Can a new throttle body sensor make this big of a difference?

Ramrod

Ramrod

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
52
Location
Texas
Ok is it just my imagination or can a new throttle body position sensor really make this big of a difference? Recently installed a new stroker, run 35 class C with 3.73 and thought it was an awesome improvement. I has had a small surge every now and then on my trips to and from work (4 hour drive) but got really bad on the way home this time and had the engine light pop on. I thought I got a big slug of water in my last fill up. Found out here that you can’t read codes with the key and trip reset trick on my 99 so half way home I am over at an auto parts for a code read. And $60 for the sensor then $20 for the stupid torx set (the one set i left at home) and I am on the road again.

Thing is she was way more responsive now at least it seems so to me which may be all in my head, but one thing is fo sure I no longer have to goose it to maintain speed in 5th gear to cross overpasses or bridges, just a slight feather of the gas peddle now and she will accelerate up them.

Can’t believe that little black box made that big of a difference.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I'm not entirely sure how the TPS works, but I would assume it has a sensor on it that could get clogged / dirty, in which case a new sensor might make it more responsive.

I'm only thinking out loud, as I have no idea how they actually work.

I want to say it's all in your head, but I also don't know for certain that the TPS sensor can't "gradually" fail as oppose to just failing completely.
 
I am not really sure either but I think all it does is send a signal to the pc to let it know what position the butterfly is in.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
This is theory only, coming from Aviation sensor experience. I would guess that the sensor works off of resistance, so the farther the butterfly moves one way or the other the resistance changes. With that in mind, the area where the butterfly sets the most (in that range) it will naturally wear out. So the PCM would lose butterfly location causing you to have to goose it to pick up speed. which in theory would be relocating the position of the butterfly. Perhaps the entire range was out of tolerance which is why you are seeing such an improvement. Awesome you got it fixed!!
 
On several motorcycles that I've owned, there's a calibration procedure for the TPS. Small adjustments make a big difference. IIRC, the last time I did mine, there was a resistance range at closed throttle , and another at full throttle. The resistance range was in tenths of an ohm.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Edward Turner
Top Bottom
Back