[FIXED] 06 Ford Explorer P2104, P2112 No Throttle Control after Batt Disconnect

I ran into something interesting yesterday at the shop. Many people probably already know this but this was the first time I experienced it. This problem is already fixed, I just wanted to share my experience.

2006 Ford Explorer with a 4.0 was towed in with a no crank problem. Piece of cake right? After testing solenoid control and voltage drops I diagnosed it to bad starter. After replacing the starter and reconnecting the battery, the engine would crank, start and stall over and over again. Sometimes I could get it running but the PCM intentionally disabled all throttle control.

The two DTCs which would set as soon as you turn the key. Interestingly enough I couldn't get them to erase either which had my directed toward a faulty Throttle position sensor which was not the cause.
P2104 – Throttle Actuator Control Disabled – Forced Idle
P2112 – Throttle Actuator Stuck Closed

I was quite puzzled at first wondering what the hell went wrong. Well after doing some reading and thinking of what the PCM is actually doing during the key on event, I put it together. Since the battery was disconnected for so long, it must have lost the learned throttle stop points and was testing the throttle body by closing and opening it. With no power to the TB, it stays slightly open, so at first glance it appears to not be sticking at all.Though when the PCM closes it and expects it to open maybe a few milliseconds later and it doesn't, it throws those two codes.

Diagnosed this issue to a Dirty Throttle Body. Throttle plate would actually stick shut if you forced the valve closed but only for less than 1/2 a second.

So when disconnecting a battery on these Fords or resetting keep alive memory, maybe this crosses over to other makes too, if a throttle problem pops up, check the cleanliness of the throttle body first before going to deep into the diag.

Actually during each key on cycle the pcm checks the etc for proper operation by commanding throttle movement and checking feedback thru tps and/or current draw of the throttle motor. This applies to the vast majority of domestic, asian a d european manufacturers.
You may want to check the different operating modes of different systems, GM for example features a "DE ICING MODE" on some system to break loose the throttle plate u der extremly adverse weather conditions.