Major 7 Symptoms of a bad MAP Sensor

The manifold absolute pressure sensor is short termed as MAP Sensor. If it gets malfunctioned then air-fuel mixture and its supply is affected. It turns to either lean or rich. Symptoms of a bad MAP sensor are discussed below in this article.

1 – Rich Air Fuel Mixture

The failed MAP sensor is responsible for rich air-fuel mixture, Then various malfunctions will have occurred in total combustion and exhaust process. Rich mixture causes the spark plug failure, high carbon deposits, clogged catalytic converter, lower fuel economy.

2 – Lean Air Fuel Mixture

Sometimes MAP sensor also causes the lean air-fuel mixture which will further affect the engine parts due to excessive heat production. A lean mixture is hot in temperature so engine performance and combustion are badly affected. Engine component’s life is reduced.

Harmful emission gases like carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) are increased. Engine knocking is also produced.

3 – Check Engine Light

If the MAP sensor failed to function then newer vehicles with OBD2 Port show the check engine light symbol on the dashboard. You can detect and solve the real problem by scanning the car for trouble codes.

4 – Engine Misfires

Bad MAP Sensor results in either a lean or rich air-fuel mixture to supply. The engine will misfire then due to uneven mixture supply in the combustion chamber. This further causes unstable engine running conditions.

5 – Failed Emissions Test

Rich mixture causes more unburnt gases to pass from the exhaust. A rich mixture is supplied due to failed MAP Sensor.

If you check your vehicle for a regular emission test then you will notice more emission occurs. There are a lot of reasons for Emission test failure but a bad MAP sensor is one of that.

6 – Rough Idle

Idle running condition of the engine means there is no acceleration for running engines. Vehicle is either stable or parked. The uneven air-fuel mixture can cause this symptom of rough idle. Excessive engine vibrations are produced with no intentions.

7 – Poor engine performance and acceleration.

The vehicle is likely to lose its acceleration and pickup just by the failed MAP sensor. There is variation in mixture supply so when you want to sudden acceleration for either cruising or speeding the vehicle you can’t get that much power and performance.

Working of MAP Sensor –

Manifold Absolute Pressure, This name indicates its working and function. This MAP sensor measures the amount of air pressure present in the intake manifold.

This pressure is taken with the RPM (speed) for calculating the load of the engine. This all data is monitored with ECU to supply the correct amount of fuel with respect to air.

Some vehicles are equipped with MAP and MAF (mass airflow) sensors together for accurate air density measurement. That density won’t be affected by ambient temperature then. Some vehicles are equipped with MAP and IAT (intake air temperature) sensors together.

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