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Code P0123 Throttle Position Sensor-"Circuit High"

11K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  chris142 
#1 ·
I have a 6 cylinder 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with 90,130 miles on it. I just popped code P0123. The scanner says that it's the Throttle Position Sensor and that the "Circuit is High". A friend of mine who is a mechanic said that it could be one of four things that could have gone bad.....

1. Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
2. Cam Sensor
3. Crank Sensor
4. Clock Spring in the Steering Wheel

Does anyone have any insight on this problem? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Test the TPS. TPS failure is somewhat common. Buy a Jeep TPS, most of the cheap ones are crap.

TPS TEST

You should have 5 volts going into the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS). It is best to use an analog meter (not digital) to see if the transition from idle to WOT is smooth with no dead spots. With your meter set for volts, put the black probe on a good ground like your negative battery terminal. With the key on, engine not running, test with the red probe of your meter (install a paper clip into the back of the plug of the TPS) to see which wire has the 5 volts. At idle, TPS output voltage should be greater than .26 volts but less than .95 volts. Move the throttle and look for smooth meter response up to the 4.49 at WOT. The other wire will be the ground and should show no voltage.

Perform the test procedure again and wiggle and/or tap on the TPS while you watch the meter. If you notice any flat spots or abrupt changes in the meter readings, replace the TPS.
 
#3 ·
I have a 6 cylinder 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with 90,130 miles on it. I just popped code P0123. The scanner says that it's the Throttle Position Sensor and that the "Circuit is High". A friend of mine who is a mechanic said that it could be one of four things that could have gone bad.....

1. Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
2. Cam Sensor
3. Crank Sensor
4. Clock Spring in the Steering Wheel

Does anyone have any insight on this problem? Thanks.

Good morning, The fault has a pull up resistor internal to the PCM and looks for a voltage range. In your case the "high" fault indicates a open to the module, it's seeing a high voltage above 4.5volts for 3 seconds to its input. The sensor has 3 wires coming to it. 5 volts, the signal wire that is pulled up to 5 volts internel to the module and ground. I would look for a spread terminal, loose connections. A normal TPS should operate from .6 volts (closed throttle) to 4.5 volts (WOT). Sometimes in rare situations the clock spring can pinch a wire and hurt the volt feed.
 
#4 ·
My 02 had 3 or so TPS sensors installed under warranty before 36000 miles. All threw that 123 code.

The last one I bought was @ 45,000 miles. I'm at 119k now and have not had the code since.

The 1st time was when the Jeep was 2 weeks old and had less than 1000 miles.
 
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