Need some maf sensor help

[FlaAveo5]

My engine light came on yesterday. First time ever. Well long story short, I just saw a video on 'YouTube' that shows how to test the MAF sensor, by unplugging the sensor, on the air hose.

I just replaced that air-hose/sensor, 2 months ago, it was ripped all over. No engine light then! So I removed the sensor, it is suppose to stop running IF it is working properly. Is that right? I watched the video, and the car was running, he pulled that sensor plug out, and the car stopped. Well mine keeps running, and it is a new airtube/sensor.

So is this really a test for the sensor? That is the MAF sensor on the hose, with the wires in it, right next to the air filter box...right? BUT I keep seeing a big round 'can', with a screen mesh in it, that I dont see, ...and THAT is suppose to be the sensor. So...is that just the 'switch' that makes the MAF operate, or is it the sensor itself??

Or do the Aveos have a MAF someplace else? I know I need to go get it 'tested, to find out why the light is on, i am hoping this is it. That part is only $35. IF I have to buy another, even i can buy one.

But where is this big round 'can' with a wire mesh in it, that is suppose to be the MAF sensor itself??? Could it be dirty and causing the engine light to come on? If so, where is it and how do i clean it? To se if that fixes it.

But taking off that plug, like I saw in the video, it kept running, and that is suppose to me it is defective. Is it? PLEASE...some advise about it.

[petrified.rabbit]

While a lot of cars will stall or lose driveability once the MAF is unplugged, there is a "little" more to it than that.

Your car does not have a maf sensor. You have a map sensor. It is a "box" on your intake side that has a vacuum line running to it.

The MAF and MAP do the "Same" thing, but operate in different ways. MAF reads the amount of air passing through the sensor to help determine the air fuel ratio, while the MAP reads pressure to do the same.

The check engine light can be a lot of things, if the car is running ok, and the light is not flashing odds are it is "ok" to take to get scanned. You can drive around on it. If the running is off, or the light is actively flashing, it needs shut off.

What is the car doing that you are trying to figure out?

[petrified.rabbit]

Oh the thing you unplugged is just the air temp sensor.

[FlaAveo5]

Figures the Aveo has something different. It is running fine, no problems, all of a sudden the light came on yesterday, 2 mins. after starting it up after sitting for 4 hrs. The light is not flashing. I checked all the lines, connections, and gas cap, nothing is loose or off that i can find. The ONLY thing that I have done differently, is that I was literally on fumes, like maybe 1/4 of a gallon left, I filled up at my regular Chevron, took almost 11 gallons. (I had no money for gas. I had to ride on fumes).

Then for the first time I put in a bottle of 'DuraLube Fuel Treatment', it was like $12. For cleaning the entire fuel system, that kind of stuff. 1/4 of a tank was gone, 76 miles, and then the light came on, ...thats took well over a week to use 76 miles, 1/4 tank. That is the only 'different' thing that happened. It runs fine, no smoke, no odors, nothing. The battery went dead a few weeks earlier, I replaced it with a new one, reset the radio, and thats it. So I am trying to find out why the engine light is on. Any ideas?

I disconnected the negative terminal of the battery to get rid of the engine light....hoping it was maybe a fluke. Time will tell, or tomorrow will tell!

[FlaAveo5]

That was a temp. sensor? So where the heck is that 'can' with the wire mesh in it, that is called a MAF sensor in other cars? I thought this was it. And it is in the air tube someplace.
If it is a 'MAP' sensor,....is that cleaned with 'MAF spray cleaner', IF I need to do it?? Is it also a 'can' with a wire mesh in it, that gets carbon on it? And where is it? I looked it up online to get prices, IF I need it and it shows me a 'can' with the wire mesh in it and it is like $120! And that was a search for a 2006 Chevy Aveo MAP sensor, it gave me exactly that,not a MAF sensor. I know I HAVE to get a OBD-II plugged into it, and find out what is wrong, I don't want to go to my mechanic and not know what is REALLY wrong, if anything. I am hoping for a 'fluke' and it is now gone.

But my luck, it is the cat. convertor, and i don't have $400 plus install for THAT! Don't they last like next to forever? Maybe that fuel cleaner stuff screwed it up??

[petrified.rabbit]

In all honesty, I do not like fuel additives. That could be your issue. most of the raise the octane a few marks. And other have additives that cause some detonation issues, run hotter, or lean out the systems to "clean" the engine. All these things change reading in sensors and can cause a Check Engine Light.

The MAF is used on 09 and up Aveo. GM is notorious for keeping "old tech" longer so the MAP sensor lasted into 2008. Most cars now have MAF sensors. There is nothing wrong with having a MAP sensor, it is not a can with wire mesh it is more of an enclosed box with a diaphragm? It reads the vacuum pressure change to determine how much fuel is necessary on the intake side.

If your car is running ok, I doubt it is that. Without the code though, I do not know that you will find out what it is.

[FlaAveo5]

Well I am going to try and run my gas tank dry. To get rid of the gas with the DuraLube. I HATE to let the gas get that low, it is so bad for the pump. BUT if I dont get rid of the gas in it, with the DuraLube in it, I cant figure out IF that was/is the issue.

I am going to an auto store today, to get the OBD-II hook up and see what reading I get. Hopefully none, or something that says the gas is the trouble. I cleared the engine light yesterday, and it hasn't come back on yet. But it could come on again. But I swear I read someplace on here, that the 2006 model, and earlier ones, were prone to the light coming on for no reason, and it is just a 'fluke'. I am HOPING for that!! So ill know today what the reading is. I can either run the tank dry, or fill it back up and dilute it, it is almost half gone now. What do you think would be better, for that? I'll post the code ,if any, when I get it.

[FlaAveo5]

Well I took the car to Advance Auto,and the OBD-II scanner came up CLEAN!!!! No faults! So...either it is the 'faulty engine light' that I have heard of in the Aveo, or I have used up enough of the gas ,with that 'Duralube engine/injector cleaner', that I put in it, and that was it, OR... the worse case,....I did erase the 'engine light' from the dash, by taking of the battery terminals for a minute, to clear it, and it has not come back on yet. So if it was just a fluke, it is gone. And the scanner picked up nothing.

But the person at Advance Auto said it might not show any faults, unless the light is lit up. BUT if there is a problem, wouldn't it show on the scanner? If the light is on or not? IF something was really wrong with the emissions system, and that light is an 'early warning devise', for the car, just by turning it off, THAT wouldnt 'fix' a real problem,...would it? But if it was a fluke...by clearing it, thats that....right? Time will tell...but as of today..scanner says no problems.

AND the person that did the scanning, offered to buy my Aveo!!! The first car for her daughter, when she saw the LOW mileage, the age, and the condition, and the scanner was clear, she threw HIGH numbers at me. Now if i can find a near perfect Ford Ranger 2 door, with super low miles on it, .....I might sell it!