My K&N intake is coming in today. I've heard of different opinions on whether to disconnect the neg terminal or not so I dont throw a cel. What do i do?

 

Just Disconect it man. Itll only take you five minutes. then when u connect it back on make sure you let it run for like 5 minutes and then drive it as hard as you can. ( Dont break nothing tho) I did it like that and have not gotten a single cell.

 

I drove my car a day after doing the Air box mod and i did not ge ta CEL then i read on here that its best to disconect the neg terminal, so i go do this the next morning and after i but it back on is when i got the CEL.

 

It wont matter as far as the DTCs are concerned- (that's all just a bunch of BS)
But probably best to disconnect the battery from strictly a safety standpoint.
HTH
WOT

 

Ok i e-mailed k&n about this proplem, heres what went down. First i sent this:

ME- I heard that a lot of people are getting check engine lights with your
cold air intake for the 2.0L cobalt ss. Why is this happening?

Then K&N repleyed with this:

K&N- Adam, when people install our kits they often times forget to disconnect
the negative battery cable for 1 to 2 hour. Then you reconnect it and
drive the car for 150 to 200 miles and then your computer will
recalibrate. If you do follow the directions for the kit there won't be
a problem.

So then i repleyed with this-

ME-Hi,
Well, i have talked to several people who have installed it by unpluging
the negative battery cable for a couple of hours just like instructed, but
still get the check engine light after driving it 50+ miles.The check engine
light is not a memory code, it is a DTC P0171, which is a lean code. The mass
air flow sensory thinks it is running lean. I have a friend who had his
installed by a chevy dealership, and still got a code. They read the
code and got the DTC P0171.

Then K&N repleyed with this:

K&N- Adam, our R&D team does countless testing on every kit we sell. I will
pass this information onto R&D and we will look into it further. Thank
you for your input and have a great day.

I havent heard anything else back from them since. I hope this helps.

 

The reason you disconnect the battery is to reset the computer. So with the new intake on, the hopes are that it won't recognize that its getting alot more air, but that it will think all that air is normal.

Its always a good idea to reset the PCM after every mod. That way it re-learns with that new mod on.

 

I disconnected the battery, did the install, a few days later the CEL came on. Its been on ever since. IMO the battery doesnt matter, its just a step manufacturers tell you to do before you install something. I think it comes under insane acts of weirdness like shocking yourself and frying your cars electrical system... aka covering their ass.

 

Sure, and mabye wave a magic wand over it while you're at it! (will have about as much effect)
JMO
WOT

 

the thing about those k&n intakes is that the oil on them sometimes comes off and gets on the sensor cause A) motor to run bad and/or B) CELs

 

I've seen a few mentions of cleaning the MAF from the possibility of oil contamination. Has it fixed anyones cel problem yet?

 

on other cars with k&n's, ive seen it fix them. i was just throwing this out there for discussion...lol...but hey, could really be the problem...

 

thanks guyz i'll see what happens!

 

Hmm if it does solve the problem I think K&N needs to start selling air filters that have already gone so many hours in a wind tunnel...

 

or better yet, get aem's dry flow airfilter

 

Thats why Im waiting on their intake instead of the K&N.

 

thanks guyz! I have no cel yet...sounds and feels pretty good.