More and more motorists are trying to maintain their cars on their own. This outcomes in significant cost savings because modern cars necessitate more and more maintenance and are made up of more and more technical parts that lead to new breakdowns or inconveniences. One of the complications that impacts more and more BMW i3 owners is a clogged air flow meter, which will bring about a loss of power and black exhaust gases. In this article we are going to examine how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3? . First, we will teach you how your mass airflow sensor functions and its advantages, second, why it may be relevant to clean this sensor , and finally, how to clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW i3 .
Utility and action of the mass air flow meter of a BMW i3
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So we start our article with the operation and goal of your BMW i3 flowmeter.
The aim of the mass air flow sensor on BMW i3
The mass air flow sensor is a component that has been developed actually quite not long ago and specifically supplied on diesel models. In actual fact, with injection engines, the fuel and air intake has become very precise and it is so essential for the ECU to know the exact volume of air loaded into the engine to change the behaviour of complementary intake parts such as the injection or the EGR valve, if you have problems with the EGR valve on your BMW i3, do not think twice to consult our article on this subject.
Mass air flow sensor operation on BMW i3
Now, we are going to take a look at how it functions, before trying to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3 , you must already figure out how it works to do this maintenance act properly.
The mass air flow sensor is therefore specifically there to get statistics on the air intake of your car. To achieve this, it must be installed just after the air intake of your BMW i3, i. e. just after the air filter. It is a pipe supplied with a sensor that will analyze the air in the intake and transmit the statistics to the ECU of your car.
Why clean the mass air flow sensor of a BMW i3?
The mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3 can have complications and this is what we will try to discover and understand what complications you may be facing!
Mass air flow sensor complications BMW i3
Here are the different complications that the air flow sensor of your BMW i3 can bring about:
- higher fuel consumption: Because a dirty flow meter will actually bring about more significant fuel consumption due to 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 vehicle: Finally, one of the last traditional complications linked to a dirty flowmeter will be that your BMW i3 will have more issues to start the vehicle.
How do I clean the mass air flow sensor from a BMW i3?
After examining the operation and concerns that the flowmeter can bring about, we will look at how to solve these complications by showing to you how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3 . You should know that this operation is actually quite simple to accomplish and you will not need advanced mechanical expertise to do it your self, a good technique to avoid a trip to the garage area and a steep bill. Discover below the different steps to stick to to accomplish this maintenance act:
- After having found the mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3 , you will have to dismantle it. To achieve this, act gently, 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 i3 . This sensor will, with time, 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 properly, it is in this sense that it will disturb the operation of the engine unit of your BMW i3. The aim of this cleaning will be to remove all its impure substances to allow it to work efficiently again.
- Let soak the lower part 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
- Now we’ll proceed to the very gentle cleaning of the flow meter filaments. You have to be very cautious, in any other case your mass air flow sensor will be permanently broken. With the help of a fine brush and solvent, gently clean the two filaments of your mass air flow sensor . If you are too afraid of destroying it, you can also clean them with a brake fluid in the form of an aerosol by spraying the jet on these filaments.
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Now you know how to clean the mass air flow sensor of your BMW i3 , you should feel a noticeable difference in the behavior of your engine unit.
If you want more guides on the BMW i3, go to our BMW i3 category.
