Sticky Air Flow Meter?

[kirk knighton]

My 412 with L-jet is/was running just fine today, and then when we went to leave the store it wouldn't start. It started then died, and it sounded like it wasn't getting gas. Fuel pump? Checked fuse, it was okay. So I popped of the lid to the AFM and flicked the little thing that swings back and forth. With the key on I heard the fuel pump come to life when I moved the swing-thing away from the contact. I returned to the driver's seat and it started right up and ran great all the way home. So my question is, was the swing-thing in my AFM just stuck? Can I spray a little oil or something there? Or is this something more serious? It's a clean and newer AFM, no visible dirt there.

[raygreenwood]

No...do not put any oil in there. You can clean it out with electronics cleaner if it needs it. But the most likely causes are a sticky throttle body or throttle cable not returning it to the right position....and yes..it could have a little dirt in it. But once you clean it out you will need just a few drops of synthetic oil on the shaft assembly itself...not any of the wiper arm components. Ray

[kirk knighton]

UPDATE ON THIS SITUATION! The same thing happened right in my garage yesterday, only this time manually moving the little deal in the AFM didn't do the trick, didn't activate the fuel pump. Bad AFM after all? Switched it out, no effect, still no fuel pump. Bad relay? Switched IT out, still no fuel pump. Of course I checked the fuses, all good. BUT WAIT: One of the wires going into one of the two plugs going into the fuel pump relay was loose inside its plastic housing. With the key on, whilst sitting in the back seat I reached back to the engine and moved the thing in the AFM and then wiggled the loose wire going into the relay, and -voila! Fuel pump kicked in! So I just re-secured that one wire in the plastic housing then plugged it back into the relay and the car starts right up and runs perfect. For the longest time it would "burp" or cut out randomly for a second or two whilst under way - must have been that wire just being loose, but not all the way off. Moral of the story? 38 year-old car has old wires and connectors everywhere, and they get brittle and vibrate off.