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2012 TPS findings and check process

Rooster Built

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Sep 19, 2008
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The mountains of WA, OR, ID, BC
Hey Guys,
Thought some of you might like this info.

A little background. The Throttle Position Sensor or TPS is a vital part of making sure your motor is getting the right amount of fuel and timing at exactly the right time. The factory tunes the engine to a specific setting and this being out of adjustment can cause your sled to behave in many different ways, ie:slower than your buddies, hard to tune, misses, stumbles. We believe strongly in everyone checking there TPS with a multimeter if you want to be sure that your machine is running at peak performance.

We just checked the tps setting on a brand new 2012 Pro 800 and found the tps to be at .703 base setting and idle was set at .925vdc. We contacted factory dealer tech and was told that they are no longer giving a base spec, you must use the digital wrench to set base spec. We have contacted a few of the polaris dealers we work with and was given a base spec of .70. The factory idle spec is .93-.95vdc. I believe we understand why the adjustment was off. The tightening of the screws actually slightly changes the setting. So...We can only assume that Polaris is setting the tps, removing whatever they are checking it with and tightening it down. We tightened the screws while leaving the multimeter hooked up to make sure the setting stayed within range. This sled ran flawless but we wanted to check just to make sure we are getting everything out of it that we can.

We adjusted the base setting to .70 and the idle setting at .940. The sled now starts on first pull when it is cold. It used to take three prior to adjustment. Coincidence? I doubt it.
We used the ECU power up kit from slp and a fluke multimeter to check ours.

Going through the TPS calibration process is important on a stock sled and extra, extra important when running a power commander. Hope this helps.

Thanks to all of you who helped set us straight on this.

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Bull

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Jan 20, 2004
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colorado
no, i am asking if you checked your base setting prior to setting the idle setting. without doing that, it is a waste of time to only check idle setting.
below is a long thread that clearly explains the whole process. thanks for being helpful, but make sure you are fully experienced before posting really important info. messing this process up can lead to a wide range of problems.

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=287858
 

Rooster Built

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Sep 19, 2008
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The mountains of WA, OR, ID, BC
I should have done a little research before posting this. I just learned as Mountainhorse and others have stated that the base setting is the key adjustment for overall tps calibration and the idle setting voltage is adjusted with the actual idle screw. Thanks for the lesson guys. I will put the tps back to the original position and go about it the correct way. I will also report back the results and update the first post.
 

pablosescape

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Apr 22, 2008
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big lake mn.
just wondering why couldnt i us the slp power up cable and the pcv with the computer hooked up and set my tps settings instead of using the fluke volt meter? for those of us that have the pcv,would this not work ?
 

Norway

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Nov 29, 2007
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SLP has a set of simple cables to fire up your system with a 12v battery. Anyone know where it hooks up?
 
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EricW

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Nov 26, 2007
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NE Washington
The TPS can have issues in its range of operation beyond base/idle setting positions. I always make it a point to also use an analog (needle) type multi meter to check the TPS as well. After you have everything set up as mentioned above you can hook up your analog meter black to ground spade and red to yellow or center spade on TPS and then cycle the throttle flipper from idle to WOT while watching the needle. The needle should rise and fall evenly and consistently at a rate matching the rate you are cycling the flipper. Look for smooth needle travel both ways. If you see the needle hook or catch at a point in the throttle throw then there is a chance that there is a bad spot in the TPS at that point where it could be sending a mis-signal to the ecu.

I hope that makes sense. I think I did a post showing this on a bad one but I have never been able to search this site and get results. Thanks for the info. EW.
 
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