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Non-CEL throwing Intakes for 07 tC

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Old 07-28-2011, 10:26 PM
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Angry Non-CEL throwing Intakes for 07 tC

I recently bought an AEM cold air intake and I've had no luck in remedying the CEL that pops up upon every 2nd drive cycle (approximately 1 day after ECU reset). I ended up calling AEM and apparently they don't make an official(compatible) intake for the 07...? They told me the K&N typhoon was the only viable option they knew of.

I have been searching online for days to find any fixes for mine, but I've come up empty handed. So please, can any 07 owners offer any good intakes that would not give me this trouble? Or am I completely insane and I just don't know how to install a damn intake. All I want is to enjoy my car and not have its status be in question
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Old 07-28-2011, 10:50 PM
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the Injen never threw a code on my friends 08.
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Old 07-28-2011, 11:33 PM
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First I've heard of this with an AEM intake..I had an Injen on my 07 and never had any issue.
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Old 07-28-2011, 11:42 PM
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Have an injen on my 07 righy now and no issues whatsoever.
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Old 07-28-2011, 11:46 PM
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i have had a fujita for 4 years strong on my 07 and i just threw a cel cuz the maf sensor went bad. but other than that it was good for 4 years
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Old 07-29-2011, 12:08 AM
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I'd retrace my install steps to find out if it makes a dif

If you remove the charcoal filter (and the stock airbox) you may get a CEL; so you may not necessarily be doin the install wrong. You could try a resistor if this is the case.

The only things that definitely work are
- a drop-in high flow filter for the stock airbox, or
- a K&N 69 series Typhoon 69-8608TFK (having CA smog Exempt Order D-269-32)
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Old 07-29-2011, 12:40 AM
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i had a AEM intake on the my 07 and never had a check engine light, even when i had my old fujita intake i never got the check engine light. maybe your maf sensor is dirty or damaged when you swapped it to the aem intake, does it still have the o-ring on the maf? either way i don't have the o-ring on mine and still no check engine light.
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Old 07-29-2011, 01:17 AM
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Thank you all for your input. I contacted a friend of mine and then i made my way to a shop to get it scanned. I got 3 codes: lean bank 1, MAF out of range, and another one, I forgot (the paper isn't in front of me). The shop owner re-seated the MAF for me (this time with some oil to help it in) and when I started the car, no CEL. He even checked the seals and everything else for me...so we shall see.
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Old 07-29-2011, 04:37 AM
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I never threw one with my TRD one (AEM) We put it on my buddies car though and he got one...What code is it if its p0420 make an antifouler....
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:09 AM
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^you only need to use the anti-fouler if you have a aftermarket header/exhaust manifold but not for aftermarket intakes or else it will do nothing and you would still get the CEL from the intake.
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:37 AM
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Originally Posted by AcidDrop
^you only need to use the anti-fouler if you have a aftermarket header/exhaust manifold but not for aftermarket intakes or else it will do nothing and you would still get the CEL from the intake.
X2-3 on ^^^.... I made one of these for each of my tC's when I installed aftermarket performance headers that deleted the primary cat.
Making an antifouler is very easy and it'll only set you back around $10 bucks. Im not 100% sure, but I think there might be a short DIY here on SL. If there isn't I might go ahead and create one since this is a fairly common question.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:46 PM
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I threw 3 codes:

P0171 System too lean (bank 1)
P0101 Mass or volume air flow circuit range/performance problem
P0102 Mass or volume air flow circuit low input.

Yesterday when I took it to get scanned, even the trusted mechanic I knew there checked the intake tubing and pipes, he said they were fine. I don't know guys....MAF problem?
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:06 PM
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My 07 did the same thing at first. What happens is that the motor isn't used to getting that much air flow. What i did to fix it was this:

-Re-set all codes and unhook and reconnect the battery to re-set the ECU
-Start car and allow to IDLE for 5-10 minutes. This is important. From what i have heard the problem lies in that when people put their CAI in (myself included) they start the car and rev the motor to hear it and what not, this puts your MAF and ECU into shock from the much larger air flow. So, let it idle!
-You should be fine from there. I had to do it 2 times and since then (about 6 months now) i have had no problems. Hope this helps.
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:11 PM
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Irishguy: Did you throw the same codes or was it just a CEL? When I reset my car, I do let it idle for at least 5 minutes to allow the ECU to re-map. I must have reset this damn thing 3 times already, and I almost never go hard on it initially, except the first time, which is why I had to reset it 2 more times after since then correctly. The mechanic says sometimes these codes take about 5 or so driving cycles to subside, so we shall see.

I appreciate the response though, and maybe I shouldn't have gunned it today, cuz the CEL came up shortly after I went to the on-ramp...but its been coming on about 1 day after each reset.

For those of you guys who had it with no problems, how long did you give your car before you took it to WOT?
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:26 PM
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I went WOT a couple times almost immediately after the install. I'm willing to bet something is going on with your MAF. If you have a friend that has a different intake (i.e. injen, raceland, etc..) that isn't having issues with a CEL I would try throwing that on for a day and see what it does.
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Old 07-30-2011, 02:17 AM
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Originally Posted by c1cknh4n
I threw 3 codes:

P0171 System too lean (bank 1)
P0101 Mass or volume air flow circuit range/performance problem
P0102 Mass or volume air flow circuit low input.

Yesterday when I took it to get scanned, even the trusted mechanic I knew there checked the intake tubing and pipes, he said they were fine. I don't know guys....MAF problem?
i had those 3 codes pop up once but that was only because i was reinstalling my AEM intake and had my cousin install it while i was working on something else, and the hose came off from the throttle body causing the CEL and codes to pop up. after i tighten down the clamp at the throttle body and the CELs went away, but like XIEmperorIX said, it might be your MAF sensor. try this though, put the obd-2 scanner and erase the CEL's and give it a few days to see if the codes light up again.
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Old 07-30-2011, 02:39 AM
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Originally Posted by AcidDrop
i had those 3 codes pop up once but that was only because i was reinstalling my AEM intake and had my cousin install it while i was working on something else, and the hose came off from the throttle body causing the CEL and codes to pop up. after i tighten down the clamp at the throttle body and the CELs went away, but like XIEmperorIX said, it might be your MAF sensor. try this though, put the obd-2 scanner and erase the CEL's and give it a few days to see if the codes light up again.
That's what the mechanic did yesterday after he scanned it. Came back up again today . As of right now, I believe it is my MAF sensor, the mechanic and I have both done separate inspections of the unit, and found nothing to be wrong with the assembly. I think that little bang I did to the MAF when I removed it from the stock unit might have been the cause of all this
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Old 07-30-2011, 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by c1cknh4n
Irishguy: Did you throw the same codes or was it just a CEL? When I reset my car, I do let it idle for at least 5 minutes to allow the ECU to re-map. I must have reset this damn thing 3 times already, and I almost never go hard on it initially, except the first time, which is why I had to reset it 2 more times after since then correctly. The mechanic says sometimes these codes take about 5 or so driving cycles to subside, so we shall see.

I appreciate the response though, and maybe I shouldn't have gunned it today, cuz the CEL came up shortly after I went to the on-ramp...but its been coming on about 1 day after each reset.

For those of you guys who had it with no problems, how long did you give your car before you took it to WOT?
^^^ well, in a pinch you can reset the CEL by disconnecting the neg. terminal of the battery for a few minutes. But I would recommend using an OBDII reader to clear the codes instead. As it was stated above in this thread by another member... Their statement was true... regarding the amount of airflow. The technical reason is, is that the standard OEM map in the ECU as with anything else, has programmed set parameters. It takes the reading at the 1st o2 sensor, located at/on the exhaust header and at the secondary o2 sensor near the end of the S-pipe. It compares the two readings and determines if it's within the set parameters. The additional airflow due to the deletion of the primary cat. it throws a code because it "sees" it as the primary cat has failed.
I have also seen where the altitude the vehicle is running at can also make a difference in whether or not it will throw the CEL code. The closer to sea-level you are, the less likelihood it will throw that code since the lower the altitiude/elevation the more oxygen there is.
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Old 08-09-2011, 03:49 PM
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Ik this is kinda past due but i have a question regarding this matter. a while back we bought the tubing and filter to replace the stock piping where the maf sensor is and stock filter. after installing it the car ran like a$$. didnt wanna run and well yea it threw a light/code for the maf. anyway, after returning it, putting the air system back stock and reading yalls intake info, ive learned how u must let the car idle for a bit first and u cant use the shorty filter like we did. lol. so my question is if i try this again, replace the stock tubing and replace the stock filter, so that its like the short ram, should i use the regular sized air filter or the really long one, and will the ecu accept this "intake" if i let it sit and adjust to it like im sposed to anyway?
Aside from that question, i was also on andys auto sport looking at the spec d long ram cold air intake. what are yalls opinions on this intake? it looks like all that i need cuz i will not spend $200+ on an intake...

Last edited by Mandystc; 08-09-2011 at 04:11 PM.
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Old 08-09-2011, 05:10 PM
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Well like in an above post, the only guaranteed none CEL throwing intakes are the KN typhoon that utilizes the stock box (fits even the 07-10) and a KN drop in. In your case, such as mine, the tubing around the maf sensor probably was too big (diameter piping) and thus that's why it threw the MAF code. I finally figured out that it wasn't my maf sensor, so it's pretty much the intake. Next time you may also want to check your clamps and the fitment to see that it is all well too.
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