What To Do After Replacing Throttle Body? (Detailed!)
The throttle body is what regulates the airflow to the engine of your vehicle. So, it’s important to conduct a series of checks once you’re done replacing the throttle body, just to ensure the components are in place and can function as required.
These components are sensitive and even the smallest deviations can lead to inferior performance and fuel efficiency. So, What To Do After Replacing Throttle Body? You have to reset the throttle position sensor, calibrate it, and then verify the throttle response as well.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll share all there is to know about the process.
Reset the Throttle Position Sensor
The computer keeps track of the throttle position, whether it’s open or closed. Once the throttle body is replaced, the computer must be reprogrammed or reset, otherwise, it wouldn’t know the accurate position of the throttle.
This is why it’s important to reset/reprogram the throttle position sensor after resetting the throttle body. Follow these steps to reset the throttle position sensor:
- Take your vehicle out for a drive, and make sure you’re driving over 40 mph of speed.
- Come back to the garage and remove the fuse. Leave the vehicle as it is for 10 minutes.
- Now, use an OBD2 scanner. These are essentials if you want to troubleshoot your car, and can save you a lot of time. So, if you don’t have one already, we recommend getting one asap.
- Once the OBD2 scanner is connected, start your car and push the accelerator. Don’t remove the ignition key in this process. If your vehicle features a push-to-start button, hold it down.
- Then, remove the negative cable of the battery. Keep it like that for 15-20 minutes.
- As for the final step, reconnect the battery. Make sure the cable is tightly attached. This shall reset the throttle position sensor or TPS.
Even after you’re done with this process, it’s important to check out the OBD2 scanner. If you see the “Check Engine” light still on, then there’s something else wrong with your vehicle.
In this case, you need to check out for other problems in your vehicle.
Calibrate the New Throttle Position Sensor
Resetting the TPS, or throttle position sensor, isn’t enough. To ensure the sensor works perfectly, you need to calibrate it as well. Otherwise, the sensor will fail to recognize the position of the throttle accurately.
Without proper calibration, the sensor will input the wrong fuel-to-air ratio to the cylinder. This will not only reduce the efficiency of the whole system but may lead to further problems down the line.
To calibrate the throttle body, you need to follow these steps:
- Start by regulating the voltage of the sensor manually. How do you do that? Look for a black rubber-like attachment on the throttle body. You can shift it back and forth to get the desired amount of voltage flowing through the sensor.
- Now, disconnect the TPS from the old throttle body and install it into the new one. If you want, you can get a new TPS from the market. We recommend sticking with the existing one unless it’s broken or malfunctioning.
- Take a multimeter, and connect its negative terminal to the battery. Set the multimeter to DC voltage.
- Look for a red wire connecting the TPS and the throttle body. Connect this wire with the multimeter using the positive cable.
Once you’ve followed through on this, it’s time to check the voltage. When you put it at close throttle, you’re supposed to get 4.5-4.6 volts.
As you keep applying the throttle, you should experience an upward shift in the voltage, but it shouldn’t exceed 5 volts in most cases.
If you see a lower or higher voltage on the multimeter than the suggested level, you should change the voltage output from the throttle body to adjust it.
Verify Throttle Response
Once you’re done replacing and recalibrating the throttle sensor, it’s necessary to verify if it’s working as it should or not. To do so, take your vehicle for a drive and pay attention to how snappy the throttle response is.
The throttle is supposed to respond as soon as you press the accelerator pedal. Bring variety in speed and driving style to check if the throttle is working perfectly under every condition or not.
Also, check whether the RPM of the engine is shifting with the throttle or not.
There shouldn’t be any delay. If you’re experiencing any delay, you need to recalibrate and reprogram the TPS. If that doesn’t fix the issue, you probably have to get a new TPS.
Additional Expert Tips You Should Follow
The processes mentioned above are the steps that you must take after replacing a throttle body. However, there are some other procedures that you must follow. These are as follows:
- Check for Loose Connections
When the TPS and throttle body are finally installed, check every connection to make sure they’re connected tightly.
Also, look out for the quality of the connections. Loose or damaged cables can lead to long-term problems for your vehicle.
- Look Out for Vacuum Leaks
Sometimes, replacing the throttle body and TPS leaves vacuum leaks in the intake system. This mainly happens when certain hoses aren’t connected back properly. In the worst-case scenario, there might be cracks or leaks in the intake manifold.
So, look out for any sort of hissing noise or other signs of leaks. If you find any such leak, make sure to fix it before you start using the vehicle.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
1. How Do I Know I Need to Change Throttle Body?
Certain symptoms such as irregular speed when cruising, check engine light on, latency in throttle symptoms, etc. indicates improper throttle performance.
2. Will Resetting the Throttle Position Sensor Solve the Problem?
Yes, if you have a newly installed throttle body, it’ll solve the problem if you follow the instructions carefully.
3. Can I Reset the TPS Without Disconnecting the Battery?
In some cases, it may work but we don’t recommend it as disconnecting it is the common practice.
Conclusion
We’ve provided the steps on what to do after replacing the throttle body serially, so make sure to follow them in succession. Don’t forget to follow the expert tips as they can save you from hassle in the future.
As you can see, carrying out the mentioned steps requires certain tools and prior experience in tinkering with your vehicle. If you find it challenging to carry these out yourself, just visit a professional!
