HELP! Mass Air Flow Sensor Wett!!!

[discharmingman]

Yesterday it rained hard in Los Angeles and I went over a semi flooded area which i couldn't get around because of traffic.....anyhow...as I was driving home I tried to give it some gas and it wouldn't go, it would just jolt....so i was forced to drive under 3000RPM or less to keep the car from doing that....I know people have said I should have gone with a SRI, but I didn't...so my question is....Would it be sufficient to take out Mass Air Flow Sensor and let it dry out? Has this happened to anyone? HEre are some pics of the MAFS...

 

[Mutmatt]

you should be worried about water in the engine more than the maf

 

[discharmingman]

hmmm, so what can i do now?

 

[discharmingman]

I took out the sensor (pitured above) and dried it out, put it back in and took it for a test drive... it jolted again but only once this time....I came back home and took it out to see if it still had water on it and it had a few drops....not as much as before....I went ahead and odered the Hydroshield in hopes that this won't happen again....

i hope someone out there can share a similar case and let me know how they went about correcting this or if it was fixed...

the car still runs, so i Dont believe that much water got into the engine...

 

[Craighjr]

You will get a CELO if the sensor was damaged. Baby the car for a few days and see if it clears up.

 

[discharmingman]

I didn't get the CEL on. I was surprised. I'm not gonna drive it the rest of today or tomorrow....I'm hoping this will clear up...

 

[javanc]

Try hitting it with some MAF cleaner, that would help to dry out the very small and sensitive wires hidden up at the top of the main cylindrical part. Might help to clean some of the buildup off the air temp sensor too. And make sure you install the MAF in the right direction, just in case you accidentally didnt.

 

[Mutmatt]

if it got MORE water on it after putting it back in and you have a SRI... take off your SRI and dry that too!

 

[3.slow]

Reset the computer by taking off the battery cables.

 

[niz55]

This happend to me makeing the sri, But i got Poxy on my maf sensor. I cleaned it up with brake cleaner. We should start treating our cars little better.

 

[clos561]

hit that mug with a hair dryer ( on low )

 

[CX-7owner]

if it got MORE water on it after putting it back in and you have a SRI... take off your SRI and dry that too!

He doesn't have an SRI, with a car that low, and whats happening in LA, I would want one.

 

[discharmingman]

Yeah, I'm definitely gonna baby my car frmo now on...i left the hood open all night and took out the MAF sensor again to let it dry out.....put it back this morning and voila...it seems to be okay.....

Never again will I go through a flooded intersection....even if it means you have to go around the block to get to where you're going....I had a friend of mine in the car and he told me that I have to go fast through those flooded areas, to avoid getting submerged, but I'm not even gonna do that.....unless I have to I suppose....

I agree that we have to start taking even better care of our rides.....


Peace out...

 

[discharmingman]

This happend to me makeing the sri, But i got Poxy on my maf sensor. I cleaned it up with brake cleaner. We should start treating our cars little better.

In what area did you put the poxy on your MAF? Was it to seal it to the CAI?

 

[dkswim]

try remoming your filter and letting it dry as well but DONT DRIVE WITH IT OFF

 

[PLM_Man]

Is the engine sputtering or hesitating? If it is, pull the plugs and cover with a towel or something overnight incase any water is trapped inside the combustion chamber and can't get out. Fuel burns, but not water. It doesn't compress like air either.

The rest of the water should work its way out if it did manage to get past the cylinders. Maybe about 4 or 5 miles of white smoke and hopefully you're back to normal.

 

[discharmingman]

Is the engine sputtering or hesitating? If it is, pull the plugs and cover with a towel or something overnight incase any water is trapped inside the combustion chamber and can't get out. Fuel burns, but not water. It doesn't compress like air either.

The rest of the water should work its way out if it did manage to get past the cylinders. Maybe about 4 or 5 miles of white smoke and hopefully you're back to normal.

I appreciate all the help guys....seriously, I thought I was in for the worst....good thing everything seems to be back to normal....after the the entire day of not driving it and it sitting in my garage (thank God I have a garage), the car was able to rest and dry out completely....it seems to run fine like before it rained....when I got that water on the MAFS, itwould jerk like crazy when I hit anything above 3000 RPM....

I'm very careful now and I avoided those flooded driveways last night even if it meant I had to eat at a different fast food place.....hey, to the rest of you.......I hope you never have to go through this.....

Los Angeles forecast.....mostly sunny the rest of the week with the chance of light showers at night....

 

[PLM_Man]

Yea, its definately a bad feeling when it happens (did it with one of my old cars coming home in a rain storm at night, and my street was flooded in half a foot of water because the drains were blocked with leaves).

I would also suggest that you change the oil as soon as you can incase water got into there too. If it was just your sensor that got wet, then you're probably ok, however, you might want to drain it to be safe, flush some oil through and let it drain out, then refill with some fresh oil. If the oil looks like chocolate milk (creamy solid brown looking) then water got mixed in it.

 

[Kurt07]

I had a friend of mine in the car and he told me that I have to go fast through those flooded areas, to avoid getting submerged, but I'm not even gonna do that.....unless I have to I suppose....

Smash your friend in the head. I have a fealing if you went slow thru that intersection you would have been fine.

 

[grease_monkey]

They made a very good point. I doubt the engine sucked in enough water to do any damage, however keep in mind that(along with the laws of hydraulics) water does NOT compress. My friend went thru a flooded area in his jeep and the engine froze up and cracked the block. Think about it. Basic geometry: 2008 Mazda3 Bore & Stroke 3.44in. X 3.27in. Take in the 10:1 Compression ratio and you have a volume of 2.888 cubic inches at TDC. Put that into terms of inside he cylinder and you're talking about filling up the cylinder only .34 of an inch. It will take more than that to put a lot of stress of the block but its just a reminder to stay away from water. And going through at higher speed is dumb. Gravity pulls down and the car is heavy. The front of the car will dip under. The only way you could go over fast enough was if you we're hauling ass faster than any damn car can go. Oh and if someone wants to please check my math. I may have been wrong.