would try to get to normal.

Could it be something with the harness, or did I magically gained the power of electricity through my fingers.

 

o your harness is crapped out. U can either jump the wires directly to the MAF or hit the JY for a new MAF harness

 

Might be time for a new MAF too man. Did u replace yur filter regularly?

 

There's a decent chance its your harness based on age and what you described. CHeck the harness, do you see any cut wires, etc.? If so, you know the answer.

I'm sure a harness to the MAF is cheap even purchased new, and if you get a MAF I'd recommend a scrapyard (it'll be cheap) and just grab a harness while there (they probably won't even charge for it) and try it out. You're not risking much money at a scrapyard pulling this sort of stuff for a Max and tryign it.

 

Yeah guys my MAF wires are all covered in wire loom and electrical tape, but I think I will start opening those up to see whats wrong chances are I think jumping the wires directly to the MAF is the best bet.

I am going to do more digging and testing today, because if the MAF is bad, I don't think touching the wires would affect it. And so it is time to start peeling back those wires.

 

had the same issue with mine for a year changed connectors an the problem came back i ended up cuttin off the connector and soldering the wires directly an i havent had a issue since

 

0104 is the flash code for the vehicle speed sensor or circuit fault the scanner code for that is P0500. P0100 is scanner code for maf and the flash code for maf is 0102.

 

Thanks guys, I ended up just driving it up to my family friend's shop and let him replace whatever. I gave him our diagnosis and its up to him to see if its correct on Monday.

I have school during the week and work on the weekends and I am WIPED out, too lazy to go outside and dig through this mess haha. But I did peel back the wires and everything looks good, no burnt wires or anything AHHH!