Used carb cleaner on MAF sensor! Help?

Okay, so I know this is my bad but I went to clean my MAF sensor and I took it off properly and what not did all the correct steps but I realized after that I used carb and choke cleaner which I know eats away plastic. I let it dry for about 10m until I realized then I used a microfibre towel to gently wipe off as much of the cleaner as I could and I used a hairdryer on a cold setting not hot to helo with the drying process. Where I live now, I have no access to a MAF sensor for a while.

So I was wondering if I did all the necessary steps to help get rid of the residue because it still cleaned it perfectly fine and when I reinstalled it I got no check engine light.

Any thoughts/tips? Thanks.

(Update 1): I want to make it clear that this was a mistake and I did NOT use carb cleaner on PURPOSE, I just want to know if it will cause any major issues after I wiped it down and was careful with it.

(Update 2): Again, some people aren’t understanding. This was a mistake and like I said I was very careful in cleaning it up. The check engine light never came on or has come on. I just went for an hour drive constantly starting the truck and going at different speeds with no problem.

 

I was under the impression carb/choke cleaner would hurt the sensor and that's why you don't use it

I would just consider yourself lucky and hope the CEL stays off...if no CEL then everything should be OK

 

no that's what I mean I knew it was bad but I didn't realize

 

I'm sure plenty of people do it too without knowing, it's probably fine...just not something to make a habit out of. If it's not throwing a CEL then you should be good.

 

I say just drive it if you don't have a CEL. There is someone on youtube that has a video on cleaning the MAF and they used carb cleaner too. People in the comments berated him for it but he said that it's fine and that the chemical compound is similar. Who really knows. Personally for me, I rarely use carb cleaner in anything besides carbs because of aggressive it is towards plastics. I always use CRC MAF cleaner or electronic contact cleaner.

 

Yeah worst case is ill have to replace it but I tried my best not to damage it.

 

It's not like using carb cleaner does this to plastics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbb4yRBH64

Obviously you don't want to soak plastic parts in carb cleaner overnight, or use it repeatedly, but it's probably fine for "that one time".

But as others said, as long as the CEL it stays of, I think you're fine. Sometimes it takes a few drive cycles to reactivate the code (I assume you cleared the code?), so it MAY come back on.

 

I've got no love for trash pandas but that video clip makes me sad every time

 

I want to know what kind of sadistic weirdo gave that to them, lol.

 

No never came on I think I need to address this. It never came on as I was very careful getting rid of the residue and drying it.

 

Very possible that carb cleaner is aggressive to the plastic used in MAF, but I am not 100% sure of it. Maybe the plastic used in Toyota MAF sensor is resistant to the solvent used in carb Cleaner. I don't know. . Based on that I can't say if MAF plastic components got damaged in any way or not.


One thing however I know is that Carb Cleaner contains small amount of oil that after solvent evaporates, that oil residue is used to lubricate carb parts after they are cleaned up. Obviously you don't want that oil residue on your MAF elements, especially on the thin metal wires used to sense the airflow. While small amount of that oil will not interfere with the readouts significantly, over time it will attract dust particles that will make MAF dirty in much shorter time than normal.

To fix the issue I would just use Electric Contact Cleaner (or dedicated MAF cleaner) to clean the MAF again - both are plastic safe and will clean that oil leaving no residue. You don't need to do it right away now, but the sooner, the better.

 

Okay I just ordered MAF cleaner on Amazon should be coming later this week. I will do the same steps as well to help clean it. Is there anything else I should be doing?

 

One thing to remember just because a spray can says Carb Cleaner the are not all the same.

I can only guess you were quite lucky another brand your MAF might have been done.

If your luck holds play power ball!!

 

I use brake cleaner on plastics and have never had an issue so long as I wipe everything down. I highly doubt you caused any damage. The main issue with using these kind of products is that they dry the plastics out. MAF sensors are more durable than you’d think and I doubt coating some oil on it caused any damage as it sees way more abuse from blowby.

 

This is the kind of response I was expecting. Thanks lol