Hi, I recently purchased a 1993 850 and as part of maintenance I was doing on the car I sprayed some MAF cleaner thru the MAF sensor but I think I may have sprayed too much and damaged the sensor or the wiring. After doing that when driving the car the engine will die when coming to a stop or slowing down, the engine runs fine with gas applied and even when I'm braking I can keep the car running as long as I give it gas at the same time. Also, before this all started the car was having a problem where when I would come to a complete stop the engine would drop about 500 rpm from idle, the service engine light and the fuel light would both come on at the same time, and then it would go back to normal idle. Is this maybe the fuel filter or something else? Thanks for any info you might have.

 

Is the check engine light on? IF so, you can pull the trouble codes and post back what you find and we can go from there. Do a quick search and you will find out how to pull the trouble codes causing the check engine light. Short answer though is you may have killed the MAF. Check the connections at the MAF first before you replace it

 

Hello Trumpy and Psaboic,

I only had a throttle bodyproblem with my 1985 Grand AM (it ws an 85 and that in itself was a problem) and I used carb cleaner and it worked out. But the car nickeled and dimed me to death so I traded it in for a new 1995 Grand AM (39,215 km on the clock) in 1996 and in 1997 it got stolen[:@]. That was the first and last time I buy a new car. But it was nice.

Im also having a stalling out issue but I think that my problem is different in that Im draining the battery because Im running a power inverter formy laptop and with me not driving as far as I used to during the week, the short trips around town arent enough to properly bring the battery back up to its proper fully charged state. This in turn causes a larger draw on the battery which, with other accessories running, causes the car to die. Is this sound logic?

The car, once running, uses the battery to keep going. The alternator is used to keep the battery charged up and accommodate some extra load on the battery, its not supposed to run the engine? Right?

Would an Odessy or red/yellow top deep cycle battery withone of those battery tenders be a good idea? You know, just plug in at night to top up.

Just looking for help while the topic is open.

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OK, I figured it out. I didn't even damage the MAF sensor, I actually damaged the intake hose running from the airbox to the intake manifold. It was cracked in half and was barely connected. So I installed a new intake hose, new MAF sensor just in case, and reset the check engine by leaving the battery disconnected for awhile. Now the car runs great again and even more reliable than when I first got it. Thanks for the help anyways though

 

Glad you got it fixed!, and I'm glad it wasn't the MAF. Some of them are very fragile. I also have a VW Jetta, and the MAF on it will break if you look at it wrong <grin>.

Quick brick. From what I hear on your problem, it could be that the battery is in a low enough state to cause the alternator to put too much drag on the motor while it is trying to re-charge the battery, but that is kind of an extreme example. It might be a low voltage issue that is causing the computer to do wonky things

The way I have always understood it is this. The battery is used to start the car, or run the lights and accessories when the engine is not running. Once the engine is running, the alternator now provides the power for all the lights, computer, accessories, and will slowly re-charge the battery if it needs it. Since the alternator output varies with engine speed, the voltage regulator is used to maintain a set maximum voltage/current flow. If not, you could quickly fry electrical components.

It has been several years since I had to deal with the charging system, so if anyone sees that I have left anything out, please feel free to chime in.

As for you specific issue, I would take the car to an AutoZone or NAPA and ask them to load test both the alternator and the battery for you.That will let you know the state of your charging system. Once that is known we can go from there.

 

Hello Psaboic,

If such is the case, then would a larger alternator be in order?

If I am not mistaken, the stock one is eighty amps, so would the one hundred ampbe better?


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A larger alternator would definitely work if the wiring is in good shape. I would check and clean all the connections and grounds first to make sure that you are getting all the juice from the alternator you have. If that doesn't help, you can get the old alternator load tested or replace it with a higher output one.

 

Hello Psaboic,

I will work on the load test.

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Good luck. I know how irritating electrical issues and intermittant problems can be. Let us know how it works out.