1989 TPI motor. 99% stock. Code 36 is haunting me.
New MAF,
New ECM,
New relays.

Checked all vacuum lines, etc.
Code 36 keeps coming back.

Did anyone ever deal with a persistent code 36 ?

 

Had a code 36 in my 89 ZF for a while. I went through and cleaned up all the grounds and cleaned all of the connectors. I also went through and cleaned up the fuse panel and used some electronics cleaner on it; replaced the fuses as well. Haven't had a code 36 since then. I did run the entire circuit to make sure none of the wires were snipped or messed up. Also helps to find out if the burnoff circuit is actually activating. If it is energizing but the ECM still throws a 36, any tuner that works on OBD I can program out the 36.

 

Review this thread, Cliff did it right:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-36-help.html

Thanks Cliff!

'89 stock has a MAF, not a MAP, IIRC.

For mine, I bought a newer MAF with no burn circuit (which is what code 36 relates to), so I got my MEMCAL modified to disable code 36 and a few other things. Not worth paying hundreds of dollars for the original Bosch, in my opinion. A lot of new MAFs these days don't include a burn circuit.

 

I meant MAF !! I edited the OP.

Long story short. I put the original OEM MAF back in there, and code 36 went away.

I didn't know replacement MAF's don't have a burn off circuit. Please explain that one !!

 

Some new design MAFs will not have a burnoff, but most of your direct replace OEM style MAFs will have a burnoff. However, some of those aftermarket OEM pieces may not send the proper burnoff volt range the ECM is looking for. So you'll see members put a new MAF in that has a burnoff circuit, and that circuit will burn off, but they will throw a 36 because the ECM has not been programmed to look for the new volt range variance.

New MAF kits, like the one BlowerWorks sells, will use a different style MAF sensor (more modern style) that does not require a burnoff circuit. Most modern MAF cars do not have a burnoff. However, that is why after 75K+ miles, some cars may run cruddy because that MAF is not delivering the most accurate info to the ECM. It just becomes a regular maintenance item to clean up the MAF with some proper cleaner at a given interval. But with the no burnoff style kits, most of them will require the ECM to be reprogrammed to recognize the signals the new MAF is sending as well as program out the burnoff function. They are nice and they work really well, just depends on what road you want to go down with your MAF maintenance.

 

The original purpose for burn off circuit was to heat up the element until it glowed, then tell the ECM "Hey, I did that!".

Newer "compatible" models have, I hope, a bit better circuitry and components. MAF cleaning annually makes sense for those, neh?

 

lol agreed. I'd clean it annually; make it a spring clean item. But really, I'm sure the service interval for that is much greater and that just gives us car guys something to tinker on. I have a MAF in my 2008 SUV with 75k on it and it runs like a champ having never been cleaned. I have heard though, if you run an oil based filter like K&N or the Green Air (sp?), the light oil residue can build up on a MAF that does not burn off