Well late last night I was talking to Bigdog (Dixit) about these MAFS failures I have been experiencing lately. In the last 3 weeks 3 MAFS have gone on me. Dixit went way out of his line of dutty and came up with the idea of using a 2001 MAFS in my 2002. He looked up the wiring and all it matched up perfectly (or so we thought, hehe). The voltages where a teeny bit off but almost identical. So with this in mind I decided to take on the idea and see if a 2001 MAFS would work. So last night I located a MAFS in a near by state(50 minute ride) for $50. I woke up early this morning and I called the junk yard up. They had the sensor on the shelf and ready to go. So I drove my limping max all the way out there, what a trip... So I got there and I saw the MAFS, to my suprise it only had 4 prongs rather then 5 There was a empty slot where the 5th prong goes.. I figured what the hell and told them I was gona run out side and try it out. So on the spot I swaped the MAFS with this one and fired the car up! Vroom vroooom, car ran perfect! Woo hoo! I put on about 70 miles since then with the 2001 MAFS and everything is running perfectly So theres the story, this means folks with failing 2002 MAFS's can now buy the much better 2001 MAFS. I know DAVE B sells just the meter for about $80. So looks like no more MAFS problems! Thanks again Dixit for the help

 

You guys are

But this is great news, indeed!

G

 

Hell yeah we CRAZY. We were determined to put this MAFS failure crap to rest. I was looking at the ESMs for hours and analyzing everything. Came down to just pure "*****"

Hopefully EWOK here will keep us informed on how well it holds up, but after he told me after a few hardcore sprinted runs it is still holding up, I would be safe to assume it is a done deal.

Hell yeah Ethan!!

Dixit

 

 

DAMN!!! You guys are the bomb!!!!

 

 

You got to be careful what the long term effect will do to your ECU in
general. Nissan is known for cost cutting to maximize profits. If they upgrade the parts, I am sure it must be crucial to the new design. Since both parts cost about the same, I am speculating that it must be the compatibilty issue w/the new car. But, good luck w/your new found idea! You sure like to take chances, ic

 

So you are saying it isn't just Plug and Play? You gotta play around with some wires, is that correct? Let us know how everything holds up.

 

No, the thing plugs right up. All pins are in the same spot. Just the one he got has 4prongs instead of 5 on the 2k2, dont matter cause the 2k2 has a dead 5th prong anyways.

Plug and Play big daddy

 

Dixit knows more about this stuff then I do. However I can tell you ECU damage is not possible.. The MAFS sends out a few signals to the ECU, the 2001 MAFS is pretty much in spec with the 2002 MAFS. The signal it sends is in Voltage and ohms, I beleive(perhaps something else). Simply sending a voltage and ohm signal to a ECU can not cause damage. The 5th prong on the revised 2002 MAFS is a second ground (dual ground now) I beleive. The 2000-2001 MAFS worked just fine with out dual grounds, so..

Also Calsonic is the manufacturer of these MAFS's, it is very possible they used cost cutting materials to produce these. At the current rate of 2002 MAFS failures I would be suprised if cost cutting was not the problem.

BTW I have always been a dare devel

 

I can assure you the plugs are identical.

 

Excellent. This could be something to use in the future. Thanks for taking the risk Ethan.

 

To add or modify what Ethan wrote, the MAFS gets a voltage from the ECU, it heats this film in the MAFS. That film has to maintain a certain temp. When intake air comes in, it cools the film, so the ECU increases the voltage to keep the film heated to the specified temp. More air means film gets cooler and means ECU puts slightly more voltage to increase its temp. This is how it calculates the a/f ratio.

And dont think that the voltage it sends out can fry the ECU. Cant, we talking about voltages between 1.1v and 2.4v.

Worst case scenario, he burns the MAFS.

Dixit

 

You both have proven your points very well, technically. So far, I am convinced by your logics. But still, hmmm...I have trust issue w/Nissan with their approach in doing things. I hope you're right this time. Well, the worse case would be another blown MAF, right?
Please DO update us w/future post!

 

I had always wondered if MAF's were interchangeable between cars of the same make. I know that when I had my Eclipse, you could take a MAF off of a Mirage or a Montero and plug n play.

 

You might be able to put a 2001 MAF on a 2002, but it might not hold up though.. the 2001 isnt used to that much air flow as the 2002, so who knows.. if that was the case i think they would have just kept the same MAF for the 2002..

hopefully this holds up though, its pretty shltty having a nice car and not even being able to put a damn intake on it without the MAF blowing.. mine went twice and then i put my stock intake back in i didnt want to be bothered anymore

just a thought but maybe the 2k4 one will be better? its going to have more HP anyway, so if its the same size it might work.. but youll have to wait till you can get them at a junkyard because nissan gets almost $500 for them!

 

hey, thats a great idea! wherever did you get that from

Truthfully, I was totally talking out of my a$$ about spec-ing something else glad it worked.

 

 

Yeah, BDJ is the shizzle when it comes to the FSM. I had one to read too, but I wouldnt have tried the HID swap without him. Yeah, ICE had his write up too so props there, but in the weeks after that, we were trying to get around the alarm flashing and different relay setups.

 

Yeah im alright with the FSM. But what I hate is that it doesnt contain all the info, like how to change a rear motor mount.

I did that that one alarm flashing relay to work. Instead of taping the RED power wire off the MAFS sensor, all you need to do is tap a wire that is ignition switched. But then after looking last night at the FSM and the way the MAFS work, it cant hurt it since it uses the power from that wire to heat the film.

Plus now I have that AutoPage alarm, so it doesnt flash the HIDs anymore anways. Timmeh, get that Autopage on already, you will love it. I do. I cranked the car this evening from damn near 1000ft away in my office building while walking down the fire stairs. Even through the concrete walls that car got the signal to start.

Dixit

 

ha! how'd you know it's still in the box? I know, I probably just need to have it installed. The money isnt the issue, letting someone hack around under the dash is. But it looks like I'll never get around to doing it myself.

 

You told me you still had it in the box. I would consider doing it myself, but it gets to a point of wasting one whole day on it. Im sick of that kind of stuff. But your right though cause i dont like having other people hacking away at it either.

Find a reputable shop who is resonably priced. I say $300 tops for the install.

Dixit

 

good job in getting that to work ethan. leave it to you to try crazy stuff out on your car! i hope this one fares better then the last 3! and no more drivin the volvo! yay. well ttyl man.