The throttle position sensor is used in a car to regulate the speed of the car by controlling the engine. The throttle position sensor does its job by altering the portion of air and fuel that is sent into the engine. A throttle position sensor is one of the most important parts of a car.
Today, we are going to discuss whether a throttle position sensor can cause a misfire.
Can throttle position sensor cause misfire?
A throttle position sensor that has gone bad can certainly cause a misfire in the engine of the car. A throttle position sensor is important for maintaining the mixture of air and fuel in the engine. A bad throttle position sensor can cause acceleration and mileage problems.
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The throttle position sensor is crucial for the engine of a car. The throttle position sensor and the engine control unit work together to control the supply of fuel into the engine.
The throttle valve of the throttle position sensor can monitor the amount of airflow by accessing the pressure on the gas pedal.
If the throttle position sensor becomes bad, the throttle valve may stay open or closed. The throttle valve staying open will increase the amount of airflow and the throttle valve staying closed will decrease the amount of airflow in the engine.
The throttle position sometimes can become bad because of poor electrical connection. Bad throttle position sensor connection can cause the emergence of several problems in the car.
One of those problems is that it will cause misfires in the car engine. As a result, the overall performance of the car will come down drastically.
If you find out that your throttle position sensor has gone bad, you should replace or reset it immediately. Delaying the repairing process will only hamper your car. As the throttle position sensor is one of the most important sensors of a car, you should take proper care of it.
How does a throttle position sensor cause misfire?
The throttle position sensor is situated on the throttle body. The primary job of the throttle position sensor is to accurately sense the whereabouts of the butterfly valve and send that particular info to the control unit of the engine.
The throttle position sensor is responsible for coordinating the amount of fuel injected into the engine. The engine control unit takes the evaluation of the engine before releasing fuel into the unit. The butterfly valve of the throttle position sensor controls the airflow to the engine.
If the throttle position sensor becomes faulty for some reason, then it will fail to control the amount of airflow to the engine. That will give an inaccurate reading to the engine control unit.
When this happens, the engine control unit supplies inadequate or excessive fuel to the engine. When this happens, the cylinders of the engines will start misfiring.
How to tell if the throttle position sensor is bad?
If your throttle position sensor becomes bad, it will start showing several symptoms. Let’s discuss them in detail.
Problem while accelerating:
A bad throttle position sensor will cause acceleration problems in your car. It can happen in many ways. You will see your car acceleration as unsatisfactory and problematic. The car will not accelerate according to your expectation like before.
You will also see some random burst of accelerations happening automatically.
This will happen because your throttle position sensor will fail to send accurate readings to the engine control unit. This will mess up the supply of fuel to the engine. So if your car has an acceleration problem, it can happen because of a faulty throttle position sensor.
Engine misfiring:
A bad throttle position sensor will cause your engine to misfire. Your engine will run idle or rough because of a faulty throttle position sensor.
The engine control unit will fail to monitor the open or closed position of the butterfly valve if the throttle position sensor becomes faulty.
Check engine light coming on:
The check engine light coming does not always necessarily prove that the throttle position sensor has become faulty.
But if the above-mentioned signs and symptoms are accompanied by the check engine light coming on, then it just emphasizes the fact that your throttle position sensor has become faulty and you need to replace or repair it.
What can a bad throttle position sensor cause?
A bad throttle position sensor can cause all sorts of problems. Let’s discuss them in detail.
Increases fuel cost:
A bad throttle sensor will fail to send an accurate reading to the engine control unit. That will alter the supply of fuel into the engine. This has a financial effect on the fuel cost of your car. You will notice your car consuming more fuel than before.
Decreases mileage:
A bad throttle position sensor cuts down the mileage of your car by increasing and altering fuel consumption. Your car will show poor mileage performance on a consistent basis if you have a bad throttle position sensor.
Reduces engine performance:
A bad throttle position sensor will reduce the overall performance of your car. Your engine will start misfiring because of a bad throttle position sensor. Your engine will run rough or idle as a result of that.
Makes switching gear problematic:
If you have a bad throttle position sensor, you will find switching gears drastically problematic. The automatic transmission will fail to shift accurately because of a bad throttle position sensor.
How to reset the throttle position sensor?
If the throttle position sensor becomes faulty, then you might need to reset it. Resetting the throttle position sensor involves a lot of steps. They are:
Warm up the engine:
First of all, you will have to warm up the engine to reset the throttle position sensor. You will need to warm up the engine long enough for it to match the optimum temperature. You will have to turn the ignition on and off several times to complete the process.
The intervention between this step and the next step is five minutes.
Step on the gas pedal:
In the next step, you will need to step on the gas pedal for three seconds after turning on the engine. You will need to wait for ten minutes before beginning the next step.
Detachment of cables:
You will then need to detach the cables from the battery. You can use a wrench to implement this process. After giving a break, you will need to reattach the cables to the battery. This will complete the resetting process of the throttle position sensor.
Alternative process:
Working only on the fuse of the throttle position sensor can sometimes reset it. All you have to do is take out the fuse from the fuse box. After an interval, you will have to put the fuse back in. This should reset the throttle position sensor easily.
How much does it cost to replace a throttle position sensor?
Replacing a throttle sensor can be an expensive venture. Buying the parts of the throttle position sensor might cost you somewhere between eighty to one hundred USD. The labor cost of replacing a throttle position sensor can range somewhere between sixty to ninety USD.
So the total cost of replacing a throttle position sensor comes down to two hundred to two hundred and fifty USD.
Can you bypass the throttle position sensor?
Bypassing the throttle position sensor can be a tricky thing. The throttle can be bypassed for a very short time. It is not possible to bypass the throttle position sensor on a permanent basis because of the engine control unit.
You can bypass the throttle position sensor by disconnecting it before turning on the ignition. Starting the engine after a thirty seconds interval will not present any problem. But it will run well only for a brief moment.
What happens if you disconnect the throttle position sensor?
Disconnecting the throttle position sensor can present many problems. One of them is the poor performance of the engine. If you disconnect the throttle position sensor, the engine control unit will fail to regulate the supply of fuel into the engine.
It will reduce the mileage of your car as well.
Can I drive with a bad throttle position sensor?
It is not wise to drive with a bad throttle position sensor. Driving with a bad throttle will cause several problems. One of them is that the car will fail to accelerate properly. You will also see the car accelerating on its own if you are driving with a bad throttle position sensor.
It is important that you immediately repair or replace your bad throttle position sensor.
Final Thoughts
A bad throttle position sensor has the ability to cause a misfire in the engine. The engine starts misfiring because of the inaccurate air flow regulation of the bad throttle position sensor. One can reset or replace the throttle position sensor to stop the engine from misfiring.