gregc

I started my car one morning and it idled higher and much longer than normal (2-3seconds). I drove to local store and upon restart the car went into “Limp Mode”
- Read ODB-II and got P0120- Throttle Pedal Sensor Circuit A
- I replaced the connector to the Throttle-Body as it has come loose before
- I replaced the entire Throttle-Body thinking the actuator sensor for the motor went bad.
- I reset the Check Engine light and started the car.
- The ECU stays in Limp Mode and the P0120 ODB-II error comes back.
The car is now at a MB dealer and they looked at MB codes through MB Diagnostic connector next to the ECU. They say the Throttle Peddle Sensor, that is the electrical sensor that is connected to a real-world cable up from the car’s interior throttle pedal reads OK and is within spec.
The computer seems to be ignoring the Throttle Body and thinks it is dead, even with a new one? As such, the ECU stays in Limp Mode.
Question1: should the tech be resetting the ESP “limp mode”, or is that mode automatically to turn off? Does the MB diagnostic have some form of “clear codes” like the ODB-II protocol?
Question2: I checked the two fuses for the Throttle Body within the engine bay fuse box and all are OK. Does the ECU have some fuse for the drive current to the throttle body motors?
Question3: I did see 5V at the connector for the Throttle Body feedback sensors, so I feel the return voltage is OK. Basically, the TB includes 3 potentiometers for feedback and two motor signals.
The car cranks and idles fine. If you manually move the interior pedal, it seems to want to increase RPM, which tells me that the TB is opening just a tiny amount. Or, the ECU is just adding a little gas.
What to test??? Could the ECU have gone bad?

Ausmbtech

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the throttle pedal sensor has failed, much more common than a throttle body, and even then it's not common.

If you hold the throttle down and it accelerates very slowly then that's quite likely the problem. The pedal sensor has 2 sensors in it, one can be intermitantly faulty, they register as working but they both have to register and identical position (one increases voltage, the other decreases) at the same time, if they don't then the ecu knows one is faulty so it logs the code and doesn't respond quickly to throttle changes.

Replace the pedal sensor (under the bonnect, at the end of the throttle cable), clear the fault codes and all should be good!

f4i 954

I think the problem is the pedal sensor.
I`ve seen some were they are in spec, but react very slow.