Circuit Description

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Lexus SC 430. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The throttle position sensor is mounted on the throttle body and it has 2 sensors to detect the throttle opening angle and a malfunction of the throttle position sensor. The voltage applied to the terminals VTA and VTA2 of the ECM changes between 0-5 volts in proportion to the opening angle of the throttle valve. The VTA is a signal to indicate the actual throttle valve opening angle which is used for the engine control, and the VTA2 is a signal to indicate the information about the opening angle which is used for detecting a malfunction. The ECM judges the current opening angle of the throttle valve from these signals input from terminals VTA and VTA2, and the ECM controls the throttle motor to make the throttle valve angle properly in response to the driving condition. See Fig 1 and Fig 2 . If DTCs are stored, throttle valve is locked at a certain opening angle. Possible causes are:

Open or short in TP sensor circuit.
Faulty TP sensor.
Wire harness.
Faulty ECM.

Fig 1: Identifying Throttle Position Sensor Operation

Fig 2: Identifying Throttle Position Sensor Circuits