To understand how a faulty mass airflow (MAF) sensor can indirectly create black exhaust, you must know what it does first. The MAF sensor measures the air that comes into the engine from the outside. It reports the inflow to the engine control unit (ECU). Moose Jaw Truck Shop advises that if the MAF sensor reports incorrect data, the ECU may increase the fuel in the combustion chamber when it doesn’t need it. This can create black exhaust smoke. Here are other signs your MAF sensor is going bad.
Check Engine Warning
The check engine light will come on if the MAF sensor is malfunctioning. This is because there are a number of issues underneath the hood of your automobile that are going on at once. For example, the black exhaust smoke above is just one problem underneath the hood.
Acceleration Hesitation
Your vehicle’s acceleration might also hesitate if there is too much air in the combustion chamber and the engine is fuel-starved. The ECU can cause this imbalance, as well, based on incorrect readings of air inflow from the mass airflow sensor.
Rough Engine Idling
In addition to the acceleration hesitation, your engine will also idle roughly if the MAF sensor is bad. Again, any time there is an air-heavy fuel mixture in the combustion chamber, the engine struggles to run because it is fuel-starved.
Performance Issues
This condition can also cause engine performance issues when you are driving your car, truck, or utility vehicle. For example, your engine might sputter at higher speeds because it doesn’t have enough fuel to support the speed. It might also pick up speed sporadically if there is too much fuel in the combustion chamber. In other words, your engine performance will be erratic because of the mass airflow sensor.
Reduced Fuel Economy
Unfortunately, anytime the engine is having problems such as sputtering or surging, your fuel economy is affected. You will see a noticeable reduction in the kilometres per gallon a full tank gets.
Hard or No Starting
Finally, if you are having difficulties starting your automobile, it’s possible that the MAF sensor is to blame. Again, the blame is indirect because the sensor is causing the ECU to make unnecessary changes in the combustion chamber. These changes can leave you with a dead engine.
Moose Jaw Truck Shop in Moose Jaw, SK, can help, so ring us up today. We’d be happy to test your mass airflow sensor to see if it is malfunctioning. If it is, we will replace it.
