1994 4runner 3.0 3vze 2wd
Continuous check engine light blinks after replacing AFM & AFM pigtail/harness. My original AFM has failed so I replaced it with a remanufactured one from rockauto, I also replace the pigtail harness with an after market one, (maybe should have gone with dealer part?) not sure if my wiring splices are bad (but confident the splices are solid) or the afm its self is bad because I don't have a multi meter. Before I replaced it, I was running the code 24 for air temp sensor which is why I replaced it, I decided to replace the wiring harness at the same time because it was the old original one rotting away. Now when I run the codes I cant even run them because the check engine light just blinks fast continuously. There is now a throttle response delay and horrible idle when I first start up, and almost stalls when first starts. Now I'm just lost, ive been doing my own work on this 4runner for years, not a mechanic but learning as I go, done so much and stuck on something so simple that I cant figure out.. Replace the wiring harness again? invest in a multimeter?
Aaron DH4Runnr

 

Buy a time machine (you can rent them, but for some reasons the deposit is really high!). Go back 4 (?) years to when you first got the 4runner. Bitch-slap your 4-year-younger self, and tell him "don't try to work on an SUV without a g-d multimeter!" https://www.harborfreight.com/7-func...ter-63604.html Get back to current time quickly, before you break the space-time continuum.

Rapid flashing CEL is (normally) caused by shorting TE to E1. E1 is just ground, and there is a ground connection to the VAF, but there is no TE connection. So it's hard to imagine how working (solely) on the VAF could short TE to ground.

Shorting TE to ground (E1) also puts the timing into "base," so it would affect performance.

At a minimum, use your multimeter to check the voltage on TE. If it's sitting at ground, I would suspect a short there.

And someone has to tell you; you could have probably found the cause of code 24 with the multimeter, and you would have avoided replacing the VAF.

 

Besides the splices, double check that you didn't cross any wires.

 

 

Yes, a multimeter is essential to diagnosing and fixing electrical problems. Once you get one, you will be glad you did!

Electrons are so small, we use a multimeter to "see" what is going on in the wiring and to test electrical components.

 

 

If you have TE1 shorted to E1, steady continuous blinking of the check engine light means you have no stored codes, which is a good thing.

On the other hand, if the CEL is blinking with nothing connected to the diag port, you likely have a short in the wiring somewhere.

 

Did your aftermarket connect look exactly like the stock one you replaced?
they have been known to have fubarred pin

X23 on getting & learning to use a multimeter.
it is as essential as having a BFH when working on old trucks