Miata Mailing List: April 1999, Message #131

sponsored by

Lanny,
     Thanks a lot, Lanny, for that great description.  You are right, of
course, in that I had the CAI installed, I have the mechanical aptitude of
a half dead moose.  So, I called the shop that did it and although the guy
who installed it was up to his elbows in a car, I will bring Mimi over
there and they will check to see if they crimped (as I suspect) and also to
see if the connection is loose (this might be the result of an accident,
see http://www.primenet.com/~kjtar/chons.html).  In either case, though, I
told them I'd like them to solder the connection.  
     Now, if this doesn't do it, I found out that a new mass air sensor is
$641.03 from Marshall at Roebuck (the retail is $754) so I hope that's not
the way I have to go. But, really, it just seems like a loose connection,
since the problem is only occasional.  If it were the coil pack, would the
car's operation be spotty, or occasional, like it is now?  I would think if
the pack were bad that it would either work, or not.  Right?  No?  Does the
mass air sensor in some way regulate voltage?
Thanks, and sorry for being such a dope,
Tom and Mimi (she's not the dopey one)
Hereford, AZ
At 01:50 AM 4/1/99 -0500, Lanny Chambers wrote:
>On 3/31/99 22:49, Tom Reynolds kjtar@primenet.com wrote:
>
>>     I'm getting codes 8 and 3.  I know 8 is "mass airflow sensor" and 3 is
>>"SGT signal-camshaft position sensor."  Now, my '94R (Mimi) has the JR cold
>>air induction kit...
>
>NOW we're getting somewhere. The JR CAI (which I assume you did not 
>install yourself) relocates the MAS--it must, since the ductwork that 
>used to prop it up at both ends is no longer on the car. The instructions 
>from JR specify using the supplied crimp connectors to splice in an 
>extension for the MAS umbilical. These are pretty shaky as connections 
>go, since they freely oxidize over time. Soldering the wires is the only 
>way to fly, despite that it takes about an hour if you're good at that 
>sort of thing, half of it while while leaning into the engine bay. But it 
>just might cure your Miata. It should IMHO be done regardless, so it's 
>where I'd start if I were you.
>
>Pardon me, please, if your wires are already soldered.
>
>BTW, your MAS is now under the top radiator hose, between the JR airbox 
>and that gorgeous aluminum S-casting connecting the MAS to the throttle 
>body, squeezed into the gap between the fans and the timing cover.
>
>---
>Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
>'94C
>
>Got Red?
>
>
>
>