2000 XC70 MAF sensor electrical connection

koley5 · Post by **koley5** » 04 May 2014, 18:01

Can someone explain to me how to disconnect the electrical connection on the MAF sensor - it doesn't seem to want to budge. There's a tab on the top which i've gently pried up a bit, but the connection still won't come apart. Maybe I'm being to gentle - I just don't want to break it. As you can probably tell, I'm not much of a mechanic. But I figured I could swap out the MAF sensor easy enough. Ha! Thanks in advance for any advice. I appreciate it.

Post by **abscate** » 04 May 2014, 18:46

I've done complete engine rebuilds and sometimes I feel like a toddler trying to get Volvo electrical connectors apart. I think you need to squeeze the part you are prying as close to the wire as you can, while wiggling the connector.

koley5 · Post by **koley5** » 04 May 2014, 19:20

thanks for your reply. i'll try squeezing while wiggling.

mrscullini · Post by **mrscullini** » 04 May 2014, 20:50

abscate wrote:I've done complete engine rebuilds and sometimes I feel like a toddler trying to get Volvo electrical connectors apart. I think you need to squeeze the part you are prying as close to the wire as you can, while wiggling the connector.

no doubt, sometimes you can't figure "which end is up".

on the maf sensor, push on the tab closest to the wires. the locking side is inboard from the wires. hopefully this makes sense. it helps to push in on the connector as you are pushing on the tab.

koley5 · Post by **koley5** » 05 May 2014, 16:04

thanks for both the replies. i appreciate it. the problem here is surely "operator error," if I had to guess. I just don't have much experience and thus, don't really have a feel for it. I attached a photo of the connection. The wide tab on top doesn't seem to move much when i squeeze it. (That was the tab that i initially tried to pry up a bit. It goes up easier than it squeezes down.) Anyways, I tried squeezing it mightily, while wiggling the connection beneath it and trying to pull the plug out. No luck. Am I doing it properly, but it's just good and stuck, or am I doing it wrong? Any further advice? Thanks for your time.

koley5 · Post by **koley5** » 05 May 2014, 16:12

i got it. had to use a bit of pliers, but then it finally moved. thanks again.

Post by **precopster** » 06 May 2014, 07:11

One of my ETM customers rang me a couple of years ago about exactly that same issue. He had a 2000 S70 LPT. He swore he was never going to buy another Volvo after it took him a whole hour to remove that same connector.

On an even sourer note the turbo side of the MAF is a whole lot of pain to remove from the tubing due to shrinkage of that tubing over time so I invested in a set of 5 sided torx drivers so just the sensor stick can be removed instead of the whole MAF housing.