TPS or TAC?, got codes/failsafe mode

[pwaltrip]

I have a 2005 explorer, 4.0, 2wd automatic trans, 83,000 miles.

About 10 months ago, we had the oil changed. The next day it went into failsafe mode and died on my wife while driving down the road. When I got home from work and looked at it, everything worked just fine. So I took it to auto zone and had them pull the codes. They reset the light and we had no trouble for 10 months. We thought it was just something random and we were over it.

For the last week on and off, it has done the failsafe mode thing and left us stranded and powerless going down the road. This time I have the codes, they are P0128, P2104, P2106, P2112, P2135, P2111. I remembered that the "off duty" mechanic that trolls the parking lot outside the local auto zone told me to clean the throttle body and that would fix it(or he could do it for $200). I cleaned it myself, and yes it was really nasty and gummy. It started right up and ran fine for a day. Then it died/shutdown again. When it shuts down, it usually will start again in a few minutes. I have been reading all over this forum and it sounds like I need a TPS and/or a TAC?? I'm really not sure. I would appreciate ANY info regarding this problem. Thanks in advance!!

 

[Phildad]

My experience

I also had Limp Mode problems that got worse over a period of a week or two. P2104, P2111, & P2112. After reading quite a bit, I replaced the TPS but no better at all. Finally got so bad that as soon as I touched the throttle it would show the wrench and limp mode.
Had already cleaned the MFS and the ETB and they were very clean. Checked the connectors and wiring and everything seemed fine.
Frustrating.
So read a bunch more and decided I was going to have to spend the money and get a new ETB next... But didn't want to spend that much money.
As a final option, I took the ETB drive apart and found the DC motor had very dirty armatures. It was tricky, but gently pulled the brushes back and put 600 grit sandpaper in front of them in a very tiny piece. Using the brushes, I pressed the sandpaper against the Armature gently and twisted and twisted the DC motor spindle. Took three pieces of sandpaper to get most of the black off the Armature. This was rather tedious and you have to be gentle. Also tricky to get it all back together, but after PCM reset, reassembly and starting the truck, and going through learning procedure, it ran perfect. Yay!
Just wanted to pass this on to those of you that know much more than I do. Hope it may help you understand why the error codes trip and the engine becomes useless.
Most will just replace the throttle body...