Air Flow Sensor, 2L petrol.

[dunslair]

Hi folks.

Been having problems with loss of power recently with our bongo. We have narrowed it down to a fault with the air flow sensor and have so far tried two after market units (which at 70 odd quid were far less expensive than the Mazda part), neither have been 'quite right' in the words of our mechanic, and we are not up and running yet. We will try a third one today (with fingers crossed it works).

If this fails, not sure what the options are... Does anybody have any experience of this issue (I believe the 2.5 V6 is more prone) and if so what was the fix, after market or Mazda part, and who could you recommend to get the part?

This is getting to be a bit of a show stopper, we are supposed to be off the France in a couple of weeks, and fast running out of time to get sorted.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

David.

[Simon Jones]

Have you considered meeting up with another owner & swapping the sensor over & seeing if the fault moves with it?

What symptoms are you getting? I know we've got different engines, but the reason for asking is that I've just ordered a new lambda sensor as per this thread http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=63405 to try to sort out problem with incomplete combustion & maybe get bit more power which I'm sure is in there.

[dunslair]

Hi Simon

For the most part the van has been running fine, but we have noticed a big drop in power on gradients and around low revs (1.5 to 2.5K). The van is generally 'running lean', but not to the point that it has stalled. Diagnostics fault code point to the air flow sensor. I think given the time I have to get it sorted, we will try the after market part which the garage has ordered from a different source today, and then bite the bullet and fit a Mazda sensor if it does not work. I have my fingers and toes crossed!!

Will post to let folks know how we get on.

cheers

David.

[mikeWalsall]

Maybe a long shot .. but what about one of those 50pence .. Mapilins .. "tuning chip" .. resisters sold on eBay for £10 .. that fools the ECU into thinking the air mass senser is reading cold air and richens the mixture ..

[hijimhere]

why no use a breaker for 2nd hand part??

[dunslair]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Some progress now! New replacement part arrived fitted and working..... that's the good news.... problem still persisting.

Auto electrician has checked the output from the sensor to the ECU and its all fine, however it is not getting a signal back from ECU. So the fault is either in the connection between the ECU and the sensor or in the ECU board itself.

I have all my fingers and toes crossed he can find the fault today (my typing / drawing may suffer with my fingers and toes crossed!!! )

Regards

David.

[dunslair]

Good news and bad news. After thinking the fault was either the return wire from the ECU or the ECU itself, after lots of testing both were confirmed as being in order, with all readings from ECU 'normal'. So its back to the after market part not working correctly. Bit the bullet and ordered the genuine mazda part. Should be in on Wed next week, so a few more days of keeping fingeres crossed. This will not beat us!!!

Cheers

David.

[Northern Bongolow]

is it possible its a fuel quality problem david. try super unleaded or an octane booster, just for the comparison.
read this good link posted by bob.

the modern fuels/ingrediants make the motors run lean, and hotter.

http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... 12&t=63423

[dunslair]

Thanks for the link Ady, interesting stuff. I will give it a try, but its been persisting for a few months now with several top ups from different places. New parts on its way now so will try that first. (fuel filter etc all new as well)

Cheers

David.

[dunslair]

Wey Hey!! Finally some good news.... new Mazda original part fitted and the van is back and running normally. Noticeably smoother on idle and not loosing power as you go up through the range. Fault code cleared automatically and all working as normal. The main Mazda dealer noted that this was not the first time this part had been ordered through the parts portal (both V6 and 2L) so I wonder if it is a common fault. What makes me even more curious is how many vans are running around with the air flow sensor not working properly, with the owners just thinking that's how it runs normally?

Now off to book the channel tunnel, Cinderella will go to the ball!!

Cheers

David.

[mikeWalsall]

Did you try to clean MAF (Mass Air Flow Sensor) ...

I tend to use a carb cleaner ... but you can buy 'proper' dedicated cleaner ..

Although I have changed the air filter .. I must admit I have never looked at the MAF on my V6 ..

[dunslair]

Hi Mike.

I had a look at a few 'how to clean' videos in tinternet, but to be honest I wasn't convinced by any of them. The tolerances are such that one slip and it would be goosed anyway, so I thought it better to replace with new.

[helen&tony]

Hi David
Good call on the new part....I'm glad you're sorted out....
Cheers
Helen

[windywatson]

Have recently noticed drop off in power etc, can you tell me where I would locate the air flow sensor? My vehicle is a V6 if that any help. Also, has anyone purchased their own OBD code reader & if so what make etc. As I would like to investigate a missfire problem that cures it's self quickly after starting. Done all of the HT stuff, but have thought it may be logging fault codes that would help me sort it out.

Cheers

[g8dhe]

Its on the drivers side just after the air filter, 13-210B in below;
http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... no=.html#5

Not sure that the Bongo uses any of the OBD standard plugs, I think it just preceded the standards ?