Drive without MAF

Everyone,

My 90 SC is stuck in a small town about 2 hours from my home. They couldn't pull any codes from the EEC, and they replaced it. Now they are wanting to replace the MAF, and I need to get the car back to my place. I really don't want to pay the $$$ to have them get me an MAF, since I can get one much cheaper and won't charge out the A$$ to put it in, and it took them 5 days to get the EEC, I don't want to think how much longer it might take . Can I drive the 120 miles with a MAF that is having problems, or could I unplug it for the trip and make it?

Thanks

Shawn

no ur car wont run... trust me bro, i would leave it plugged in a try to see how far u get...

Actually....

My MAF in my 95 is worthless as of right now, and I drive it all around with the MAF unplugged. Couple of people i know with SHO's did that also. Unplug it before you start the car and it should just use "default" A/F ratio settings from what I understood. Prolly will get horrible gas milage tho.

Exactly. A bad MAF won't stop the car from runnnig. It'll just stop it from running well.

If you can't drive it like that, find a buddy with a truck and rent a trailer to pull the car back to someone you can trust to work on it. It'll be cheaper in the long run than having some shop that doesn't know what they are doing throwing parts at the car.

Or go to a junk yard and grab the MAF off of any Tbird for $5 and it will run better than no maf at all.

Also make sure you get your original EEC because theres probably nothing wrong with it.

dave

if you do what dave said-dont get one out of an 8cyl bird-i tried that once-fouled 14 sets of plugs-turns out the 2 missing cylinders cause a problem-got really good at swapping plugs before i realized i bought the wrong maf. good luck, mike

There's also a good chance that they put the wrong EEC in for your car, so be sure to get the old 1 back and anything else that they swapped. When things go wrong with your SC while you're travelling is to first find out how much it would cost to get your car towed to your home. It may turn out to be a lot cheaper that lettingguys that may not have a clue use your cash for them to experiment at their shop-time charges.

This is the best resource that you're ever going to find, so get your car home or where ever to can be close to your PC and some basic tools. We'll go over some basics and give you some things to check and when you need parts, you'll find lots in the classified at great prices.
But give us as much background as you can like what was going on before it stopped running, was it day or night driving, have you been having trouble with anything else like the battery and did they test it, did you smell anything odd under the hood? Good luck

Update

I was able to drive it home, running a little rough, but i made it no problems. After talking to the manager, he filled me in. They replaced the PCM not the ECC. When they plugged in the tester all it would say was replace the PCM code. Once they replaced it started giving the MAF code. With the new PCM my cruise started working again.........



Shawn

Thunder139 said:

.. he filled me in. They replaced the PCM not the ECC.

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For the SuperCoupe, there are 2 computer-like devices which control the running of the engine: the Distributorless Ignition Sytem (DIS)/ Integrated Control Module (ICM) and the Electronic Engine Contol (EEC). On the 4.6l N/A Tbirds, there is a module which does the same thing as the EEC but it is called the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) and it works with a Thick Film Ignition (TFI) + Distributor.

These 2 things are often confused for the other, and a shop may intermix the 2 terms without really understanding the difference. So, you should ask for your PCM back... frankly, I sorta doubt there's anything wrong with it too... its not that they can't ever break, but it is rare that they do. Here's the thing... your EEC... It can't throw a code for PCM because it IS what would be the PCM (except that its not).. in any regard, if it can communicate a code... it works.. if it can't communicate a code... its dead. Somebody's makin some stuff up and feeding you a line of something else.

But, if you're happy with the result, and your car is running fine and you don't feel like they fleeced you, don't sweat it.. Even Ford itself guesses and throws parts at a problem.. I've got the repair receipts to prove it

Anyways, get the part back; there's probably nothing wrong with it and it never hurts to have a spare.

vancouverBC said:

This is the best resource that you're ever going to find, so get your car home or where ever to can be close to your PC and some basic tools.

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That is no overstatement either. This web site is it. You really will not find a mechanic anywhere, including at Ford, who knows 1/2 as much as the people here about this car. I do not exaggerate when I say that SCCOA is the reason I still have my SC. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, the collective knowledge here, will help you to keep it running for a fraction of what a shop would cost.