lifespeed
01-21-2016, 06:42 PM
I had noticed the throttle seemed a little jumpy every evening when I pulled the car into the garage after work, or just idling through a parking lot. A slight nudge of the pedal seemed to often produce a several hundred RPM flare of the engine no matter how gentle I was.
It wasn't that big a deal, but I started to realize something wasn't quite right. I thought about the idle air control, but I knew the engine had no trouble settling down to the correct idle speed under various circumstances; cold start, air conditioner on/off, or rolling up to a stop sign.
So I guessed throttle position sensor. It is a mechanical potentiometer and these are known to wear. I could have ohmed it out, but I am too lazy and I do believe in changing wear items prophylactically (just for you, Zack ;) ).
Put it in a couple days ago along with new hood struts. Took about 15 minutes all told including cleaning the IAC, which has to come off anyway. $40 from Tasca parts plus $25/each for the struts. I disconnected the battery to make sure the PCM re-learned the sensor resistance. No more jumpy gas pedal. A minor detail, but it was a nice improvement to slow speed drivability.
It wasn't that big a deal, but I started to realize something wasn't quite right. I thought about the idle air control, but I knew the engine had no trouble settling down to the correct idle speed under various circumstances; cold start, air conditioner on/off, or rolling up to a stop sign.
So I guessed throttle position sensor. It is a mechanical potentiometer and these are known to wear. I could have ohmed it out, but I am too lazy and I do believe in changing wear items prophylactically (just for you, Zack ;) ).
Put it in a couple days ago along with new hood struts. Took about 15 minutes all told including cleaning the IAC, which has to come off anyway. $40 from Tasca parts plus $25/each for the struts. I disconnected the battery to make sure the PCM re-learned the sensor resistance. No more jumpy gas pedal. A minor detail, but it was a nice improvement to slow speed drivability.