Maf cleaner

I purchased a can of 'maf cleaner' from halfords'
It seems to just be electrical switch cleaner.
Is this actually going to do any good?

If yes, do I just spray and that's it done, or do I need to be doing something else as well?
Perhaps using cotton wool buds?


dog-man

I watched a you tube video on it, the idea is just to spray and leave to dry and to not physically touch any of the internals of the maf sensor as they are very sensitive and easy damaged, or so i was told

Brake clean or carb cleaner just as good and you can usually buy it cheaper than MAF cleaner.

nickcc said:

Brake clean or carb cleaner just as good and you can usually buy it cheaper than MAF cleaner.

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Ah you see i was told not to use brake/carb cleaner as this left behind a sticky residue that could affect the sensor, so rather than take the risk spent the £7 on the proper stuff

Can't see how brake clean would leave a sticky residue especially when used to clean brake shoes, likewise carb cleaner where it could cause your throttle/choke to stick.

nickcc said:

Can't see how brake clean would leave a sticky residue especially when used to clean brake shoes, likewise carb cleaner where it could cause your throttle/choke to stick.

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This^^^^^^
Both Brake Cleaner and Carb Cleaning are 1,1,1-trichloroethane based cleaners. They flush off the dirt then evaporate leaving no residue

Aye, they are very light and evap in seconds

"brake carb and contact cleaners can be harsh on plastic and some can leave unwanted residue which will damage the sensor"
taken from the CRC web site
now im not saying this is right or that you can't/shouldn't use them however at the price of a new maf sensor compared to the £7 cost off the right stuff for the job, well each to there own, me i bought it

I think I paid £4.99.
When we have a nice sunny day, I shall try it and hope it makes a difference.



dog-man

dustmaker said:

"brake carb and contact cleaners can be harsh on plastic and some can leave unwanted residue which will damage the sensor"
taken from the CRC web site
now im not saying this is right or that you can't/shouldn't use them however at the price of a new maf sensor compared to the £7 cost off the right stuff for the job, well each to there own, me i bought it

Click to expand...

No ones criticising you for buying the branded cleaner as its your choice after all. When I first started in the motor trade we used carbon Tet to clean of brake shoes and other delicate parts, that was until the health and safety/environment bods decided to ban it. We also used methanol, which was used for the air brake dryer bottles, to clean parts off including sloshing it all over your hands, thank goodness times have changed.

nickcc said:

No ones criticising you for buying the branded cleaner as its your choice after all. When I first started in the motor trade we used carbon Tet to clean of brake shoes and other delicate parts, that was until the health and safety/environment bods decided to ban it. We also used methanol, which was used for the air brake dryer bottles, to clean parts off including sloshing it all over your hands, thank goodness times have changed.

Click to expand...

wasn't taking it as criticism, i'm not that sensitive, more as an example how different people get different information on things, i have limited knowledge of the more technical side of cars, and therefore have to rely far more on others knowledge, than people who have been around these things for years, hell i didn't even know you could clean a maf until about 2 weeks ago,

You can clean the Maf with which ever product you fancy. Brake/ Carb cleaner should do no harm to it at all. Most of the time cleaning the Maf will do nothing at all. There are no mechanical parts at all. It's sensor is or should be sealed to the elements. All it contains is a load resistor that is thermally sensitive, the engine ecu passes a current through this resistor which would warm up to a known value. As air drawn by the engine flows past the resistor it would cool altering it's value. The ecu senses this then applies more current to raise the resistance back to the known value again. This extra current drawn is used by the ecu to calculate the increased air flow. This calculation is applied constantly while the engine is running. It's pretty complex stuff to explain so hopefully that makes sense?

I cleaned the MAF on my Audi a while ago, using carb cleaner, and very gently with a cotton bud... and buggered it right up, they are quite delicate as I found out to the tune of about £100 from the local stealer.. bugger..

I have always used IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) and never had a problem. You have to be gentle though. Use a LOW pressure air line or an Air Duster aerosol (From Maplin etc) to blow the ****e away.