Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

I know this has been gone over many times, but i have a few questions....

I made the test light and tried to adjust the TPS, the sensor will only light up both bulbs or neither bulb. I turned the screw all the way in and then backed it way out and the only thing that happened was that at one point of backing it out i could hear the selinoids clicking, and that's when both lights turned on. Further backing out the screw cause both lights to turn back off, but there was no point at all where the TPS turned only one bulb on.

Basically i am trying to figure out a terrible MPG that my car is giving me, 17 MPG on the highway....

I used 2 12V bulbs and i also made sure that the car was warmed up to operating temps before i tried to adjust the TPS.

Any Ideas???
Thanks,
Bryan

RotaryNotary

I'd suspect that you have the wiring screwed up on the TPS test rig you created. If you have the "ground" swapped with one of the other lines, you'd get exactly this symptom...ask me how I know....(I didn't have the proper plug, so just used have just 3 spade clips...but as I had just used it correctly 10 minutes earlier before some other adjustments it was easy to diagnose).

Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

Well,
I bought the 12V LED lights at RAdio SHack, and they just have two leads both of which are black.... I put two of the leads together and crimped on a spade connector, the other two leads got their own connectors. Then the spade with both connectors was attached to the single prong on the green connector, and the other two spades were pused into the connectors which are beside each other, also in the green connector. Sound right??
Bryan

LongDuck

Yeah, that's the right configuration for a 'TPS Test Rig', and it sounds like you have it hooked up correctly.

Remember that the test rig is for just that - to test it. If you can't get it to work right (the rig), it could quite possibly be that you have a bad TPS! Anybody around you that has a known good TPS that you could test? That will tell you whether your rig is working correctly.

The TPS is most important for idle conditions and throttle response just off idle. Are you noticing a performance decrease in these conditions? HTH, and reply back,

Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

Unfortunately i don't know anyone in my neck of the woods that has an SE, or a spare TPS for me to test, and at over 100 bucks i don't really want to buy a new one on the chance

The idle isn't always the smoothest that it should be, it has gotten better since i have adjusted the timing and changed the injectors, but it still isn't rock solid. When i changed the TPS adjustment i now have almost a flat spot, where if you are coasting and don't need much throttle, the car gets jerky, but if at the same spot and acelerating then car is fine.

I think i am going to try adjusting the TPS again and also check the resistance of the TPS, make sure it's range is good..... that will be this weekend though, I leave the car at home during the week, no way i am driving it into north Philly

Any suggestions on the crappy gas milage?
Thanks,
Bryan

LongDuck

That 'dead-spot' on the throttle is definitely the TPS adjustment. You need to keep adjusting it bit by bit until the dead spot is below the standard idle speed - at that point, you won't notice the dead-spot and your TPS is likely in range to work correctly.

If your TPS is misadjusted, it will be telling the ECU that your throttle is cracked open when it's not - this can lead to an overly rich mixture and low fuel economy. Also, check your coolant temp sensor (back of waterpump), which the ECU will use to determine if the engine needs 'cold start' enrichment. If that sensor is bad, the ECU will program rich mixture all the time, again resulting in decreased fuel mileage. HTH,

Tech_Greek

THANK YOU LONG DUCK

I think you may have just solved my problem with it flooding on start up, I KNOW my TPS is out of whack, good thing I got a tester on the way.

Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

Long Duck,
The temp sensor is the one right below the thermostat right? If so i just replaced that 3 weeks ago, the temp guage in my car wasn't working for 3 years, would never move off cold. Turns out the guy who had it before me put the end of a broom handle where the thermostat was, so the car never warmed up. I'll see if i can get the TPS better adjusted and also check to see if the ECU is storing any codes.

Ever hear of anyone using a broom handle instead of a thermostat???

Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

Well turns out that my TPS is shot.... when i checked the Ohms the sensor will read on the low end at around 1K, but it will only increase to about 2K not the full 5K that it is supposed to be at full throttle. the ECU gave the code for the TPS, so i figured i better take it out and check to see if it would run full range or not....turns out i get the big X on that one...grumbles. I guess the search is on for a new or used TPS...
I'll update this as i go.
Bryan

Bteets9914

iTrader: (6)

Turns out that the multimeter was to blame for the TPS not working properly, the leads were not working correctly. I switched to another meter and the TPS gave the full range. When i put the TPS back in it's location it only read about 0.5K so i adjusted it out closer to the 1K it was supposed to be set at. After that I tried the adjustment with the lights, turns out that I needed to turn the screw out more to where the meter read about 1.3K then one of the elights went out. The computer now gives me no codes at all!

So the TPS is fine, and the sugging is gone, and the car runs much better now, no idea on gas milage yet, i'll post that later.
thanks for the suggestions and the help everyone!
Bryan