Pontiac Firehawk

1999 Pontiac Firehawk Fuel System Hesitating When accelerating Always

I recently installed a cold air intake system. I was sure to reconnect the mass air flow sensor (MAF) and air temperature sensor. Under certain accelleration the car would hesitate. It would not do this under light accelleration or full throttle, only at about mid-range throttle.

I tried fuel injector cleaner as I thought now that the engine is getting more air, perhaps the injectors weren't keeping up. Still no difference.

Finally I disconnected the MAF and the car runs perfect. I even notice HP improvements. The problem now is that the check engine light is on.

Is my MAF sensor bad? Do I need to install a higher performance MAF sensor? Do I even need a MAF sensor if the car runs well without it being connected?

I take it your vehicle check engine light was not coming on prior to the instaltion of the cold air intake. If this is the case, I would have to belive the MAF sensor is operating the way the factory intended it to. I dont know what kind of cold air system youre speaking of. If it is an O.E.M. approved type of system, then all sensors that detect the air flow and send code to the ECM would fuction properly. My guess is that this is not happening since you state that after diconnecting the MAF the car runs fine. The only remedy I know of would be is reconnect the MAF and scan for any codes. Wouldnt doubt that it would point to the sensor. If this is the case,I woudnt automaticly rule the sensor at fault.Whenever you alter factory settings, all systems must be looked at when doing so.
Theres a good chance the ECM is recieving a false/negative code from the MAF due to the introduction of this cold air system that it cant relate to. Again, I dont know what type of system youre speaking of. If it is an off the shelf aftermarket type of product, check with the manufacture to see if they have any type of remedies. They may have some type of MAF of chip for the ECM to take care of the problem.
Good Luck,
Paul

Thanks for your help so far. I wouldn't say the new cold air induction is OEM but it is an over the counter part. It is made by Volant, Volant Cold Air Intake part number 15958c2. I'm thinking I now need to upgrade the MAF sensor as well. SLP sells a High Flow MAF sensor, part number 23060. For more information you can find descriptions for both parts on www.lmperformance.com.

Do you think the MAF sensor upgrade will help?

If I continue to run without the MAF sensor connected, could I run into engine troubles?

Can't tell you for sure that the MAF is the cause of the problem but at this point, from the info that you've given me, there is a good possibility. Again, you need to have the system scanned to rule out any other malfuctions. As far as running it with the MAF disconnected, if the ECM recieves a negative code it then tries to tell other systems to try and compensate for them until the problem is taken care of or it will eventually shut down the system. Just like your home computer, if you have a virus or a spyware attachment has infected it, there is a good possibilty that it will take out your hard drive(engine)
Good Luck,
Paul