Dirt and carbon deposits inside the housing, electrical problems, vacuum leaks and very poor or high idle operation are all indicators that you should probably replace the throttle body. Let’s start by saying what is the role of the throttle body.
What is the role of the throttle body or the intake flap?
In an internal combustion engine, acceleration is a means of controlling power by regulating the amount of fuel or air entering the engine. Engine power control is used by the driver via an accelerator pedal or accelerator.
The accelerator pedal is connected to the throttle by a mechanical arm, in newer vehicles there is also the electronic intake flap, this system is called drive by wire.
When the driver presses the accelerator, the damper opens, thus allowing a larger amount of air to reach the engine, increasing its power. When the driver takes his foot off the accelerator, the car decelerates, the intake flap closes and thus the amount of air and fuel is restricted.
For vehicles equipped with an electronic acceleration system, the damper is operated by the engine control unit (ECU).
When the driver presses the accelerator pedal, certain sensors send data to the ECU and it activates the intake damper according to the received data,and depending on how the accelerator pedal is being pressed.
Throttle body cleaning
As many of you know, the throttle body can be littered with debris and other dirt, a vehicle over 150,000 km requires a throttle body cleaning.
Cleaning the throttle is a good preventive maintenance of the vehicle. If you have noticed that you have an oscillating idle or the accelerator pedal locks when the engine is hot, the main culprit could be the throttle body, which requires cleaning.
How to clean a throttle body? Can I do it myself?
First of all, the part we want to clean must be located. The throttle body is located between the air filter and the engine intake manifold, most bodies are made of aluminum, this could help you locate it. The process of cleaning the throttle requires a lot of attention and should be left in the hands of a specialist.
How do you clean the throttle body?
In order to clean the flap, it is necessary to have several materials at hand, including napkins, cotton swabs and a special flap cleaning solution that can be found at any car store. If you do not have any knowledge of mechanics, you can drive to a mechanic and he can do it for you.
First of all, you must open the air duct that is attached to the damper body and any hoses and cables that are attached to the damper, after this work has been done, you must have rubber gloves and goggles.
Take the flap cleaning solution and spray it on the throttle body, wait a bit and with the help of napkins or a soft brush wipe clean all the dirt inside the flap body.
Repeat the process until all the dirt is removed from the damper body. After you have finished cleaning, attach all cables and hoses back to the damper body. It should be noted that the cleaning process should be done with the negative terminal removed from the battery.
On some vehicles after the damper cleaning process, more precisely after the damper body has been disconnected, the car will need a throttle calibration. You can calibrate the damper at a car service, calibration work is not expensive at all. The calibration is done only by a specialist and everything is done electronically, with a special tester. The whole process will be worth the effort.
How do you diagnose a faulty throttle body ?
In the case of modern fuel-injected vehicles, the throttle body is an important part of the air intake system, which controls the amount of air entering the engine. The amount of air entering the engine depends on the extent to which the driver presses the accelerator pedal. As you press the pedal, the throttle position sensor receives a signal about where your foot is, ranging from zero to full acceleration.
This sensor transmits information to the car’s main computer, the ECU - giving it constant updates on the position of the throttle.
The computer knows what to say to the fuel injection system in terms of the amount of fuel needed to be injected into the system based on the position of the pedal.
When this process is properly regulated, a perfect balance of air and fuel is introduced into the car’s engine, allowing it to run smoothly and at an optimal level.
Here are five signs of a faulty throttle body:
1. Accumulation of dirt
Dirt can build up inside the case, which is known as coking, causing fuel to be disrupted. Due to the fact that it does not have an ordinary smooth surface for fuel and air to flow, this delicate mixture is interrupted by a rough surface that causes a flow imbalance. Similar to dirt and grime, carbon deposits can create an uneven surface inside the damper body walls, which can disrupt the atomization of the air-fuel mixture.
2. Electrical problems
Problems with electrical connections can cause inaccurate or intermittent information to be transmitted to the car’s computer. As with any electrical connection, connectivity problems can cause a wide range of unpredictable and incorrect signals to be transmitted. In the case of the throttle body (and the associated sensor), when this happens, a false information is transmitted to the car computer, which leads to a faulty correction of the air-fuel mixture.
It is possible to notice a switch in “limp-mode”, in which the engine power is reduced and the acceleration operation is limited.
3. Interruptions of air flow from vacuum leaks or shutdown of the throttle body
Vacuum leaks can disrupt the air-fuel flow due to an unbalanced air flow, which can cause pressure problems in the throttle. The problem could also be an incorrectly adjusted throttle body stop.
This is a component that acts as a gatekeeper and sets a minimum or maximum position to open or close an accelerator plate.An Improper shutdown would not allow for the right amount of air and fuel to pass
4. High / low revs at idle speed
When the throttle does not work properly, idle speed may be low or high. This may include locking in the event of very little stopping or inactivity after starting or even stopping if the accelerator is pressed quickly - leading to the quick opening and closing of the throttle body plate.
In case of a large vacuum leak, you may have a very high voltage, because too much air is allowed in the intake system. All these symptoms will contribute to poor engine performance and, consequently, will cause the check-engine light to appear.
5. Check engine warning light
Check Engine can indicate many problems in a car, including a defective throttle body. In more modern cars, an electronic acceleration control (ETC) constantly monitors the performance of the throttle body. Any problem detected with this will result in the Check Engine warning light popping up on your dashboard.
As part of regular service intervals,you should include an air induction service and fuel injection washing to clean up any carbon deposits and dirt. This will include scanning the car’s computer system for error codes that indicate problems with your fuel injection system and, in particular, the throttle body components. These will give the driver an indicator on what to check and how to fix the problems.
Throttle body repair or reconditioning
Have you ever been told it’s time to replace the throttle body ? As mentioned above, the intake flap is attached to the air intake system, which is attached to the vehicle’s engine.
The function of the intake flap is to control the amount of air that reaches the engine, based on how hard the driver presses the accelerator pedal. For the engine to run smoothly, it must have a good air-fuel mixture. If there is not enough air in the engine or too much air then the engine can have serious problems.
If the check engine warning light lit up on the car’s dashboard and you have no idea what the reason is, then the throttle body may be the cause.
You will have to drive to a service where a car mechanic will do a diagnostic test, if it is found that the main problem is the intake valve, then you will have to replace the body of the valve with a new one.
Is it worth repairing?
As a piece of advice coming from us, it would be better to replace the flap with a new one instead of repairing the old one. Why? Because the new piece does not cost much and you will have the guarantee that the new piece won’t brake as fast as a second hand one.
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