2006 Ford Explorer v6 throttle cutting out

[Andrew9867]

Hello, so twice so far I’ve been working on my brother’s girlfriend’s 2006 Ford Explorer v6. The throttle would randomly cut out while driving. So I went ahead and replaced the throttle position sensor. Fixed the issue for about 2 weeks. Then it started again… This time it was worse. Constantly cutting out, even after clearing the codes it wouldn’t drive more than 5 feet without it happening again. Ended up having to get it towed. This time I went ahead and replaced the whole throttle body along with a new TPS sensor. Codes P2104 and P2112. This fixed it for only a few days and now it is happening again. My next thought would be PCM but I am stumped as to why these past two fixes of the TPS and then the throttle body have temporarily fixed the issue. What could be causing it to come back? Is something faulting out the TPS? If anyone has had this reoccurring issue and has figured it out or has any insight, anything is appreciated!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

my ideas

-abnormally high carbon buildup (unlikeely, but possible)
- throttle body motor/actuator (most likely imo)
- whats fuel pressure like? unlijely, as you mentioend they fixed temp, but always worth checking.
- i doubt PCM is bad, or at least i wouldnt jump to it, as thats quite rare
-do these have intake manifold runner actuator? not sure about 4th gen
-hows the wiring leading up to it?

 

[Andrew9867]

my ideas

-abnormally high carbon buildup (unlikeely, but possible)
- throttle body motor/actuator (most likely imo)
- whats fuel pressure like? unlijely, as you mentioend they fixed temp, but always worth checking.
- i doubt PCM is bad, or at least i wouldnt jump to it, as thats quite rare
-do these have intake manifold runner actuator? not sure about 4th gen
-hows the wiring leading up to it?

So the new throttle body actually came with a new motor/actuator on it. The wiring up to the tps and actuator both looked good. Honestly not too sure about the fuel pressure. Sadly I am not too knowledgeable on fords but by a quick google search it looks like this car does have an intake manifold runner actuator. Not too sure if that would be it because I believe it would throw a code relating to that. And as far as carbon buildup, the old throttle body was pretty nasty so that could be a culprit. Hopefully soon I’m going to take another good look in the engine bay to see if anything stands out if it has something to do with a busted line/hose. She also did have an evap code, wasn’t too sure if that could be related. I’d say I’m moderately mechanically inclined but when it comes to electrical, I’m pretty much a noob. So praying it has nothing to do with pcm or wiring.

 

[Stynx]

Could it possibly be a clogged fuel line/filter or perhaps a fuel pump issue?

 

[94Eddie]

Hello, so twice so far I’ve been working on my brother’s girlfriend’s 2006 Ford Explorer v6. The throttle would randomly cut out while driving. So I went ahead and replaced the throttle position sensor. Fixed the issue for about 2 weeks. Then it started again… This time it was worse. Constantly cutting out, even after clearing the codes it wouldn’t drive more than 5 feet without it happening again. Ended up having to get it towed. This time I went ahead and replaced the whole throttle body along with a new TPS sensor. Codes P2104 and P2112. This fixed it for only a few days and now it is happening again. My next thought would be PCM but I am stumped as to why these past two fixes of the TPS and then the throttle body have temporarily fixed the issue. What could be causing it to come back? Is something faulting out the TPS? If anyone has had this reoccurring issue and has figured it out or has any insight, anything is appreciated!

Did you use a Motorcraft brand TPS? If not then this might be the problem. Especially since the new TPS solved the issue for two weeks.

 

[Andrew9867]

Could it possibly be a clogged fuel line/filter or perhaps a fuel pump

Did you use a Motorcraft brand TPS? If not then this might be the problem. Especially since the new TPS solved the issue for two weeks.

I’m not sure I believe it was oem because it was purchased at ford (the first TPS). When this first started happening she brought it to the dealer and they read the code and told her it was the TPS so she bought that through them and I installed it. They sadly ripped her off. $330 for the visit. TPS was over $100 but they decided to get her for “labor” which makes no sense since they did zero work on it. Just scanned the code for her. The throttle body she bought off 1aauto came with the tps sensor on it and I used the one that came on it. Before all this I did some research learning that the older tps sensors were known to go bad. I guess they were a different shape and that was the way to distinguish them. Both of the tps sensors were rectangle on top, from what I’ve heard those are the new good ones.

Edit: I just checked and yes the first one I replaced that was bought through ford was motorcraft.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

are these still drive by cable? or it now electronic? sorry, know peole who used to have these as company vehicles, but never occured to me to look under the hood before they were gone

 

[Andrew9867]

are these still drive by cable? or it now electronic? sorry, know peole who used to have these as company vehicles, but never occured to me to look under the hood before they were gone

Electronic

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Electronic

actuator? is that stock, or new?

 

[1Neptune]

I would definitely unwrap about an inch or two of the wiring cables going to the throttle body and associated parts around it and check for cracked and missing wiring insulation that would lead to shorts. A very well known issue on 4th gen explorers.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I would definitely unwrap about an inch or two of the wiring cables going to the throttle body and associated parts around it and check for cracked and missing wiring insulation that would lead to shorts. A very well known issue on 4th gen explorers.

good point! my only question is why would the aforementioned fixes solve the issue only temporary? im going to look into this a bit mroe!

 

[Andrew9867]

good point! my only question is why would the aforementioned fixes solve the issue only temporary? im going to look into this a bit mroe!

Thank you all, I appreciate the help and information so far

 

[1Neptune]

every time you moved a connector wires may have un-shorted. Drive and through normal vehicle vibration the wires are shorting out again. The more that I think of this it sounds pretty much what you are experiencing. Bad ground, or shorting. Peel back the tape on those wire connectors and look for bare, or cracked insulation. clean up the ground points. I know it is a PITA, but necessary. Good luck.

 

[Andrew9867]

every time you moved a connector wires may have un-shorted. Drive and through normal vehicle vibration the wires are shorting out again. The more that I think of this it sounds pretty much what you are experiencing. Bad ground, or shorting. Peel back the tape on those wire connectors and look for bare, or cracked insulation. clean up the ground points. I know it is a PITA, but necessary. Good luck.

Thank you. Going to try this tomorrow

 

[keriheat]

good point! my only question is why would the aforementioned fixes solve the issue only temporary? im going to look into this a bit mroe!

I had to replace the wire/new pigtail connector going to the TPS. Insulation was cracked and bare wire showing. Also I replaced the Hose from the upper intake plenum to the evac unit on the inner fender panel on the drivers side. OEM hose is expensive, so I used 3/8 fuel line. I cut the old hose off of the nipples with a razor knife and pushed the old nipples on to the new 3/8 hose. Fit was good. Never threw a code but the hose was nasty and looked like it good have been a vacuum leak. I also cleaned the Throttle body. I was getting erratic idle. 2006 XLT with 94,000 miles on it. Also replaced plugs and Motorcraft wires. Runs smoother than ever and picked up 1.3 MPG. Just a thought. While under the hood I found the wiring had the same cracked insulation on the connector going to the fan clutch and bought a new connector/pigtail. Look for "FordTechMakuloco" on YouTube he has all the videos on Ford diagnostics and troubleshooting/repairs. He is an excellent Ford mechanic. I have no ties to him other than utilizing his videos for repairs.

EDIT: correct name of YouTube guy FordTechMakuloco

 

[Andrew9867]

I had to replace the wire/new pigtail connector going to the TPS. Insulation was cracked and bare wire showing. Also I replaced the Hose from the upper intake plenum to the evac unit on the inner fender panel on the drivers side. OEM hose is expensive, so I used 3/8 fuel line. I cut the old hose off of the nipples with a razor knife and pushed the old nipples on to the new 3/8 hose. Fit was good. Never threw a code but the hose was nasty and looked like it good have been a vacuum leak. I also cleaned the Throttle body. I was getting erratic idle. 2006 XLT with 94,000 miles on it. Also replaced plugs and Motorcraft wires. Runs smoother than ever and picked up 1.3 MPG. Just a thought. While under the hood I found the wiring had the same cracked insulation on the connector going to the fan clutch and bought a new connector/pigtail. Look for "FordTechMakuloco" on YouTube he has all the videos on Ford diagnostics and troubleshooting/repairs. He is an excellent Ford mechanic. I have no ties to him other than utilizing his videos for repairs.

EDIT: correct name of YouTube guy FordTechMakuloco

Thank you guys. I’m going to say this was it, LOL