How Do You Check A Throttle Position Sensor?
Throttle Position Sensors (TPSs) are relatively simple devices. TPS is a fancy new name for the old three-terminal potentiometer that is commonly known by many different names. Volume controls, tone controls, and balance controls are all three-terminal potentiometers. It is nothing more than a variable resistor and can be checked with Digital Multimeter (DMM). A faulty TPS may be the cause of many drive-ability problems. Unexpected stalling, rough idle, hesitation upon accelerating, or unexplained acceleration while cruising at a steady speed are all symptoms of a defective TPS. Disconnect the TPS connector. There are three wires going to the sensor body, the negative ground, the +12 Volt input, and the variable output to the onboard computer. Insert the alligator clip test leads into the appropriate jacks on your DMM and set the “Range Switch” to the 20,000-Ohm or the 20K Ohm scale. Connect one of the test leads to the center connector, the computer output connector, and the other lea
