My Volvo has severe difficulty starting when its raining/damp/humid outside and has had this problem for well over a year. I have so far managed the situation by unplugging the MAF, starting the car no problem, then turning the engine off, plugging the MAF back in, and the viola! No problems starting up. Clearly this has to be a MAF sensor problem I assume. For over a year now I have been telling myself I will buy a new/refub MAF. The problem is its a 91 volvo 240 with 250k+ miles on it.

It needs new snow tires this winter, it needs a MAF sensor, I just replaced the intank fuel pump to resolve my intermittent stalling issues. I'm a cheap a-hole. I don't want to spend 300$+ in tires, 300+ for an MAF, and then the 280 I just spent on the in tank fuel pump to only have the car die soon (hah this damn thing won't die as much as I have been awaiting the day so I can buy a new car, but I won't buy a new car until this one is good and dead).

Clearly you can tell I am super cheap.

My question relates back to what about the cheaper 120-180 off brand MAF replacements? I have read multiple threads about people purchasing these and being dissapointed. I find it hard to believe I would goto my local car part shot and buy a new product and it in fact doesn't last 6 months. But I also am hesitant to shell out the 300 for a bosch refurb part.

I guess I am looking for people who have replaced their MAF with an off brand version and don't have a horror story.

 

A wrecking yard is the answer, depending on where you are and what the Volvo population is in your area. I'm not sure your problem diagnosis is accurate though. MAF code (if your OBD-1 is showing one) can be a symptom of something else, not neccessarily a cause of your problem.

 

I guess my question then is why would the car not start when its damp outside with the MAF plugged in. But start immediately once it is unplugged. Turn the car off. Then Start immediately afterwards once plugging it back in. I've been doing this on rainy days and damp mornings for over a year now.

I've also had the car in two separate shops and each ran codes and discussed that they are not 100% sure what some of problems are but each time each shop has wanted to replace the MAF and see if that resolved the issue. The problem being the shops have wanted 500-600 to install a Bosch MAF and while I paid 60-80$ twice for a diagnostic workup I knew I could get a Bosch and install this piece of equipment myself for far cheaper. I still can't figure out why the local shops want so much to replace the part.

 

As suggested by mcintorb, I would try to get one from the junkyard. I pulled one as a spare and it cost me $35. I figured I could take a gamble on that. The one I pulled worked fine and now I have an extra just in case.

 

if you pull one from a junkyard, just be sure its the right type, LH2.4 (1989 and later) is a completely different MAF (-016) than LH2.2 (up to 1988) cars, which use a -007. turbos use the same one, but switched to LH2.4 a year later. you can use one from a 740/940 too as long as its the right type. note SOME volvos have regina/rex injection, these don't even HAVE a MAF. Oh, there's also 240's with LH3.1 (I've never seen one), these use MAF -001, which has a 4 pin connector.