Basically you're looking to "tap in" to the TPS as it's hooked up to the computer. The TPS is a potentiometer- a variable resistor. The computer supplies the voltage, and the TPS adjusts it, and the computer reads the "adjusted" voltage for it's value. So with the jumper wires you're basically trying to see what the computer sees.

The jumper wires are used to give you some "junk" wire to connect the TPS sensor to the engine harness.

Get three scraps of wire- or use little jumper wires from radio shack with alligator clips on each end, $3.00 for 8 of them.

Unplug the TPS.

Connect the top pin of the TPS to it's corresponding pin of the harness connector.

Do the same for the other three wires.

Tap your digital meter into the top two jumper wires.

Let me do one of those quick-pics that I'm so bad at

 

OOOHHH


so your basically making a conductive bridge between the TPS itself, and the TPS harness connector, so that its still functional, but now you have wire openly available to touch the VOM to. rite? i hope so, since it makes sense.


thanks a ton!

 

Yep, you got it! Here's my diagram, just for further clarification. Some "quick" diagram.. geez... 20 minutes later! I'd be better off sketching this crap and scanning it in... but that'd probably take 20 minutes too.

 

Oh and here's the jumper lead set I was talking about from Radio Crap... part # 278-1157. And apparently the price went up, $4.99 for a set of 8. They have other sets too, but I like these; the wire's a heavier gauge. Find other sets here: http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...1%5F000&Page=1



You'll have to "wedge" the aligator clip inside the TPS sensor (open the alligator clip all the way and slide the rubber boot backwards, off the clip)... for the TPS connector (harness side), I put the alligator clip "half-in, half-out"- one side touches the pin. The other side grips the outside of the TPS connector. I then "stagger" the alligator clips so the metal side of one clip is on the "outside left", and the metal side of the middle clip is on the "outside right". Then I slip the meter's probe's pins under the clips on the outside.

If this is the kinda thing you want to do often; go to a parts store like Pep Boys or Autozone, in their harness connectors aisle. You can buy the female and male version of this 3 pin "GM Weatherpack" connector, and the crimp pins, and the insulators... so you could make a "harness extension" and throw it in the toolbox, instead of messing around with jumper wires.

 

thats actually a good picture for people like me who dont understand. they should throw that in the tech article lol

thats just wat i was thinking with the cables, and the mock harness is an even better idea.

should i be popping money for an expensive VOM, or is a $20 one from ::cringe:: radio shack good enough for now?

thanks a lot for clearing that up! :hail: :hail:

 

Yep, when I was dragged into radio shack last december (friend wanted a car kit for her dad's cellphone and paid entirely way too much!), they even had a little digital meter for $10 that'd work. Digital meters have a high "input impedance", meaning, they don't pull much power out of the circuit they're testing. That's important when you're working on a car; using a regular analog meter can harm the computer. I used my $8 meter from harborfreight.com for a while before I got my Fluke.

And I don't know if I mentioned it up in this message before but you can get a $90 meter for $40 by going to sunpro.com and clicking on their garage sale link. They also have a sensor tester for testing MAF sensors there for $10, and that's also where I got my fuel injector tester for only $30.

 

Thanks tomP. I am just another of your fans using the search button looking for the proper procedure. That was just what I needed, absolutely perfect!

Thank you!

 

.51volts at idle and 4.31volts at wot. Thank you!

 

Thanks TomP thats just what I needed. Your explaination and diagram helped me a lot.

 

sorry for reviving old stuff but i am having some problems.
i set it up to read the voltage and turned the ignition on and i get 4.98v steady, i rotate the throttle and nothing happens, no voltage change at all. is this normal?



edit:
nm, i figured it out. starting voltage was at .75 then at WOT it was a little avove 4v