2007 P0061B Code is driving me insane

[Reacher70]

Ok, Guys, I am ready to take this truck down to the river and toss a match inside. I'll give you a list of what I've done and the end result and hopefully, someone can point me in the direction to go next.

07 4X4 XLT 4.0L with 199k,

The engine started missing and throwing misfire codes in #4 cylinder. I pulled the plug and it was fouled up pretty well so I went ahead and replaced plugs wires and coil pack. I figured that they were all probably overdue. It ran great for about 1k miles then started to give me a check engine light with bank 1 O2 rich codes. I cleared the codes and would drive it for another thousand miles or so until the code came back after doing this a few times I decided that I should just go ahead and replace the 02 sensors. Doing this cleared up that issue and the vehicle was great for about 5k miles, this is when all hell broke loose.

I have aftermarket seat heaters that are controlled by a toggle switch, they were wired to a constant power source and I've been pretty diligent about shutting them off, however, one day I forgot and they were left on overnight and the drained the battery dead. I went out to start the car the next morning and realized that the dome light didn't come on and when I tried the key nothing. The battery was completely dead >9 volts if I remember correctly, I fast charged it with my battery charger, using the boost feature and had it fired up in about 5 minutes.

I found out right then that the TPS system loses its settings when the battery is dead, I searched forever trying to find out to to reset the tps and finally found a thread on a focus forum that instructed me to turn the key on, slowly depress the throttle until WOT is reached and then slowly release it, turn the key off, turn the key on reset the SC2110 (or whichever it is, TPS stuck open and TPS stuck closed odes) This seemed to fix the throttle issue but the car would not idle, I found a video showing that you let it idle for 10 minutes, then turn the Ac on for anohter 10 Minutes, then put it is drive with the AC off for 5 minutes then again in D with the AC on for 5 minutes. The problem with this was the thing would not idle for 10 minutes without dying.

I researched some more and thought maybe I messed up my TPS sensor with the fast charge so I replaced that and wouldn't you know it has the same issue, this time however when I go to drive it, when you accelerate from a dead stop it bucks hard, sputters, throws the service wrench and gives me a code of P0061B.

This code is a torque vector calculation error code and everything I can find is that it is faulty MAF, a faulty throttle step motor, or a faulty MAF harness, TPM Harness, TPS Harness or the CAN harness. I have replaced everything except the CAN harness and I still have this issue.

On a side note once you get it moving if you put it in N, turn off the ignition, restart it and resume from 10 MPH or higher the thing runs great. It just runs like a complete bucket of crap if you come to a stop or try to accelerate from a stop.

As a last resort, I took it into the dealer and had the PCM updated thinking maybe something was wrong with the way it communicated with one of the sensors I replaced. If anything this made it worse.

What am I overlooking here guys, I am ready to trade this one in, but lord have mercy I can't take it in like this.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again,

Frustrated in Southern Oregon

 

[boominXplorer]

Check the wiring harness right near the connector and make sure the wires aren't broken and crossed. 06 and 07 have issues with the wire sheathing becoming brittle and flaking away leaving open copper wires.

Have you cleaned or tried swapping out the throttle body? I see you swapped tps but not sure if you've changed out the whole unit. It might help to clearly list all the parts you've swapped out.

 

[Reacher70]

I have not replaced the entire TB I have cleaned it. I have replaced the connector and about 6" of wires in all three harnesses TPS, MAF, and TP Motor.

I've replaced:

TPS
TP Motor
MAF
TPS pigtail
TP Motor pigtail
MAF Pigtail
02 sensors
plugs
wires
coil
Air Filter
PCV

Verified no intake leaks


Is it possible that the issue is in the throttle pedal position sensor?

 

[ntex]

I have not replaced the entire TB I have cleaned it. I have replaced the connector and about 6" of wires in all three harnesses TPS, MAF, and TP Motor.

I've replaced:

TPS
TP Motor
MAF
TPS pigtail
TP Motor pigtail
MAF Pigtail
02 sensors
plugs
wires
coil
Air Filter
PCV

Verified no intake leaks


Is it possible that the issue is in the throttle pedal position sensor?

That is a possibility, a few years ago my 2010 4.0 exploder had very similar problems i had it to several mechanics then the older wiser and last one i took it to told me to go home disconnect the battery for more than 30 minutes (45) then connect it back up,then start it and drive it for an hour at highway speed. I'll be fixed it and been running great for years, scratching my head saying wth might be worth a try didn't cost nothing.except some fuel.

 

[Reacher70]

I will definitely try that, I have done the test drive but only after I attempted the 10,10,5,5 idle learn procedure. I have to travel 200 miles tomorrow morning so I'll reset the PCM and just take off after I reset everything.

I'll let you know if it works

 

[Beachcomber86]

That is a possibility, a few years ago my 2010 4.0 exploder had very similar problems i had it to several mechanics then the older wiser and last one i took it to told me to go home disconnect the battery for more than 30 minutes (45) then connect it back up,then start it and drive it for an hour at highway speed. I'll be fixed it and been running great for years, scratching my head saying wth might be worth a try didn't cost nothing.except some fuel.

When you pull the battery cables, connect them to each other. Helps with the reset to factory.

 

[Reacher70]

***********************************************UPDATE********************************************
So I kind of stumbled on the answer out of sheer obstinence

Here is the mistake I made. When I disconnected the TPS sensor or left the battery terminals off for more than 30 minutes the throttle pedal would not work at all. I searched high and low on how to fix this and I found the instructions on the focus forum, their fix was to slowly depress the pedal with the key on, you need to take at least 10 seconds depressing the pedal from closed to WOT, and then take just as long releasing the pedal. The first few times I did this it worked and upon restart, I had pedal control.

This worked about 50% of the time, other times I would turn the key to on and slowly depress the pedal until it is at WOT then release the pedal as fast as you can, shut the key off and repeat 3 times. This method would generally work when the other method failed. It wasn't until my 15th or 16th time of resetting my PCM that the P0061B code showed up.

Fast forward to today, I needed the truck to drive 250 miles one way for a family event. I decided that I would reset the PCM again just to try to get back to the initial error where the car at least sort of ran. Of course, I waited until an hour before we had to leave to do this because why not, I'm a certified technician lol.

I disconnected the negative terminal, ran my jumper from the hot terminal to the negative cable and let it sit for 30 minutes. Upon reconnecting everything no matter what I tried I could not get throttle control back. The valve opened and closed fine with the key on and depressing the gas pedal, but as soon as you started the vehicle you would have no throttle, the wrench came on and you got the 2100 codes telling you that the throttle body was stuck closed and open at the same time.

I tried the resets at least 10 times, disconnecting the battery, running my jumper, waiting 5 minutes, unplugging all 3 connectors from the PCM after reconnecting the battery, then doing the throttle pedal relearn procedures and no matter what I did I couldn't get the throttle pedal to work. After canceling our family trip I got pissed off and did the reset procedure for the PCM one more time, but this time instead of trying the pedal relearn procedure I just started the *****, let it idle, it had an erratic idle and was surging like crazy but I decided to just let it go and see what happened. I left it running outside, ran to the store and came back about 20 minutes later. When I got back from the store I couldn't hear the explorer idling so I just assumed it dies like it had every other time I tried the 10,10,5,5 idle learn procedure but upon walking next to the car it was idling fine, purring like a kitten really.

I was stunned, I shut it off to clear the codes, restarted it and finished the idle learn procedure, it went smoothly, I took a test drive in it and it is running beautifully. I have now put 150 miles both highway and city and it is running fantastic. I did some more research and found that the reason you can't find a pedal relearn procedure for these vehicles is that it doesn't need one. It learns the throttle position during the first 15 seconds of the key in the on position. I completely screwed up the idle learning procedure by forcing the PCM to learn throttle pedal position. So in essence my ignorance led to my frustration. I know I have written novels in this thread, but hopefully it helps somebody down the line and they can avoid the frustration I wnet through.

Thanks for all your responses to this question.

Jon

 

[Reacher70]

--------------------------------------------- NEW UPDATE--------------------------------------------------------------------

So my "fix" lasted all of one day. I have figured out he P061b code is just a result of another problem.

Help me out with this new problem. When I reset the PCM grounding the power cable with a jumper, I go through the idle learn procedure but the first part of the 10 minutes where you just let it idle, it never does smooth out. The engine runs rough and sets a either a bank 1 and 2 rich code or and O2 sensor stuck rich code.

I clear the codes, restart the car and turn on the AC and the idle clears up and it doesn't run rich. I can go through the other two steps where you put in gear for 5 minutes and then reverse for 5 minutes and it idles fine. I then took it out on a test drive for 50 miles and it runs great for about 24 hours. Without fail when driving it in town you stop at a light and the idle goes rough, it runs rich and throws the O2 code or the system rich code. Within a couple more stops the wrench comes on and the P061b code is back.

My question is how do I get it to idle correctly during the first part of the relearn procedure.

To recap it has new:

Plugs
wires
coil pack
MAF Sensor
TPS
TP Motor
Clean Throttle body
4 new O2 sensors
Air Filter
Pigtails for the MAF, TPS and TP Motor
Latest flash for PCM

It was suggested that I replace the TB, but I tore that thing completely apart and cleaned and lubed the blade assembly and rotating parts, It isn't binding and the entire thing looks fine. It's just metal components that show no wear so I cannot justify dropping $250 on that part.

What am I doing wrong? Ignore the P061b code from the initial post, I'm certain there is another issue. Any help is appreciated.

Jon

 

[boominXplorer]

What are the exact codes your still getting other than the P061B?

 

[Reacher70]

Group A:
P0172
P0175

Group B:
P2196
P2198

Group C:
P2271
P2273
P2275

It doesn't throw all of these codes at once, it's usually in the groups that are together. It varies as to which ones it displays I haven't been able to find any discernable pattern.

When the wrench is displayed it always has the P061b and one of the groups of codes above. It is most definitely running rich, black smoke, rough idle, and potent rich smelly exhaust.

 

[Reacher70]

Here are a couple of screenshots running the dashboard of OBDWiz. The first one is sitting at idle, the second one is about 30mph. You can see that it runs rich at idle but it clears up once you get moving.

At Idle:

30 MPH:

Any ideas? Come on where are the Ford techs...LOL