2006 Explorer Throttle Body/ TPS Problems/Wrench light? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

2006 Explorer Throttle Body/ TPS Problems/Wrench light?

Update... The diagnosis is the instrument cluster
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Now you see why I traded my 2006 EB 4.0 in for a 2011 KIA Sorento I4 FWD. I was tired of the problems with this SUV, and FORD was not helpful, unless it was for my credit card.:) The extended warranty(approved by FORD) was worhless. I was able to get a even trade-in with the trade-in vlaue and rebates. Great gas mileage and no problems since MARCH. When I bought the 2006, it needed a new battery after six months, and downhill after that.:rolleyes: For a $35,000 sticker price, FORD could do better.
 






I've got the same problem with my '09. Pulled codes P211 and P2135. It seems like it is only when the cruise control is on and it is going downhill, but I'm not able to say it is consistent.

Any of you find fixes to this problem? I've just been putting it in neutral, turning off the ignition, and starting it back up and that clears it up....until next time.

Thanks in advance!
 






I was getting the same thing P2135 which I do believe is erratic throttle position sensor voltage and anothe code that I can't remember but was something like a throttle position forced idle or something like that. Mine died on me on the highway serveral times, sometimes just minutes after starting it sometimes it never happened. I got a good scare when the "Forced idle" was a little delayed and the car stuck at 3000 RPMs for a couple seconds in stop and go traffic which almost caused me to rear end someone. I brought it to Ford and they replaced the TPS sensor. It has been about a year now and it has never happened again.
 






I want to bring back an old thread since I'm having similar problems. It's going to be long and painful read but I'm hoping someone can help stop the bleeding.

--- 2004 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V6, 145,000 ---

I purchased this vehicle brand new from Ford and it's been the most costly vehicle I've ever owned. Here is a list of the parts I've replaced -- Transmission, rear end, rear axle and rear axle seal on the other side, rear air control unit [2 times], sun visors, harmonic balancer, thermostat housing, alternator, battery [2 times], a/c fresh/recycle air door [don't know the exact name]. Obviously, a few of these things you expect along with tires, brakes, etc.

A few months ago as my wife was driving and thought she may have hit something because of the way the vehicle shuddered. It was hard to tell by the description alone until I was able experience it myself. While in motion the vehicle lost power and regained power all within an instant and shudders the vehicle. The vehicle has done this several times since. Also during this time the vehicle has stalled on several occasions when pulling up to a stop sign, light, etc. I did a bunch of searching on the internet and thought maybe it was a computer problem of some sort. Ironically, it's very difficult to find a company to refurbish this model ECM for some reason. Other information suggested TPS or Throttle Body problems. I made my way to the local Ford dealer and happened to run into a super nice mechanic as I was walking up.

He had a computer in hand and put it on the vehicle and of course no error codes were reported. I filled him in on the issues that we are having and he suggested that maybe it's a bad Throttle Body. After looking at it closer he said these are problems on this engine with the Throttle Body and suggested having it replaced. In the mean time he took my vehicle back and cleaned out the Throttle Body and said that it may help for a short time. It was about a month and we started having issues of stalling again. This time however, the wrench light and engine fail safe mode showed. I took it back to the dealer for an official diagnosis and the computer didn't register any error codes, go figure. Either way the same mechanic ended up with the vehicle and $600 later I have a new Throttle Body as of yesterday.

Yesterday evening, two hours after bringing the vehicle home it stalled again. What seems to be ironic is that each time that we have had these problems it's been raining heavily for a few days.

Which leads me to this fun fact to add to the mix. We have the auto headlight function which may or may not matter but I'm putting it out here for information. For whatever reason the light switch was turned to the off position one evening. The next morning I was getting into the vehicle head off to the airport and by habit decided to turn the headlights on. The motor idled down a 100-200 rpms and ran rough. I turned off the lights and the motor ran well. I turned the switch on/off several times and noticed the same thing happened each time so I just headed out without the lights and it ran fine. I called a local mechanic to explain some of the symptoms and he immediately mentioned that it's possibly an alternator problem. It can't be, I just replaced the alternator with a new one after trying two bad rebuilds. The battery is also only six months old. The mechanic suggested that the alternator was not charging the battery properly and was possibly drained enough to cause a problem. So, I went to the local Advanced and had the two tested since that's where I purchased the alternator. At the end of the test the report showed that during the start up the battery didn't have enough cranking power and they suggested a charge. I let the battery charge for 30 mins ran the test again and it appeared to have corrected the issue.

Well this problem is back. It's been raining for two days and dark this morning so I obviously needed the lights. The truck ran terrible to work this morning for me stalling, or trying to stall/cut-out several times during the entire trip. I stopped for gas and decided to drive the rest of the short distance without lights. As I've noticed previously, it runs fine without the lights. So, I believe that I may have worked through one issue but now I have to work through an even more difficult and costly issue. Electrical.

Does anyone have a good place that I can buy electrical diagrams for the vehicle and service manual?

If anyone has thoughts, ideas, or opinions I would be glad to listen.
 












Did anyone ever get the issue with the TPS and Wrench, with irradic idle and driving issues fixed, my 06 Explorer just started doing this too, if their is a simple fix I will do it myself.
 






i finally called it quits with my explorer, but before I did, I had this problem successfully remedied by a local mechanic. After some research on my own I came across people saying it might be a vacuum line so I suggested it to the mechanic (same mechanic that reset the light last time when it was saying throttle body and suggest possibly replacing the throttle body) and he said he was going to do a pressure test on the lines. When he did he came across some cracked vacuum lines which he said he is 99% sure was the cause and also the reason the problem acted up when it was raining because water was getting in which in turn caused the computer to throw and error code. The car ran and shifted better than ever after he replaced the lines. I had it for a couple months after the fix before trading it in and even during heavy rainstorms I no longer had the problem. Good Luck!
 






Just found a Vac leak in the hose that runs from the top of the intake manifold to the evap canister valve on drivers side wheel well. The hose was dry rotting and had a bunch of cracks and moisture in it. I would almost bet that this is what is most of everyone's problem that has had these symptoms.
 






Just found a Vac leak in the hose that runs from the top of the intake manifold to the evap canister valve on drivers side wheel well. The hose was dry rotting and had a bunch of cracks and moisture in it. I would almost bet that this is what is most of everyone's problem that has had these symptoms.

In order to get mine "fixed" they ended up replacing the throttle position sensor along with the entire wiring harness....which took like a month for them to figure out and install....even then they installed it wrong so I had to take it back when another warning light came on. Either way I had the Ex for like 3 months after that and the light never came back on....
 






Hi my name is Crystal and I own a 2010 Ford Explorer. I got the tool light, then the engine light. I took my ford in to the dealership and they want to replace the whole throttle body, air filter..etc After just having the vehicle serviced a month ago it seems pretty silly. I am no longer under warranty unless it's powertrain related. They offered to do all this work at the cost of 1100$. I found the part outside the dealership for $300 instead of the $450 they want to charge. I am going to try changing it out myself. I noticed that these comments were made in 2010. Were your issues resolved? And if so how?

Crystal
 






When I got the check engine light and wrench light, it was resolved by replacing the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). This sensor is attached to the throttle body and can be replaced by itself (If that is the issue) for a lot less than the entire throttle body. $1100 seems very steep if the issue has to do with the TPS. Would you happen to know the codes that are being thrown by the truck? This would be very helpful in pinpointing the problem area.
 






Like PEAR0119 just said, go to an auto parts store and have the code(s) read. Most will do it for free, and go from there. $1100 might be a place to end up, but definitely not a place to start. Suggestion.....get the codes and post them.
 






I am wondering if you are having a intermittent miss. A bad coil maybe. I had a mustang that acted similar. It was worse when the humidity was up. When I took the coils off to check the plugs. One of them had a grey spot on the boot where the spark was grounding out. Before I bought a new coil I had Ford tech drive it with his laptop plug in to the ecm. He could see everything the car was doing.
 






I don't have the codes with me now but will post them tommorow. Thank you for your tips. I have ordered the throttle body part and should have it by tuesday.
 






I have the same problem with my 2008 as well, ended up cleaning the TP with some carb cleaner, but the problem comes back.

Does anyone have a diagram of where the vacume lines are? So i can check them myself?

Thanks
 






The wrench light came on in my '07 XLT with 98000 miles two days ago. It was diagnosed to be a solenoid that was faulty in the transmission. $700 to repair. According to the manual the wrench light is for 4x4/powertrain problems only.
 






I had the same issue. I changed the entire TB because the TPS is too hard to replace/adjust etc. Voltmeter required and such. Runs like a top. No check engine angry rench or codes! $256 (TechSmart Part) Comes ready to install, no fooling around with voltmeter. Be sure to have the battery red cable off first. Check a 2005 Video on how to install a Throttle Body. It's easy. Long story short, save time and hassle. Just swap the entire Throttle Body. You get a complete solution to all those codes, plus you'll save a ton of money by taking it to a mechanic. Note: Don't over tighten those bolts, you could crack the housing. Best of luck. She'll run great!!!
 






Be sure to leave the battery cable off for at least an hour.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I had a vacuum problem - just one of the very small hoses servicing the climate controls - and finding one loose and putting it back where it belonged has not only solved some problems in that area, but the truck just seems to run and shift better. As was pointed out earlier, take a look. Easily done and may solve you some $$$.
 






Back
Top