Car Repair World

  Symptoms of a Bad Throttle Position Sensor Fleas caused the Black Plague. A few misplaced carbon atoms sank the Titanic. Tribbles crippled the Enterprise. Sometimes, the smallest and most seemingly innocuous things can cause the biggest problems, and that certainly is true of one little sensor on top of your engine. These days, engines have become so utterly dependent on this simple sensor that many use it exclusively in place of the reliable old throttle cable. It doesn't take much going wrong in the throttle position sensor to cause a whole plague of issues -- possibly including a bit of unintended acceleration to warp speed. TPS Sensor Function At heart, a TPS sensor is effectively a dimmer switch. It's a "potentiometer," a kind of variable resistor that can increase or decrease the amount of voltage that makes it from one end of the sensor to the other. Inside the sensor is a crescent-shaped strip of material with a certain amount of resistance. A metal arm swee...

  Signs & Symptoms of a Bad Throttle Position Sensor A throttle position sensor is used to monitor the position of the throttle in an internal combustion engine. The throttle position sensor is usually positioned directly on top of the butterfly system. Motor Activity A bad throttle position sensor may cause the car to unexpectedly buck or jerk around. It may also cause random surging of the engine when the car is idling. Stalling Cars with a faulty throttle position sensor may randomly stall for no apparent reason. This can happen whether the car is in motion or simply idling. Accelerating One of the signs of a bad throttle position sensor is a slight hesitation in the response time of your engine when you are attempting to accelerate. Highway If your car randomly increases its speed while driving on the highway, you may have a problem with your throttle position sensor. Engine Light When you have a problem with your throttle position sensor, your car's service engine light sh...

Ford F-150/F-250:  Oxygen Sensor Replacement This article walks through the process of replacing the oxygen sensor on your Ford F-150 or Super Duty.  Ford F-150 (2004-2014) and the F-250, F-350 (2005-2014). If your check engine light goes on but you don't notice any symptoms, you need to use a code reader to determine the source of the problem. If the trouble code in your PCM's memory reads P0131, P0133, P0151, or P0153, you could be having trouble with your vehicle's oxygen sensor. The oxygen sensor is a clever little component that keeps track of your engine's exhaust and promotes an accurate distribution of oxygen, nitrogen, and fuel. For this reason, bad gas mileage can be both a symptom and a problematic result of a faulty oxygen sensor. This part can be expensive to professionally replace, so you might want to attempt a DIY job if you are able to. Materials Needed O2 sensor penetrating oil O2 sensor socket thread chaser floor jack two j...

Oxygen Sensor Replacement Safety Tip: Always wear safety glasses when working on your vehicle. Wear other personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary, for example latex gloves or closed toe shoes. 1 Park the vehicle on a level surface. Set the parking brake and open the hood. 2 With the engine off and cool, locate the defective oxygen sensor in the exhaust manifold or pipe. If necessary, lift the front of the vehicle and support it with jack stands. Photo may not be specific to your vehicle 3 Disconnect the wire connector at the defective oxygen sensor. Spray the sensor threads and fitting with penetrating spray and let soak for a time. Photo may not be specific to your vehicle 4 Remove the oxygen sensor from the exhaust system. Use an oxygen sensor socket to reduce potential for damage. 5 If you are installing a universal oxygen sensor, cut off the connector from the original sensor and splice the connector wires to the new oxygen sensor. Foll...

Oxygen Sensor O2 Replacement Replace O2 Sensor In Car Helpful Information An  oxygen or lambda sensor  is used to determine the engine exhaust mixture which can then be controlled by the computer. These sensors are equipped with a heater that can fail causing the check engine light to illuminate. The oxygen sensor is designed to monitor the amount of oxygen that is in the exhaust system at any given second. This is done by using an active chemical that when heated can act as a low voltage generator. There are many conditions that can cause an oxygen sensor to miss-behave even though there is nothing wrong with the sensor, to be sure the sensor is a problem visit  how to test an oxygen sensor . Older models will have just one sensor in the exhaust system while newer cars will have as many as four sensors. The reason behind the multi-sensor systems is control and monitoring capabilities. A multi-sensor system will be able to monitor the exhaust gasses before and aft...