I have a functioning MAF at the moment, but it would be nice to repair this one to have as a spare.

Thanks
Ken K

Paul
1993 Q45
Modifications done: 1994 auto dimming mirror, 1994 Q45 tweeters, 1994 Q45 trunk net, 1990 Q45 Seat controls, Rare Mike Goodwin wooden cup holder and more to come.

Well, Paul Wall, you raise interesting points. 1, does the little brown ooze around the edges of each solder joint mean there is a problem with the solder connection--is that what you mean? 2, it doesn't look like there was ever a solder connection of the third post from the right. Are you assuming that there should have been one, or have you taken apart one of these puppies and know that this should have a solder joint, or is it just that the post is bare that concerns you? I clearly have no idea!! (although until a month ago, there had only been a two widely spaced [once a year] episodes that I see now, in retrospect, were a problem with the MAF)

I guess the big question is whether this is a salvageable part or if I should trash it and not consider even trying to salvage it?

Thanks
Ken K

The brown ooze in and of itself isn't a bad thing... just the resins from the solder. The bubbly stuff on the end looks like that area has overheated. I would try cleaning it up with a fine wire brush. Can't hurt retacking each solder joint with a soldering iron... just don't heat things up too much in case the components are heat sensitive.

Heath

But this is one of my MAF's I have taken apart and it looks like there was some solder there before:

Here is a better picture of the MAF:

I will look for someone my age (60's) who has a small TV repair shop and ask him to touch up the connections.

Thanks again

Ken K

If You just re solder the connections whats the possibility of this happening?

Thanks
Ken K

Heath

Reheat the solder that is already there and let it fill any gaps around the wire and board.

I re-soldered my MAF and when I took it apart I noticed that one of the connectors that is soldered to the pins, the pins that the plug harness connects to, had a broken solder point. I re-soldered that connection and have not had any problems with stumbling, rough idle, etc.

Before you re-solder the board I would make sure the contacts to the pins are good and not the issue. Stress is created at this point on the MAF and you plug and unplug the harness.

You bring up a good point about the contacts for the connector. Those inside the connector seem fine, as they work just fine with my spare MAF. But where those three stiff wires connect to the wires from the board inside may be a problem. I will have to re-solder them anyway, as I did not know what I was doing, unscrewed and removed the small piece which is the connector, and pulled it out, thereby disconnecting all three of the wires to the main board in the MAF...!! Oh, well. At least my spare works well....!!! The original MAF will give me some soldering experience..

How do I re-seal the unit? Just some black caulking material?

Discover the power of the button!

Glad to know I'm not the only one to do this!

Quote, originally posted by qship96 »

Room Temperature Vulcanazation

Wow... I learned something today! I have used the term for years without ever knowing the words behind the letters.

Heath

Meanwhile I will play with the unit that failed and see if re-soldering it solves the problem. I have a mechanic now who likes electrical issues and has offered to test the failed unit to see if it is a diode failure or just a solder joint issue...

Thanks, all

http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm

I understand the magnifying glass, thin solder and solder sucker parts but don't understand the alligator clip as a heat sink.

This thread and this post prompted me to go to Radio Shack and talk to the resident soldering expert. The solder sucker was my missing tool for working on circuit boards. I used it last weekend to R&R the stop/tail lamp sensor in the 90Q and it's working again. I'm stunned at my random success.

Quote, originally posted by Mint Q45A »

Here is a link to a site with some information on how to solder. http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm

Excellent article. Thanks for posting it.

90 Q45 Base 249,000 miles . . It just keeps going, and going, and going.......

Thanks,

Bill

Heath

I recently opened up the MAF that came on my current Q and found it to be in pretty good conditon from a visual inspection. The only thing I saw was a possible cold solder joint around the transistor (green three pronged part in the upper left corner of Paul's picture below. So I added some solder, wicked it all up with some chemwick and then resoldered the connections. The car ran great tonight with this MAF. I'm not ready to declare it "cured" yet - but I wanted to mention where I found the cold solder joint or evidence of overheating.

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