Based on posts pointing to bad solder joints inside the MAF...
I decided to hack into my 96 Maxima MAF.

I pulled the panel off the side. I expected a circuit
board to come out with it.
Well no. I actually broke the panel off of a connection
to an internally mounted circuit board.

The connection was very funky.
The contacts extended out the back of the panel then were bent
in an L and they made a touching connection to a set of posts
extending from the internal circuit board.

Were these really soldered or was some kind of solder glue holding
them together? The topology of it all seems like it could not
have been soldered. Well I deem the construction of this MAF
connection to be highly unreliable.
In any case, I broke it off so there was no going back now...

So straightened out the contacts and soldered a set of wires from the posts to the contacts & put it all back together.

Result:
The check engine light is out and the car drove great.
I am indebted to the folks who pointed me in that direction.

Here's a pic of the connection.
Note however, at this time I accidentally soldered to connector backwards,
I had to reverse it.

 

That's not the problem. It's usually the sensors the inside where the air passes through that go bad. You mag is gone and now it's bad. You can try cleaning those contact where the air passes through with crc maf cleaner which you can get at autozone for like 5 bucks to see if it helps. That's the last thing you can do before buying a new one. Also if u buy a new one make sure it's oem nissan meaning it's from or made my by nissan because those are the only mafs that work with the maxima and not those cheap aftermarket ones. I have a newer updated version of the maf by nissan for sale if you want it. The old part number ends with E60 and the new one ends with E61. It's been used and it's in good working condition with nothing wrong with it. 60 buck with shipping included. Yeah but other than that try cleaning it and see if that works.

 

^I don't think you really read what he wrote. As unorthodoxed as his repair is, he fixed it and says he car runs great. Hopefully it will stay that way.

 

If you remove the panel on the large flat side, you can access the rest of the circuit board, and also solder the connector back on without the wires.

 

How do you remove the panel?

 

Cut the caulk and pry it out.