Think I need a MAF, is ebay good for buying them?
 

Hi guys, well I got my boxster a while back after my sarcastic posts before buying. Now that I have it I am in love with driving. I feel like I am sitting dead center of the car and its a real extension of my will.

Yesterday I pulled into the garage and saw the orange light to check the engine. It was solid and I quickly ran in the house and flipped the laptop open and went straight to reading the posts here on this wonderfully informative forum.

After reading posts from Johny Danger etc it seems like it would be a good thing to replace the MAF sensor first before going to my local very expensive porsche dealership as all the townys round these here parts say its 'dang expensive'

Well I went to the auto store to use the code reader and that fuse seems to be blown as the ciggy lighter dont work either and was told they are connected. They quoted me $230 for the MAF sensor but I looked on ebay and they are really cheap.

My question is' are the maf sensors fs on the bay any good? Should I buy a can of maf sensor cleaner and try that?

Anyone know where the fuse is located that is linked to the cig lighter and code reader ?

I was having soooooo much fun you guys and now this has happened so if there is any advice I really appreciate it.

Well after research I found the fuse location but I did just buy a MAF sensor for my 2.5 stradard 1999 boxster from ebay.

New 97 04 Porsche MAF Mass Air Flow Sensor Meter 911 Boxster Carrera 0280217007 | eBay

are you sure that whatever problem you've been having is the MAF?

Parts swapping is an expensive diagnostic method...

Well at this point I am just guessing, the car runs good but I dont know what to look for as it my first car. I figure that its a cheap easy thing to replace but when I get a new fuse in I will know for sure with the diagnostic code reader.

Get the codes before replacing anything. You will have plenty of opportunities to replace parts on your Boxster.

Yeah, what Jamesp said. Also, reading the codes and correctly interpreting them are two completely different things. Post your codes here once you have them and we'll have a go at seeing if we can figure out what's wrong.

Are there any other symptoms like rough idle, stalling...?

I find it hard to believe that the data port and the cigarette lighter are on the same circuit. You sure about that?

You can get a basic Actron code scanner at most parts stores for under $40...which will give you at least a starting point. You can also reset the codes with the scanner and then go drink a six pack and hope they never come back.

Agreed with others. Read your codes first, then diagnose the issue.

That said I have an extra sealed-in-box OEM MAF from my 1999 Boxster. It will work in MYs '97-'99. I spent over $200 on the thing, then misplaced it in a move and had to buy another one to fix my Boxster. The misplaced MAF resurfaced in a later move and now I need to get rid of it.

Contact me by PM if you're interest. I can tell you right now that I'm not going to match that ebay part price. $35 for a MAF is highly suspect in my opinion. Check with Pelican Parts or Sunset Imports to see what they're selling MAFs for.

An awful lot of codes for things downstream are created by a malfunctioning MAF sensor.

Truth, but it isn't always the culprit. Mechanics love replacing the MAF and O2 sensors because the part costs are high and thus hide the inflated labor costs. Replacing a MAF is simply plug and play. It's probably the easiest repair I ever performed. Putting the top in "service position" was the hardest step.

Any good links here to put the top into service position?

I will get back to you guys with the codes and thanks for taking interest as I really appreciate your help and knowledge.

Service position is basically having the top half way between open and close so that you can unsnap the cables and access the engine bay. Step 1 of doing any work to the top end of the motor. You'll have to remove the carpeted panel (and rear storage box if you have one) and the engine hatch lid. Pelican Parts has some good online tutorials for working on Boxsters. See if they have one for swapping the MAF.

Also if the MAF is bad, you wont be able to tell by the eye. There is a very fine little resistor circuit and if it is even slightly dirty/oil (so slight you cannot see it) the MAF will fail.