Not sure if ETM or MAF or other problem V70XC Turbo 1999

[richc233]

I have read the details, checked the Xemodex flowchart, and the problem I am having does not seem to point to the ETM but I am not sure. A month or so ago the car was having trouble when first started/intermittently, chugging when starting from a stop, the RPM going up and down with steady gas pedal pressure. After driving a few minutes it seemed to go back to normal. It now is much worse, and the RPM go up and down with steady pedal pressure, ie: if you are driving at 30-40 mph and try to hold the RPMs at 2000, every couple of seconds it goes down to 1500, then back up, over and over. It will get up to higher speeds and seems to accelerate OK after it is over 2000 rpm or so.

It didn't have any codes or check engine. I disconnected the MAF sensor then started it up today to see if that would help, then it seemed to drive fine for several minutes so I thought the MAF sensor was the problem. I reconnected it and it had the original problem, BUT when I disconnected again it had the problem again - not sure if warming up affected the problem. I also took the sensor out and cleaned it with some contact cleaner, though it didn't look very dirty, but still has the same problem.

I didn't find other posts with these same symptoms, so I am a bit stuck here. Not sure if the car would Run properly with the MAF disconnected, or if the MAF is the problem.

Any help would be GREAT!

Thanks,
Rich