The check engine light just came on in my car-1997 850 Wagon AWD 222,000km.- pulled the DTC and it came up P0103:Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit High Input.Can anyone help troubleshoot this- ie. where to look/service?
Thanks in advance

 

Check good for a vacuum leak first if all is good the MAF might be going bad.

 

+1

 

Since I've got the same problem, I thought I'd just post here rather than start a need thread. How do I go about checking for a vacuum leak?

 

check all rubber elbows and vaccum lines.the elbows and hoses get mushy and start to deteriorate.plastic vaccum pipes get brittle and break.

 

Which ones are the vacuum lines? Is this all around the air box or in other places? And is this just a visual inspection or is there something mechanical involved?

thx

 

its just visual...easiest way is to start at the vaccum tree under the throttle cable cover.check the elbows there, make sure any unused port is capped.then trace the lines to the other end making sure the hoses are in good condition. there is another rubber elbow on the passenger side of the intake manifold.you might need a mirror to see it.you can feel around for it and rub it to see if its mushy or falling apart.also next to the throttle body you will see the flametrap.that also has a rubber elbow.

if you have a turbo i believe there are also more to check under the air box.i dont have a turbo so im not sure. hopefully you just have a bad connection somewhere and its not your MAF..good luck

 

Unfortunately, I'm not a car person, and I got confused as soon as you said "vacuum tree." I did at least try to look at hoses (really, any hose I could find), and they seemed ok.

Here's a bit more information. I took it out today (95 non-turbo). It ran fine for about 10 minutes with no problems. At that point, symptoms reappeared. The engine hiccups about every 5 seconds when in idle in drive, but in park, it is almost non-existent. Almost.

I had my check engine code read again. P0103 is the only code that is triggered.

 

refer to this link for help with the vaccum lines.

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/vacuum_lines.php


are you saying the car runs fine until it is warmed up?also when was the last tune-up?

 

sounds like it might just need a new good set of plugs and wires...

 

Thanks for the link, but still a bit techy for me. Now I just need to figure out what all those various parts are and where they're located. Also, they refer to a "common failure" in the first pic, but I didn't see anything wrong. Really not sure what I'm looking at. Sorry. But don't give up on me yet. I have done some actual work on the car myself (replaced the O2 sensors and brake pads). I know, it's not much, but I wasn't even changing my own oil a year ago....

The page mentions that getting to the rubber elbow "is a tricky operation and if it is your first time, the easier way is to move the power steering pump out of the way, which will give you unrestricted access to the elbow." Is it easy to move this pump? I'm looking through two manuals that talk about removing it entirely, and it sounds like a bit much. Is just moving it easier? Do you know what's involved?

Well, yeah, I guess I am saying that. And I had a 150K maintenance (equivalent to 30K maintenance) done 10K miles ago. So I can hopefully rule out spark plugs as an issue.

 

we all start somewhere...i havnt removed the pump so dont know the process..but i am able to squeeze my hand in there and feel the elbow.if you have big hands it might be more difficult.try using a mirror. if it looks cracked or ripped you will need to remove the intake manifold to replace...it might be discouraging when you read the step by step but once you are under the hood it wont be too bad.go slow you will be fine..good luck

 

Found and checked the hoses, and they all seem to be fine. Halfway suspected that to be the case anyway since I don't have the symptoms all the time. Anything else to try before I invest in a MAF?