More and more drivers are trying to take care of their cars by themselves. This results in considerable cost savings because contemporary cars necessitate more and more maintenance and are done up of more and more technical components that result in new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the complications that disturbs more and more BMW 4 Series owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will result in a loss of power and black exhaust gases. Today we are going to look at how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series? . First, we will explain how your mass airflow sensor operates and its usefulness, second, why it may be important to clean this sensor , and at last, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW 4 Series .

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Utility and operation of the mass air flow meter of a BMW 4 Series

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So we begin our content page with the procedure and purpose of your BMW 4 Series flowmeter.

The intent of the mass air flow sensor on BMW 4 Series

The mass air flow sensor is a component that has been developed quite lately and mainly equipped on diesel models. In actual fact, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is therefore necessary for the ECU to know the exact volume of air loaded into the engine to modify the actions of complementary intake parts such as the injection or the EGR valve, if you have problems with the EGR valve on your BMW 4 Series, do not think twice to seek advice from our content page on this subject.

Mass air flow sensor operation on BMW 4 Series

Now, we are going to take a look at how it operates, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series , you must already understand how it functions to achieve this maintenance action accurately.

The mass air flow sensor is therefore mainly there to collect data on the air intake of your car. To get this done, it must be set up just after the air intake of your BMW 4 Series, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe equipped with a sensor that will analyze the air in the intake and transmit the data to the ECU of your car.

Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW 4 Series?

The mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series can have complications and this is what we will try to discover and figure out what complications you may be facing!

Mass air flow sensor complications BMW 4 Series

Here are the different complications that the air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series can bring about:

  • higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will necessarily end in more significant fuel consumption caused by poor air flow…
  • Power loss: Associated with the same problem, this lack of air can bring about a loss of power to your engine.
  • Difficulties starting the automobile: Finally, one of the last classic complications linked to a dirty flowmeter will be that your BMW 4 Series will have more difficulties to begin the car.

How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a BMW 4 Series?

After reviewing the operation and concerns that the flowmeter can bring about, we will look at how to resolve these complications by describing to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series . You should know that this operation is quite basic to carry out and you will not need advanced mechanical abilities to do it yourself, a good way to avoid a trip to the mechanic and a steep bill. Discover down below the different steps to follow to carry out this maintenance act:

  • After having located the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series , you will have to dismantle it. To get this done, action delicately, but you will just have to disassemble it on both sides of the air duct and disconnect the electrical plug on top of it.
  • Once taken apart, you will be able to move forward to the step cleaning the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series . This sensor will, as time passes, get dirty and its two “filaments” that will give information to your computer on the quality and temperature of the air will no longer be able to collect data accurately, it is in this sense that it will affect the operation of the engine unit of your BMW 4 Series. The intent of this cleaning will be to remove all its impurities to allow it to work efficiently again.
  • Let soak the lower section of your mass air flow sensor (not the plug part) in acetone or another solvent for a few minutes , which will remove most of the grime
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  • Now we’ll proceed to the very delicate cleaning of the flow meter filaments. You have to be very cautious, in any other case your mass air flow sensor will be permanently damaged. With the help of a fine brush and solvent, delicately clean the two filaments of your mass air flow sensor . If you are too afraid of damaging it, you can also clean them with a brake fluid in the form of an aerosol by spraying the jet on these filaments.

Now you know how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW 4 Series , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine unit.

If you wish more tutorials on the BMW 4 Series, go to our BMW 4 Series category.