Throttle Position (TP) Sensor
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Mercury Sable and 2003 Ford Taurus. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
The throttle position (TP) sensor is a potentiometer mounted on the throttle body. The TP sensor detects the position of the throttle plate and sends this information to the processor assembly as varying voltage signal.
The PCM uses the monitored voltage level of the TP sensor for control of electronic pressure control (EPC) pressure, torque converter clutch operation and shift scheduling.
If a failure occurs in the TP sensor circuit, the processor will recognize that the TP sensor signal is out of specification. The processor will then operate the transaxle in a high capacity mode to prevent transaxle damage.