Took a look at this yesterday. Many report that the connectors under the battery box can become corroded and cause the throttle body issue.
Took the covers off the battery
Then the battery out
These weird bolt things were a pain to remove. Far too large for any normal screwdriver. I just bashed them around with a wood chisel.
Here is the prize! I assume when they mean connectors under the battery box, they mean the engine ECU connectors
The connectors and pins themselves look in good nick.
Also checked the throttle body connector and that was in good condition too. No flipping idea what caused it. The fault was from a complete throttle body fault on both resistive tracks. Maybe the throttle body is at fault? I don't believe these engines had an issue with them, only the connectors getting corroded.
I did notice that this loom wire was rubbing against the body.
Pulling off the insulation tape and having a closer look seemed to show it was still intact. I wrapped more tape around and used a bit of scrap Dolomite soundproofing material to provide a softer edge.
So I don't know what caused it. I wonder if there is a chaffed section on the engine loom somewhere.
Bit concerning really. Especially as the fault is to rev the engine to 2k and the gearbox to go into 3rd gear (limp home mode). Wouldn't be a pleasant experience it suddenly doing it at motorway speeds or especially if sat in traffic.
Also the intake air temperature sensor is broken. I'm not sure if I caught it or it was already on its way out and it fell to pieces when I was tugging the loom as I was inspecting it for any obvious damage. I took the sensor out entirely and there was broken plastic around the area. Currently the sensor has tigerseal around it to hold it in place. A new sensor is on order.
Upon restarting the car, it really struggled to start. When it did, it was extremely lumpy - almost misfiring. Also a ticking type noise. As the engine warmed up a bit, it's cleared up and seems to run fine.
I
think it may have been some of the plastic from the Intake Air Temperature sensor being ingested by the engine? When I removed the sensor, I thought I got all the bits of plastic out of the hole but I wonder maybe some didn't. Only plausible explanation for the rough running. Oops!
I did try restarting it when it was stone cold and it starts happily now. So I don't think there is any ill effects. The plastic was quite brittle and pretty soft, so I can't imagine it'd have done much damage. Valve train has a lot of strength to it, so likely easily squashed it or spat out pretty quick. I could get a bore scope camera down there to take a look if I get time.
However it is currently hesitant on accelerating and the revs drop a fair bit and dims the lights before accelerating. Not sure if it always has done that or a new thing.
This car maybe on borrowed time if it continues to misbehave. Especially if it dares do it's throttle body fault when I need it to actually work. The next few weeks aren't time for a car to be fucking around with me as I have an incredibly busy time with work and the like ahead.