Huge sigh of relief - it was the mass airflow sensor. Had a busy week where I really needed my car. Most of my gigs involve an airport, but had one that was local. Bride also had multiple concerts, her mother-in-law showing up, and a bunch of school stuff. Not a good week to carpool.

The part was very pricey for a sensor. Since I spent the better part of the week trying to diagnose the problem and tried a couple tricks I found on the rennlist to fix the existing sensor, I ran out of time. I ended up getting the part from a local dealership. Holy markup, Batman! I think an extra $180 over mail order prices was a bit excessive. (I should have shipped it overnight) When I put it in and fired up the diagnostic link, the computer values were still 24% higher than 'normal'. A bit more and it would have triggered a fault in the computer. Driving a couple mile, however, quickly went back down to normal range. The pucker factor was pretty high the first few minutes. I was not looking forward to telling my Bride I just bought kit and parts, but the car was still broken.

It was good to sort out an electrical type problem without using a shop. Mechanical is pretty straight forward, but the electrical stuff still ranks as pure magic in my book.

Last weekend I had some weirdness. The PSM (stability system) turned off, and the ABS lights came on. Started the car the next day and both were normal again. About 20 minutes of driving later, the Check Engine Light flickered on. Well nuts!
Since I was working out of Seattle for the week, I ordered a code reader and some software that would let me pull some diagnostic readings. I did not appreciate paying $80 to have the shop 'read' the codes for me last winter, so what the heck. Bride dropped me off at the airport, I placed the order, and a tiny box was waiting for me when I got home.

My sort of tool - a USB cable at one end and a typical ODBII plug on the other. The folks I bought it from had a pretty good laugh at me when I asked if they had an API for it. (alas no, but might be able to figure out the information the old fasion way) So I installed the software on a laptop and plugged the cable into the car. Looks like three faults:

• P1126 - Factory Fault Code 356 - O2 sensing adaptation, lower load range, bank 1
• P1133 - Factory Fault Code 358 - O2 sensing adaptation, lower load range, bank 2
• P0102 - Factory Fault code 115 - Mass Airflow Sensor. Below Limit

At idle, getting:
Adaption, range 2 (FRA), bank 1: 1.30%

Might need to clean the Mass Airflow sensor. Hope I don't need to replace it. It is possible this could be some sort of a vacuum leak as well. First thing first, I'm going to reset the computer and see if it acts up again today.

(Update 1)
We're back... I did a reset of the computer and things were fine. Drove around a bit to heat up the engine, then drove it a bit hard to put some stress on things. Same error, this time I got a shot of the PSM and ABS lights. The CEL had not lit up yet, but I'm sure it will the next drive as the real time data shows the same three faults again.

Adaption, range 2 (FRA), bank 1: 1.29%
Adaption, range 2 (FRA), bank 2: 1.30%

Adaption, range 1(RKAT), bank 1: -1.78Adaption, range 1(RKAT), bank 2: -1.64

Mass air flow sensor: 1.37V
Mass air flow (MAF): 19kg/h
Mass air flow: 20.1kg/h

O2 sensing, bank 1: .97%
O2 sensor voltage ahead of cat. conv., bank 1: .64
O2 sensor voltage behind cat. conv., bank 1: .76

Looks like I need a some sort of wrench to get a funky torx bolt out. Well, I wanted another tool anyhow...