Pontiac Repair: 97 gran prix gt maf sensor code, gran prix 3, maf sensor

Question
todd i have a 97 pont gran prix 3.8 non supercharged.the wife ran into a puddle and the check engine light came on.she proceeded to work with no driveability problems.when she started the car to come home she said the light was still on and the car was chugging and wanting to die.when i got home i scanned it,got p102a code replaced sensor light popped light came back on instantly with same code.could you help with any direction on finding this problem?thank you.

Answer
Hi Ray:

MAf sensors are pretty common on these cars however that code is a performance code meaning the sensor is not necessarily bad. the engine computer compairs several readinf from different sesnors and if the MAF sesnor reading is not what it expects it to be based on the other readings it will set that code. If one of the other sesnors is bad and giving the engine computer information it will trip that MAF sesnor code. Without the aid of a scan tool and seeing what the other sensors are reading I can't tell you for sure what the issue may be. If she drove though a puddle maybe the air filter is soaked and it's choking the air flow into the engine thus the MAF sensor code try running it with the intake snorkel off but keep the air intake sensor connected it the one in the rubber boot between the air cleaner and the throttle body. It's possable too that the sensor you got may be bad especially if it's a remanufatured on and not an original equipment one. Or possably it's a "fits all" and it's not claibtarted for this engine. Good luck :}