i have a 1996 nissan maxima i took out the old air intake system and i put in one i got from e-bay but my problem is what to do with the sensor that was in the old air box that holds the filter. now that sensor is just taped to the side,would this sensor make my engine jump and cut off. do i need to put the old nissan air intake back in
First off you bought an air intake system off ebay. Something like a K&N? If so that means it needs oiled. Second is yes you need your maf for the engine to run properly. What I’m getting at is that you never want to put oil on a maf, so it’s not really a good idea to use aftermarket air intakes as you have to oil the air filter. Yeah put the old air intake on it.
it not k&n its a big round blue air filter and i did not know i had to put oil on it. what type of iol ,i only put it on because it sounds and looks good. here’s a picture of it.
Can you post a picture of the sensor in question?
Not all cars of that year have MAF sensors. It might just be an IAT sensor, which would be much easier to deal with.
If it is a MAF, then you probably won’t be able to get it to work correctly with any aftermarket setup that doesn’t have the correct in-tube mounting for it.
That is not an oiled K&N. It it is a K&N it should be OK.
However if you are expecting some noticeable power gain, sorry, don't expect much. You may get some, but modern cars really don't need a better air intake/exhaust system as all modern cars come OK in that area. If you have some serious mods, then maybe you will see some noticeable power increase.
BTW if you can rig it, getting cool air from outside the engine compartment can give you a little additional power as well.
Good Luck
If I understand you, the old MAF is taped (by you) off to the side because you removed this sensor while you were removing the old air intake system. You replaced the part. You didn’t put the MAf back onto the replacement and you want to know if leaving the MAF disconnected will cause you problems. Were you replacing the old air intake system as a repair or as an enhancement? If it is just a repair, yes, you need to re-attach the old MAF to your replacement part, right away. If this is an enhancement, you need to to consult the new rules.
That sensor is the air intake temp sensor for the computer. The computer makes adjustments to the mass air flow sensor readings relative to the intake air temp. That’s because the hotter the air is the less mass it has. And the colder the air is the more mass it has.
I’ve seen the mods you’ve made on other vehicles. And eventually it’ll causes the Check Engine light to come on. Also, the air being drawn into the engine is from under the hood which is hot air. Hot air drawn into an engine kills engine performance.
Tester
this is the sensor with the black tape on it this sensor was attached to the old air box where the filter is but the new cold air intake i put on it don’t have a place to put it so i just taped it to the side. my check engine light is on and the code is {P0100}HERE IS A PICTURE
You would be better off putting the old intake back on or if you have your heart set on using an aftermarket air filter, getting one meant for your car, that can incorporate the sensor.
It is absolutely essential that this sensor be in the air stream going to the engine and that there be no leaks, as the engine computer uses it to determine exactly how much air is flowing through the intake, as well as the density (temperature) of the air. If you want your engine to not run like utter crap, it needs to have an accurate reading.
If you’re lucky, an aftermarket air filter will give you maybe 5 HP at best, and that at RPMs near redline, which is not a very useful place to have a boost. Remember, torque wins races, not a scant few extra HP at extreme top end.
No offense, but putting a pretty blue air filter on when the rest of the engine is old and grimy is like putting lipstick on a pig. And IMHO the sound of a 4-banger with mods isn’t particularly impressive, but I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s better to make a car fast but stealthy 
do you know a way to get cold air into the engine,and from the pictures i posted what should i do now,my check engine light is already on and some times the car shakes and cuts off. should i put the old air intake back on. thanks
That’s not a MAF sensor. That’s an IAT (Intake Air Temperature) sensor. This one is not nearly as critical (in terms of placement) as a MAF would be. If you can get it up against the filter, then that will probably be good enough. Even better would be to get it into the air stream just after the filter somehow.
Your car’s performance is going to suffer some because you are now drawing hot air from all directions under the hood. Hot air is not as dense as cold air, so you can’t add as much fuel to it and get as much power. The stock air box probably had an inlet that mostly picked up air coming into the front of the car.
i don’t have all the parts to my old air intake system i just have the box with the filter in it can i just use that
90% of the aftermarket auto parts on E-bay are junk.
Check with the local salvage yards or online at www.car-part.com. You may need to put in an inquiry. You should be able to get all the correct pieces, tho.
The factory set-ups in every car I’ve purchased since '84 all had factory intakes pulling air from outside the engine compartment, most from in front of the radiator and a couple from the fender area under the plastic skirt. Your 1996 Maxima is no different.
Also, that IAT sensor should be in the incoming air stream to get the most accurate measurements for the computer.
can i put the intake air temperature sensor in the chrome pipe before the maf sensor because in the old nissan air intake system the intake air temperature sensor was after the maf sensor in the filter box. can some one answer this for me. the car is a 1996 nissan maxima just look at the pictures i posted
Anywhere in the inlet air stream should be fine for the temperature sensor.
my ckeck engine light is on and the code is P0100 it my maf sensor my car shuts off it jumps before it shuts off is there a way i can check my maf sensor before i buy another one. and what will my car do if the intake air temperature sensor is bad. 1996 nissan maxima gxe automatic v6 i posted the picture of the intake air temperature sensor
Congrats on modifying your car without knowing what you are doing, nor having a set of installation instructions handy that would have told you what you needed to do.
If your blue tube install kit didn’t come with a provision for installing the IAT sensor, then you are just now realizing that your Intake Kit sucks, and is of poor quality.
You should be able to drill a hole in the side of the intake tube just behind the dumb cone filter, and rtv seal the IAT sensor in there. Luckily, IAT sensors don’t fail very often, so you probably won’t ever need to replace it for the rest of your ownership of the Maxima.
As for getting an actual cold air intake, that would have cost you more money, and would have contained a lot more intake tubing that you would have needed to route through the car.
BC.
There’s a good chance that your MAF problems are due to where it is located in the aftermarket intake tube. If so, replacing it won’t help.
the hole was already their but i cover it up because i didn’t no what is was there for but now i did install the iat in that hole but the check engine light still reads P0100 and the car is still stalling like is chokeing. so if that iat sensor don’t go bad what should i do change the maf sensor