The Hyperlogos

The Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF or MAFS) detects the amount of air flowing through the car's intake. It does this by measuring heat changes between a pair of "hot wire" sensors, by comparing current flow through them. It's perhaps not the method I'd have used (those fragile little sensor wires always just make me wince when I look at them) but it generally seems to work okay and it's at least as reliable as the other principal methods of measuring air flow. The MAF sensor depicted to the left has been removed from the pipe it's normally installed in; it's the MAF in my 1989 Nissan 240SX.

A new MAF costs about $400, so there is considerable interest in cleaning them. The usual plan is to take a cotton swap and some isopropyl alcohol to it, cleaning the elements gently. The wires are very thin and pressing hard on them will break them, especially if they are old and corroded at all - but if they are, the sensor will not provide an accurate reading anyway and it should be replaced. If you're just brushing with the cotton part of the swab, it will be almost impossible to damage the sensor.

This procedure is virtually identical for any car with a MAF. Most Import cars I've looked at seem to use a Hitachi MAF, many of which look identical to this one (but with different numbers and maybe a different connector.) Even if they are different, they're all basically like this one.

MAF Sensor Wires