Yet another thread by me today. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Alrighty, I got two questions, first is the truck itself.

I got a CEL today on the way home, and my truck died as I pulled into the local O'Reily's to get it checked. After checking the code, it said my Mass Air Flow Sensor has a fault due to low voltage. DTC: 157 to be exact. The guys at the store told me to check all the grounds and clean connections for that particular wire. My question is would the MAF having low voltage cause the truck to die? I don't know crap about electrical stuff, so any help would be appreciated.

And speaking of not knowing anything about electrical stuff, that brings me to the next question. CB's.

Went to a local shop today and found a Uniden CB for $40, or a Midland CB for $30. Or, I could install a rather large Cobra 148F GTL that my dad has. Which would you guys install? And in order to do that, what all do I need? Here is a basic rundown of what I think I need:

CB with mounting plate/hardware for that
Wiring (should come with the CB if I buy one, but what all do I need just to make sure?)
Coax?
Antenna (got that covered)
Speaker?
Mic.

Anything else I should add to that list?

I am leaning more towards the Midland CB because it had a nice bracket, and it was small, so it would be perfect for the truck. The Uniden would be my second choice because it was a little bit bigger, however, the bracket was odd, and I think I would probably install it like RedNeckStone has his installed behind the console, along with the Cobra if I used that one.

Anyway, thanks in advance!

 

I know nothing about CB's but, on the MAF. Yes it can cause your truck to die if it is not working properly because the engine will not know how much air is entering the engine. It cannot determine the proper amount of fuel and strange things will happen. You probably need a MAF if all the wires and connections are good,but don't take my word on that.

 

I did just change the MAF sensor. I think I forgot to mention that.

And the CEL has come on twice now since I have done it. The first time was pretty much right afterwards, so I figured it was probably one of the codes that was already there. Today was the second time.

 

Your truck should run without a MAFS connected, maybe better maybe worse, depending on the running condition of your truck. Did you clean it up (the meter passage) real well to make sure there is nothing built up on it? Check your connectors inside of the plug harness, make sure none are rusted or dirty, for obvious reasons.

Have you tried starting the truck without the MAFS connected? This could potentially rule out a good MAFS.

As for CB's I don't know much but I have always prefered Cobras in my Mack. I run the CB power directly to the battery terminals, incase you loose your key or run into igniton/fuse problems you will always have power (other than a cell phone or dead battery). Make sure to fuse the positive wire as close the battery as possible (I'm sure you know this) and ground either directly to the cab or chassis (something directly mounted to chassis or cab, not an existing ground wiring) or directly to negative terminal of the battery to avoid interference or looping.

Try to run as short of Coaxial as possible, the extra wire length just adds resistance to your signal and can interfere with your power wire, not to mention looping the wire can cause it to crack or frey internally.

Lastly, make sure the wire, where ever you run it, is out of the way of anything moving (driveshaft, shocks, steering, parking brake cable) and not hanging down to catch anything you drive over. If you zip-tie it, don't pull them super tight, they will pinch the cable.

Good luck Jimmeh.