Your Toyota Camry MAF Sensor is responsible for transmitting real time information to your Toyota ECU. The ECU then uses this information to properly orchestrate the ignition and fuel events for your Camry’s engine. When your mass air flow sensor begins to fail or go bad, it can cause your Camry to run lean or overly rich.
Today I’ll be showing you how to test a Toyota Camry Mass Air Flow Sensor in a 2004 with the 3.3 liter V6 engine in it. If your Toyota Camry MAF is going bad you will see a check engine light indicator light up on your Camry dashboard. Use an OBDII scan tool to retrieve your check engine trouble code from your Toyota.
There are several check engine codes that can arise from a problematic mass air flow sensor. Trouble codes can cause your Camry to fail emissions testing or smog, but you’ll be able to use this handy guide to test your MAF.
Failing mass air flow sensors can cause your Camry to run rough, or even emit black smoke. Because your Camry ECU won’t properly be able to read the incoming air charge, it can deliver too much fuel, which can make your Camry buck or surge.
Your Toyota Camry MAF Sensor is a 5 pin sensor that’s mounted to the intake tract of your 3.3 liter Camry engine. Today I’ll be showing you how to find this sensor and test it using a voltmeter or multimeter. Not sure what this tool is or how to use one? Check out our handy guide here to read all about it.
Test your Toyota Camry MAF Sensor for Power
To begin testing your Toyota Camry MAF Sensor, you’ve got to locate it. This 5 pin weatherproof sensor is mounted to the plastic air intake box in your 3.3 liter engine bay. Open your engine bay and locate your air intake, and you’ll notice the MAF housing that your sensor is connected to.
Before you start testing your MAF sensor, the first order of business is to test the sensor for power and ground. To do this with your multimeter, put the black lead on the negative battery terminal. Now you must insert your Toyota ignition key and turn the ignition to the “ON” position, but do not start the engine.
Now unplug the Toyota Camry MAF sensor connector plug, and you will be probing the front of PIN 1 labeled +B. When testing the wiring harness side of your mass air flow sensor, never force the probe into the housing. Gently probe the front of PIN 1 or +B and you should have power at this wire.
The next wire you need to test is PIN 2 or E2G for power, and if you have power here the next step to testing your MAF is measuring voltage. To do this you will need to use a backpin or paper clip that’s been opened up. This allows you to push the metal clip through the back of your MAF connector and the pin you need to backpin is PIN 3 or the VG pin.
How to measure Toyota Camry MAF Signal
Plug the MAF connector back into your sensor, and backpin the middle pin which is labeled VG. This is the signal wire that transmits information to your Toyota Camry ECU. Now keeping your hands and hair as well as clothing free from your engine, belts and any pulleys, have a friend start the car with the transmission in neutral.
You should be able to read the voltage at the middle pin with the engine started, and at idle it should read around 1.1 volts. If this checks out the last step of testing your Toyota mass air flow sensor is to measure resistance of the internal mass air flow sensor components.
The last leg of our how to tutorial is to measure the resistance Ω of the internal Toyota Camry MAF components. Remember you will be testing the sensor directly, so unplug the MAF and probe the pins from the Toyota Camry MAF side.
The pins you will be testing are PIN 4 THA and PIN 5 E2. These two pins should return a resistance between 2.21 Ω to 2.69 kΩ at room temperature. If the Toyota Camry MAF is warm to hot, meaning above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the resistance values you are looking for is 0.493 kΩ to 0.667 kΩ.
Congratulations! you now know how to test your Toyota Camry MAF! Have any questions or comments about our how-to guide or tutorial? Leave them for us below and let us know!