Electronic Throttle Actuator Control (TAC)

WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 32 other vehicles, including the 2011 Mercury Milan, 2011 Mercury Mariner, 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis, 2011 Lincoln Town Car, and 2011 Lincoln Navigator L. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The electronic TAC is a DC motor controlled by the PCM. There are 2 designs for the TAC, parallel and inline. The parallel design has the motor under the bore parallel to the plate shaft. The motor housing is integrated into the main housing. The inline design has a separate motor housing. Both designs use an internal spring to return the throttle plate to a default position. The default position is typically a throttle angle of 7 to 8 degrees from the hard stop angle. The closed throttle plate hard stop prevents the throttle from binding in the bore. This hard stop setting is not adjustable and is set to result in less airflow than the minimum engine airflow required at idle. For additional information, refer to TORQUE-BASED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) .

Fig 1: Identifying Typical Inline TAC Design

Courtesy of FORD MOTOR CO.

Fig 2: Identifying Typical Parallel TAC Design

Courtesy of FORD MOTOR CO.