Auto Parts: maf, light bulb filament, incandescent light bulb

Question
Hello sir
I have a 2005 Altima se-r. I installed a AEM cold air intake by a professonal 8 months ago. Then the engine light came on a month ago, took it back to the dealer and was told the cai caused the maf to fail. The sytoms are stalling, auto trans not working, hesitation, is it true?
Thanks
Barry

Answer
Hi Barry,

That is a typical issue with cold-air-intake systems. You must first understand that a MAF sensor is nothing more than a calibrated hot wire similar to an incandescent light bulb filament. A specific amount of voltage is pushed through the resistance wire until it heats up. The computer determines how much air has passed through the engine by how much voltage it needs to push to maintain a specific heat range in the wire.

Since your engine is using more air now than it did with the stock intake (which also means you're using more fuel) the computer is having a difficult time pushing voltage and therefore it is burning up the weak-link, the sensor.

Until you decide it's not worth it and put the stock assembly back on, you'll likely burn out several more MAF's and probably an EBX or three.

Thanks for the question, I hope this information was helpful to you.
Fred
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