Before I learned of the almighty NAPA from here (not mocking, they really are awesome) I bought all of my parts from AutoZone. Including a TPS, which has lasted me a year and 8-10,000 miles now without issue. Guess it'* hit or miss on that sort of thing.
.
.
.

this "clicking" noise that was assumed to be a purge was not coming from the vacuum lines at all, or any canister.

It'* the AC compressor pully clicking on and off... For a hot minute I thought that was the cause...

I failed to realize that it does this naturally when the defrost and foot-and-face air mode was on. Either way, when either of these are on, and the pully for the AC compressor spins, the RPMs go down. I thought about turning the AC on to see if the RPMs would reduce permanently, but I'm somewhat afraid to use it, as my engine seems to be under enough stress already.

EDIT: BTW it'* slowly getting worse, almost immediately jumping to 1.5k then moving up to 2k RPMs just after startup. I'm not driving it till I get this stuff fixed...

Mine does this too... it'* a PITA at times when you hit the brakes and the car just wants to pull (Also can't be great for pads/shoes) I just shut it off and restart it. If I never really gas it hard (3/4 to WOT) then it will usually stay low in idle. I know for a fact that it is my TPS, I have a code 22 in the computer. I just don't have the money... It'* 130 bucks here from NAPA.
Try disconnecting the TPS, then run the car that way.

Wouldn't disconnecting the TPS make it worse?

But that'* exactly what it is, and it begins as soon as i start the car, so i'm shifting gears while it'* still 1000+ rpms in order to go anywhere. I wanted to fix this before it turns into a transmission problem AND i need a brake pad change. would disconnecting the TPS actually work? (I get a code 21)

I used to be able to shut it off, turn it back on, and it wouldn't be doing it again. Anymore, it'* everytime I start up :(

When I was troubleshooting mine, unplugging it made it worse.
At idle, the PCM is looking for a very low voltage, provided by a very low resistance to ground (pin C) at the center pin (B).
If you look at the schematic below, at Idle, the TPS is a low resistance to ground. Perfect voltage reading at idle on pin B to ground is .33-.45 volts. But I would rather monitor the resistance (unplugged) as I move the throttle open and closed.

So,if I was going to Gerry Rig something, I would probably uplug the TPS and try shorting pin C to B at the wire connector side. I have no idea what this would do for driveability.
BTW, I looked up a TPS on napaonline.com and for mine, they run from $66 (generic) to $93. They show one in between too.

Replace TPS for a code 21

UPDATE: School is nearing finals and because it'* the end of the semester, my financial abilities have been dwindling. I haven't yet been able to muster the cash and time to replace the TPS. It seems as if it only acts up on hot days, and on cooler days I have a 50/50 chance of it acting up. Last night though, the car stalled out on startup twice, one of those times it brought itself immediately back to normal idle speed.

Today out of pure curiousity, I unplugged the plug to the TPS and started it up, absolutely perfect start. I turned off, started again -- perfect. And again, perfect. I plugged the TPS back in, and got three high idle starts in a row. I unplugged it, three more perfect starts. The concept of triangulation is telling me that it seems to run fine with the TPS not plugged in. Is this safe to drive? I haven't yet tried to drive it with the TPS unplugged, namely because I live in a very hilly area, and I don't want to stall and be left stranded on a terrible hill, or pose danger to anyone else.

It acts just fine, so would it be OK to drive without the sensor plugged in (electrically) until I can get the cash to replace the part? Also, does this tell anyone anything more about my problem? Maybe bad electrical signal rather than a bad sensor?

Nobody has any idea if this is unsafe or inefficient? I have driven it a few times with no noticeable problems. I will be keeping an eye on fuel efficiency, but every system other than the constant SES light seems to work better than ever...

I'm only asking because I'd like to drive home from school (1½+ hour drive) to see my family soon and I'm just curious if this could cause any problems.


Also, another added note. When I drive up certain hills in town with the TPS plugged in, I can feel the pedal vibrate (almost grinding feeling) while the RPMs bounce just as they had before I replaced the plugs and wires. It seems to happen ~50mph uphill at lowish RPMs, and it would get worse as I press more. But, if I press enough it will shift down and I can accelerate again. This happened EVERY time I went up this one specific hill. When driving up with with TPS disconnected, it runs flawlessly. I'm guessing another symptom of a failed TPS, but the fact that I could feel it in the gas pedal made me think I was getting a transmission problem... It'* been perfect since I unplugged, and the TPS seems more/less useless.

I'm having the exact same problem in my daughter'* '93 bonne. I replaced the TPS not even a year ago (from Auto Zone). She only drives the car to and from school each day (school permit only) so I would be amazed if the TPS even has 1,000 miles on it!