How To Clean Your Dodge Charger's Throttle Body?

By Nick Marchenko, PhD

Updated: August 3, 2023

The Dodge Charger's throttle valve plays a critical role in the delivery of air to the engine's combustion chambers, facilitating the right fuel-air mixture formation. As you step on the gas pedal, the throttle widens, allowing an increased flow of fuel into the cylinders. The functioning of the throttle valve hinges on the quantity of the air-fuel blend. 

Over time, the throttle accumulates grime and dust that infiltrates it with the air intake.

This deposition starts to linger on the body and impedes the unit's normal operation. When the throttle is heavily congested, your Dodge Charger exhibits corresponding indicators. Symptoms of a clogged throttle body include:

• Unsteady idling;
• Stutters when stepping on the gas pedal;
• Decreased acceleration capability;
• Inflated fuel consumption; reduction in car's power

If these symptoms resonate and it's been a while since your last throttle valve cleanup, it's time for maintenance.

What do you need to clean your Dodge Charger's throttle body?

The essentials for the cleaning procedure are straightforward and typically available in most garages. 

They include:

• Throttle body cleaner, or Throttle body and Air Intake cleaner (which are generally the same);
• Carburetor cleaner -  can be useful;
• Brush;
• Cloth(s);
• Screwdriver

It's advisable to clean the throttle valve roughly once every 75,000 miles (121,000 km). Although there's no strict timetable or rules, routine cleaning of the throttle valve enhances the performance of your Dodge Charger. If you start to notice odd symptoms, it might be a sign to initiate cleaning.

How to clean your Dodge Charger's throttle body?

The throttle valve can be cleaned using two methods - with the unit remaining in the Charger or removed from it. This article focuses on the former method, not involving the removal of the throttle from the Charger. 

While this method is equally effective as the latter, it's simpler as it avoids a significant portion of the work. Nonetheless, detaching and cleaning all the components proves more thorough if your throttle valve is notably dirty or underperforming.

Disconnect the negative battery terminal

Begin by detaching the negative terminal from the battery. This step is crucial to de-energize your Dodge Charger and avert the risk of an electrical shock.

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Remove the air duct from the throttle body

Disconnect the air supply hose running from the air filter to the throttle. Most times, it is secured with a clamp - but it could be attached differently - make sure to disconnect it before removal.

Disconnect the hoses and sensors connected to the throttle

There are various wires and pipes connected to the throttle valve - some serve as sensors, while others facilitate coolant flow. When disconnecting the pipes, it's important to position them vertically and plug them with a spark plug to prevent any leakage.

Label all sensors and hoses

Post cleaning of your Dodge Charger's throttle, you'll need to reassemble everything. With a multitude of wires involved, it's easy to get confused. Hence, it's advised to label and tag everything you disconnect so that it's clear where each part goes, facilitating an easy reassembly post-cleaning.

Apply throttle cleaner to the surface

Apply some cleaner on the throttle body. Allow it some time to work its magic. For stubborn contaminants, a wait of 3-5 minutes should enable the cleaner to effectively remove them.

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Begin manually cleaning your Dodge Charger's throttle body

Start cleaning the throttle using a brush (avoid using a harsh one to prevent scratching the blade), cloth, or cotton swab.

If the contaminants persist post the initial cleaning, don't hesitate to reapply the cleaner and repeat the process until you achieve thorough cleaning. A clean throttle valve should be almost shiny and devoid of any residual contaminants.

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Reassemble the entire system

Once the throttle body cleaning is finished, reassemble everything and ensure that the system works as expected, free of unusual noises or symptoms.

Optimizing your Dodge Charger's throttle body

In newer Dodge Charger models where the throttle is governed by electronics (actuated by electronic pulses rather than a physical cable), there's a unique throttle position sensor that records the current location of the throttle blade. Prior to starting the engine, this blade aligns perfectly straight at a 90-degree angle.

It fits snugly against the upper and lower walls, avoiding the intake of excessive air. However, over time, grime accumulates on the air channel walls or the blade itself. Due to this accumulation, the throttle can't fully close, remaining stationary. 

The sensor picks up this position, and the Dodge Charger's computer "believes" this is the new reference value.

That is, the neutral position of the throttle blade, taking into account the thickness of the layer of accumulated dirt, becomes its reference (factory value). This is perfectly normal and factory-provided to keep the engine running smoothly.

However, after we've cleaned the throttle body and restored the surface to its original state, the Charger's computer might not "comprehend" this.

There are no indicators to inform it that nothing impedes the throttle blade from fully closing - the car's computer will continue to "assume" there's grime present, thus maintaining the blade in the position it remembered. 

This will result in a gap between the throttle walls and the blade, allowing at least a few millimeters of air to flow through.

Consequently, the Charger's computer will "believe" the throttle pedal is continuously engaged, even when it isn't, allowing more air into the cylinders through the newly formed gap. 

This could adversely impact the engine; it consistently senses a load, especially noticeable at idle, when instead of the usual 800 rpm, it reads 1500–2000 rpm. This might lead to overheating and depletion of the engine's resources.

Hence, post cleaning the throttle valve, it becomes crucial to recalibrate the blade to its factory position.

The throttle valve adaptation procedure is universal for many Dodge Charger models.

First, heat the engine to its operating temperature, then switch it off and wait 5-10 seconds. Turn the ignition on and wait for 3 seconds. Following this, you should press the throttle pedal 5 times within 5 seconds and then release it.

If this doesn't bring about the desired effect, it implies that your Dodge Charger's system has a different programming. In that case, the throttle valve adaptation procedure should be outlined in your Charger's owners manual.

Concluding Remarks

Cleaning your Charger's throttle body is critical as it prevents the accumulation of grime on the blade and eliminates gaps between the blade and the body itself.

While performing this cleaning task, it's vital to exhibit patience and meticulousness to yield the best outcome.