TPS Sensor Good or Bad???!!

[supersport]

I have 1987 Toyota Camry and It is giving me some probelms when trying to pickup speed from a dead stop. I replaced the fuel filter, spark plugs, fuel pressure regulator, and still no luck. The car starts sputtering if you try to accelerate to quickly. But if you back off the gas a little it seems to smooth out a little as if it was getting to much gas and not enough air or something. Would TPS sensor cause similar probelms like the ones I'm having or what? It's getting exspensive with all the guessing in all.

[Digger1]

My memory is getting fuzzy, but I had an '85 Camry w/ the I-4 that had a similar problem. I busted my ass trying to fix the problem before I found the solution.

YMMV, but my old car had a small pick-up coil inside the distributor that sat on the vacuum advance plate (forgive the terminology - it is probably not correct as my memory of the problem is fuzzy). One of the small wires leading to the pick-up coil had a break inside the insulation. Every time the vacuum advance plate moved (i.e., every time I hit the gas from a stop), the wire flexed and I would get a momentary open circuit, thus cutting the ignition to the engine for a split second. Then, the wire strands would come back together and the engine would kick back in.

I won't tell you how many other things I replaced/"fixed" before I found my problem. As I recall, the part was not cheap!

[Doctor J]

Sounds like an intake vacuum leak. If TP sensor looks like a rectangular box (A140L or manual transaxle) it could be adjusted. If it looks like more like teardrop shape, (A140E transansaxle), disconnect it and try to accelerate. If condition improves, check and adjust the sensor.
Note: while sensor is unplugged ,the check engine light will be on (code 51). Such code is also present, if TP sensor is out of adjustment, but it is not turning on check engine light by design, so check your codes first before proceeding.

[deekay140]

chk the coil with a spark tester or replace it, sounds like weak spark.

that is a common problem.

[Mike Gerber]

Problems that arise on acceleration and ease up when you back off the throttle slightly are usually caused by ignition system components. You replaced the spark plugs, but how about the plug wires, the distributor cap and the distributor rotor. (If it's the 3SFE engine, the distributor cap and plug wires are a 1-piece unit.) If after replacing those you still have this problem, then I would check/replace the coil inside the distributor as has been suggested. The coils do commonly go bad on these engines.

Mike