Trottle Position Sensor | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Trottle Position Sensor

Scott B.

Explorer Addict
Joined
February 15, 1999
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City, State
GA
Year, Model & Trim Level
'93 Ranger XLT
Anyone ever have a TPS go bad?

Every once in a while, my Check Engine light will come on, anywhere from about 5 to 30 seconds, (and the truck runs rough) then it clears itself, and everything is normal.

I was reading codes the other night, and I think I got 133/134 (don't remember) - looking in the book, the codes were TPS voltage high and TPS voltage low.

I am wondering if the sensor is going bad, or if perhaps I have an intermittent short in the wires (the exposed wires just after the connector have a twist in them.) The stress, strain and heat of 15 years could be taking its toll.
 



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Sounds like it could be a wiring issue, have a look at the wiring near the TPS and unplug the connector and look for corrosion. I suppose it could also be a failed TPS as well, with a dead spot at just a certain throttle position. You could use a voltmeter on the TPS output and move the throttle around to see if there is anything funky going on.
 






The TPS is very sensitive to voltage changes, often the terminals on the TPS are gold-plated to reduce issues with corrosion but of course, the TPS wiring harness connector does NOT have gold-plated connections which kinda defeats the purpose of the gold plating of the TPS terminals. Wiggle the connector and bend the harness wires while the engine is running and see if you can get it to act up.
 






I've had the high/low/no voltage @ TPS CEL with my X for a looooooong time. It's never made the engine run rough when the light is on, though.

Doesn't seem to be anything that'll fix it except a new sensor. Thankfully they are $40-50 for OEM and even cheaper aftermarket (if you want to go that way). You could probably even pull one or a few at a salvage yard or get one from someone parting out for way less, too.

Check your wires, harnesses and you can even try pulling the sensor and cleaning the sensor and cleaning out the throttle assembly where it mounts, but more than likely a new sensor is the fix.
 












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