Permanent relief from CELs due to wet CAIs

[A Pirate]

DIY HOW TO for:
To all of those Mazda 3 and 6 drivers with CAI that plan to drive in the rain!!


This mod was brought about my concern of water soaking/getting through
the AEM air filter and into the engine. I have had this concern since I
installed the CAI, due to the gaps where water can get in around the
driving light, engine bay and vents from the front wheel guard. I did
nothing until I had problems. I completed this mod about 2.5 months ago
while on my road trip.

After arriving in Gladstone I washed the car so that no road grime
would damage the paint ready to take it down to Mazda to have the
cruise control replaced. After washing and drying I started the car, it
coughed and conked, I restarted it and a CEL was thrown. Then once I
started driving up the street the car coughed a few more times, and
almost felt like it was driving on 2-3 cylinders, than all was good.
Mazda took the car and checked it out. I was told the CEL was thrown
due to the MAF sensor most likely from being wet.

After a while of pondering this problem I came up with a solution, heat
shield! Sourced one out with great difficulty (remember its Gladstone)
and installed it.

Once this mod was done I wet actually drowned the car and felt/checked
the filter. It was mostly dry a big difference from before, started up
the car and no CEL problem fixed. This mod was also tested when driving
into Bundaberg as I drove though a very big wet storm and again no
problems.

Parts needed:
MONZA heat shield - $ 25.00 (Supercheap) comes in red, blue, silver and black.
Few sockets
Ratchet
Screwdriver

Easy mod:
1. Turn steering wheel hard left. No need to remove wheel again.
2. Undo and remove bolts from splash pan.
3. Undo and remove bolts from inner arch.
4. Remove AEM air filter.
5. Assemble, bend to suit and attach and MONZA heat shield.
6. Replace AEM air filter loosely and move heat shield so that it
protects the air filter from water ingress from around driving light
and any water that falls from above.
7. Tighten clamp holding the air filter and reassemble wheel arch and
splash pan.
8. Stand back and marvel at you handy work!

Photo one: MONZA heat shield.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo two: Bare AEM CAI.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo three: AEM air filter with heat shield fitted.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo four: AEM CAI with fitted heat shield in place and aligned.

Click this bar to view the full image.

this mod has been completed on many cars without any problems
(sticky please mods)



Have fun
Andy

[STEALTH_MPS]

bought the shield a while back but no time to install it yet.
bought it from repco at liverpool for $12

[shakespeare]

Stuck

Good solution mate and very simple too

I've edited the first line to include 6's too

[Wardski]

Opt for a SRI instead. Thats another solution

[Velocity Red]

DIY HOW TO for:
To all of those Mazda 3 and 6 drivers with CAI that plan to drive in the rain!!


This mod was brought about my concern of water soaking/getting through
the AEM air filter and into the engine. I have had this concern since I
installed the CAI, due to the gaps where water can get in around the
driving light, engine bay and vents from the front wheel guard. I did
nothing until I had problems. I completed this mod about 2.5 months ago
while on my road trip.

After arriving in Gladstone I washed the car so that no road grime
would damage the paint ready to take it down to Mazda to have the
cruise control replaced. After washing and drying I started the car, it
coughed and conked, I restarted it and a CEL was thrown. Then once I
started driving up the street the car coughed a few more times, and
almost felt like it was driving on 2-3 cylinders, than all was good.
Mazda took the car and checked it out. I was told the CEL was thrown
due to the MAF sensor most likely from being wet.

After a while of pondering this problem I came up with a solution, heat
shield! Sourced one out with great difficulty (remember its Gladstone)
and installed it.

Once this mod was done I wet actually drowned the car and felt/checked
the filter. It was mostly dry a big difference from before, started up
the car and no CEL problem fixed. This mod was also tested when driving
into Bundaberg as I drove though a very big wet storm and again no
problems.

Parts needed:
MONZA heat shield - $ 25.00 (Supercheap) comes in red, blue, silver and black.
Few sockets
Ratchet
Screwdriver

Easy mod:
1. Turn steering wheel hard left. No need to remove wheel again.
2. Undo and remove bolts from splash pan.
3. Undo and remove bolts from inner arch.
4. Remove AEM air filter.
5. Assemble, bend to suit and attach and MONZA heat shield.
6. Replace AEM air filter loosely and move heat shield so that it
protects the air filter from water ingress from around driving light
and any water that falls from above.
7. Tighten clamp holding the air filter and reassemble wheel arch and
splash pan.
8. Stand back and marvel at you handy work!

Photo one: MONZA heat shield.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo two: Bare AEM CAI.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo three: AEM air filter with heat shield fitted.

Click this bar to view the full image.

Photo four: AEM CAI with fitted heat shield in place and aligned.

Click this bar to view the full image.

this mod has been completed on many cars without any problems
(sticky please mods)



Have fun
Andy

The pics from this post have obviously been removed. How do I get to see the pics please?

Thanks,

Leon

[A Pirate]

have a look here....this is my back up thread/post
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2174015/11

[Velocity Red]

Thanks Pirate, much appreciated.

Leon

[A Pirate]

this is for a sp23 but can work on any open to air filter. On my car ive covered 85k+km without a wet maf cel since, works a treat.

[Wardski]

Interesting.

When I had my MPS and had the CES exhaust installed, I commonly got CEL's from the rear exhaust 02 sensor.

I found out that when I was washing the car, an amount of water would reach the o2 sensor, and it ended up failing.

For those with after market exhausts, just remember to plug your exhaust with a rag or something during washing the car (especially if the front of the car is on a downward slope in your driveway (like mine). This will prevent the rear 02 sensor failing.

[SomePhoenix]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to put one of these heat shields on, since I've gotten a couple of CEL due to water in my CAI. I went to supercheap, repco and autobahn - none of them had a suitable model. (Supercheap had none, repco and autobahn had the same dodgy looking model). Does anyone know of any alternatives? Ebay seems pretty scarce, the best I could find was an Injen version Injen - : Accessories - Performance Air Intake Systems, Exhaust Systems, Turbo Components, and Air Filters for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATV's, Boats, and more! but at $60US it's not cheap.

SP