air flow meter

Um.... Year and model? & who told you this?

My experience has been that the ECU more-or-less resets itself after a couple of hundred miles of normal driving (or sooner). Furthermore, I do not believe that the meter has quiescent current going through it, so how would the ECU know the difference?

"Many and strange" are pollution controls, but this seems stranger than most.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

The passat is a 1999 tdi 110 bhp,the chap where i got the air flow meter from said it my need resetting after i had told him since i put the new meter on the car smoked.I put the original meter back on and it stopped the smoking.

sounds like you got a bad NEW MAF.

Seems like they gave you the wrong meter... or it was defective. I seem to remember you stated that it was the same part-number... All digits or only the last 6 (8)? That does not seem right at all that a passive part should cause smoking when replaced.... Experts out there? Your experience?

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

If its the mass air flow sensor, you have to set it up. You can just replace it.

The sensor for gasoline engine includes an idle mixture setting...what about diesel?

I assume you mean "can't"... Sure. There is an idle-adjust, but that has nothing to do with the software in the ECU. And the actual results seem to bear this out. If the ECU required resetting with the replacement of the MAF, the car should have smoked either way... and needed resetting twice.

Sorry, I still suspect that the new part is defective. And it would not be the first time. I have to also assume that the new part was adjusted at installation if done at the dealer.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA