Black exhaust/soot is usually a sign of the vehicle running rich, seems not the case since gas put in the throttle body is making it start.
It starts when gas is poored in the throttle body because it bypasses everythign on the engine, no relays or anything.
The MAF is the mas air flow sensor, it is used to detect the mass of air going into the throttle body and helps adjust fuel mixture, it would not cause a vehicle not to run, it would stop it from running properly
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 AT 8:01 PM