First off a brief history of the problem I've been having lately.......

Car has been running irratic sometimes once it's fully warmed up under partial throttle. Sometimes even bucking. Runs fine at WOT though (or at least appears to). Check Engine light comes on sometimes as well then goes off.

Originally I suspected the 02 sensor, but my outstanding gas mileage made me think otherwise. Today I decided to check the ecu for codes and it's spitting out code 14 for the TPS.

Before I go spending lots of money on a new tps, do my sympoms support it? The tps as far as I can tell is not a high fail rate item.

Just out of common sense though, I would think if it was causing the check engine light it would stay on permanently, not intermittent.

It's a 91 Tsi FWD btw.

[This message has been edited by Gary Singletary (edited June 02, 2001).]

See if you can track down someone local who would let you borrow a good TPS for a day to see if it remedies the prob.

the best way to see if it is your TPS is just unplug it all together and than run the car... it will run just fine. If it does not buck and runs well with it off than your TPS is broken for sure or out of adjustment... anyway I ran mine unpluged for 3 months and just got a new one to put in and love it...

Then what's it there for? (:

I tried swapping on mine with no luck. Just get a multimeter and see if the resistance value changes in that connector as you open the throttle plate.

I get a bucking in mine as well, but it only really occurs if you perfectly match throttle for the speed you're going. It doesn't happen under accel or decel.

Was your ecu flagging the tps Troy?

What is the 'correct' way to adjust the TPS, as per the Chysler manual? Right now I can floor it and my 02 go into closed loop, then when I get to about 6500 rpm the o2's start to cycle again.

Tyler

Nope, nothing like that. It was just something to check...

Will it there for something that for sure... but really it runs without it.. and if no bucking than your TPS is broken for sure. The car just runs with less power without the TPS and you dont get that instant respond that you get when you just punch it. I think the ecu dumps extra fuels when the throttle position changes alot..

Check the voltage at pin 19 (TPS) at the ecu.

Idle should be .4-.6 volts
WOT should be 4.5-5.5 volts.

I took Tim's advice today. I pulled the connector off and ran it and haven't had the problem reoccur yet so I'm pretty sure something is up with the tps. Seems to accelerate more smoothly too.

Is there a way to adjust the TPS without actually checking the voltage on the prongs of the ecu like the manual says? Seems like it would be much easier to set it at the TPS connector if possible.

Also, are there any tricks to swaping it out? One screw/bolt looks like it's in a pretty difficult spot to get to. I guess I'll just yank the throttle body if I have to.

Thanks for the help guys.

When I replace mine I pulled the whole throttle body out... it is not that much work really.

It's there for the computer to know exactly how much you are pressing on the pedal. If you disconnect it, the computer will guess how much you are pressing it by the amount of air entering the system and probably other charts it has programmed into it to 'fake' the sensor is there.