2004 Alero 3.4L Mass Air Flow

[bad coil]

I go to start my 2002 alero 2.2l and it has trouble starting... check engine light starts flashing... used a hand-held scanner and got the P0300 random misfire code. I've been doing as much research as I can and think that this my be an easy fix with just plugs and wires (perhaps even a coil) but the thing that is throwing me for a loop is that the ETS has been kicked off as is indicated by the "Trac Off" display lamp in the dash. Should this be a clue to point me more in the direction of a coil issue or is there other possibilities?

[Paltry409]

The fact that the ETS light is on and traction is disabled is just a result of the check engine light flashing. There are many codes that will turn off traction control. A flashing check engine light means that the misfire is bad enough to cause possible catalytic converter damage. Yes spark plugs, spark plug wires and ignition coils are the common cause for misfires on this engine. Also a leaking fuel pressure regulator will do the same thing. When the FPR fails, it leaks gas into its vacuum line. This causes an extremely rich condition. It will usually clear itself up after a few hard accelerations.

[pewkie1266]

Was told that I may have a problem with my neutral control switch on my '03 Olds Alero. Can anyone tell me where it is on the transmission or have a diagram that shows where it is.

[carriedi]

left front top of the transmission

hope you had good advise.

[whatever333]

Can you clean the Mass Air Flow Sensor or do you have to buy new one? Also low coolant light comes on periodically but when I check water level it is fine. Why is it doing that?

[carriedi]

yes, you can clean the MAF sensor. the mass air flow sensor has resistors the the computer monitors as air passes through. the MAF gets battery power from the pcm/ign fuse in the underhood fuse block. it is grounded by the PCM. the current that passes through the resistors in the MAF are monitored by the yellow wire. The sensor heats the wire resistors and works by the wind chill affect of the air rushing by the wire. The amount of air that moves by the sensor will cool the wire. As the wire cools the resistance changes and changes the current needed to heat the wire.

Over time, Tiny particles will collect on the wire. As the particles build up they act as insulators that shield the sensor from the wind chill factor. Eventually, if it gets bad enough, you MAF and fuel trim calculated by the PCM won't match up with what the O2 sensor sees in the exhaust. So, you would get lean codes.

you cam clean the MAF sensor heated wires with a good spray cleaner. Do not touch the wires. They are very thin wires and easily broken. Just remove the sensor and spray the sensor wires until they look clean. Spray in the direction that the air flows through the sensor. Some cleaners work better than others. When the resistors look clean just wait a couple minutes for everything to dry and they reinstall the MAF.

while you clean the MAF you may as well clean the throttle body where the throttle plate closes. Coking builds up where the air goes by while the throttle is closed. It closes off the minimum flow that the idle air control adjusts for.That build up raises the IAC counts as it slowly chokes off the closed throttle air.

the parts of the MAF to clean are circled in red.

[guest]

All my lights show on my dashboard and when i went to have i put on a machine no codes came back what could this issue be

[Guest]

hi, I can't login normally so I am going to answer this as a guest.

it's possible that the communication to the dash is compromised. Does your scanner only show engine codes or does it allow for communications with different modules? If you can use the scanner and look at the dash module see if there is communication between the modules. Or check for comm. codes