Since mine blew the other day as I was beginning a 500-mile road trip into the mountains, and I managed to replace it with a new one in a Nissan dealer's parking lot....here are some pics of "what's inside" the MAF, for anyone who cares.

Of note...this MAF has been on the car for about 70k miles and there was NO sign that the tip of the exposed sensor was "dirty" in any way, shape or form. It wasn't dirty, grimy, dusty, oily, or anything else. It was perfectly clean and shiny. I use a monsterflow filter (oiled heavily) and a place racing intake (more access to road debris or anything than a short-ram or stock intake, I'd say).

this makes me think that these "MAF cleaners" are a bunch of B.S.

Anyhow, heres a few pics for you guys
MAF assembly cover plate taken off..the actual sensor tip is the little tab on the right. Not the gooey rubberized substance covering the circuit board.




Detail of the circuit board taken entirely out of the assembly. Note: don't take a good MAF apart....you have to destroy the housing to get to the board. Here is with the "goop" scraped off the board so you can see the components more clearly.

 

Any way you can tell which part of the circuit board causes MAF failure or would each incident be unique? I am not familiar with circuit boards or anything on that level.

 

kinda looks like the inside melts

 

No, the sensor and board look to be in perfect shape. No burn marks, disconnected wires, etc etc. I almost think that it might be the sending unit (the plug itself) that goes bad, perhaps

 

What about the electronics data?

Such as what is the voltage @ idle, etc?

After that data is obtained, then you can better diagnose where the problem started/originated.

Qualitative, Quantitative

 

me > Mechanical stuff
Electrical stuff > me

want me to mail it to you?

 

Sounds like a good idea. I'm not electronics savvy either, but I can compare some data from a good MAF and a bad one.

Voltages will be different, but what does that mean. FSM

 

Thank god the 4th gen maf is nothing like that one. Looks like you tore that thing a new one!

Is the new one a different part number or differ in any way?

 

that is the "current" 5th gen MAF part #22680-2Y001.

 

did you notice any symptoms before it went?

does the car run better now than before it failed?

I am noticing loss of power and crappy mileage... i'm thinking a new maf might help...

 

rubberized goop= silicone

agreed MAF cleaner is BS!!!!!!

 

the car was running perfectly. then:

1. after picking up my buddy to head out, I accellerated onto the highway and the car was misfiring badly under any load (alot of engine vibration).

2. pulled over, switched in an old MAF I carry around (not a "good" one, but it's not "blown" either). VIbration was gone and car idled smoothly, but still had bogging and loss of power in mid-rpms (the reason I took that MAF out in the first place a couple years ago)

3. hit up Nissan dealer for a new one. Installed. Car runs perfectly again. Unplug battery overnight to reset ECU.

Haven't noticed any change in mileage. I got 22-23 mpg on the trip...pretty standard for the way I drive.

 

I learned my lesson by cleaning the maf and ruining it. in future i dont think i would ever use any maf cleaner on my new maf. i bet on those who cleaned their maf's with maf cleaners would not last for long and they will sooner or later end up buying new maf's. these maf's are junk.

 

Josh how many MAFs have u changed man? it seems like you get new one really often, also how many miles do u have on ur max?
i have 86k, and I only had problem with MAF once, and that was like 15k ago...but no problem since then? what cause's them to go bad, does it have to to with weather? all you FL boys/girls, you have problems with MAFs as much? and how bout you Canadians? maybe its the weather ...we may never know

later

 

Having both an A32 and A33B, I can say that these 2 machines are EXTEMELY similar, but this parituclar piece is as dissimilar as they come. (As far as mechnical design is concerned)



Mine's still going been months (~3k)


Silicone elastomer encapsulant. Very nice dielectric properties and very stable (soft)

 

I bought the car with ~40k miles on it almost 4 years ago
Original MAF didn't blow....but I changed it at 60k miles or so to get better performance out of a "new" one.
The one I put in at 60k is the one that just blew, at almost 120k.

So really, I haven't replaced them that much....

 

im from florida, never had a maf problem, same maf that came with the car and im at 86k... *knocks on wood*

 

So u brought the original MAF up to 60k miles of service life, then swapped it out for a new one. That new one in turn lasted for approx. 60k miles. So in theory, the the original may be no good soon. Also, if you can remember, you said u switched the original due to poor performance, did the one that blew have irregular performance.

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

Damn that's Hardcore! We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

 

no...the one that blew was performing perfectly before it went bad.

The "original" one is back in the trunk again as a spare, since it works well enough to get me home if one blows.

 

There are a few members that I've raed about that carry 'spare' MAF's with them.

 

honestly, never thought I'd have to use it. But with all the MAF horror stories around here, figured I would throw it in the tool bag with the jumper cables and emergency tools

then again, I also carry:

- full-size spare (mini-spare won't clear my front brakes)
- spare lugs and lug nuts (come in handy for my car and other maximas at autocrosses)
- a good amount of tools, including torque wrench and breaker bar. I can basically take apart 80% of the car with the tools stashed in my trunk. That, and it saves me the trouble of lugging tools out of my basement when i want to work on the car!

 

I just cleaned my trunk and removed some stuff including the original MAF. It might be a good idea to leave it in just in case.

 

my car is at 175k right now and i have never changed my MAF. i dont seem to feel the symptoms of a blown one though. should i change it anyway?

 

unless you wanna waste 85 bucks (i think thats how much new MAF is)...but does ur max run hard, idk...any other friends with maximas, that will let you try theirs, and if theirs is feeling more powerful, then i'd get new one....
I had problems from 3k-5k rpm...i lost so much power there, it felt like my car was going to die, like the speedometer needle wouldnt move at all, it just stood at one spot, so I had to let go of the gas padel then floor it again ...it was bad

But thanks to the Org, i've found out what the problem was "MAF"....

later

 

i do this for people all the time on their maximas...

the maf sits in a housing, there's a screen before it. do everything you can to clean out your airbox, filter, the tube, the screen, etc. clean everything with only a damp cloth - do not clean your maf yet.

to clean the maf (or mass air meter, whatever), take an air-gun (and if you dont have one, use a can of compressed air) and blow the #$%^ out of it. i'm not kidding, it's worked for about a dozen people...it's really easy and will save you about $600-$800.

 

More like 85 USD

 

What's the best deal for a new MAF out there? I need one

 

What are the symptoms of a bad MAF?
I am feeling a lack of power under moderate acceleration. I step on the gas and the engine lags for a moment then picks back up.