This 2001 Honda Civic came in with a multitude of problems one of which was a code P1298 stored for an ELD fault (electric load detector circuit input high). I had never had to actually test one of these before although I knew that they existed. The ELD sends a signal to the engine control computer so that the computer can adjust the alternator output in relation to power consumption. The ELD is located in the underhood fuse box. I am pointing to it with my screw driver.
To test the ELD I had to lift the underhood fuse box and remove the bottom cover. Once removed I could access the wiring for the ELD. The wire on the far right of the connector is power supply (battery voltage).
The wire in the middle of the connector is battery ground.
The wire on the far left of the connector is a five volt signal sent from the computer. The ELD will pull the voltage lower with increased system load and should vary with a change in load. For example if the blower or headlights are turned on it should drop. This particular unit was stuck at 3.81 volts and would not change with no loads or full loads applied. If the voltage had been near zero I would have had to unplug the connector and see if the five volt reference signal was being sent by the computer and wiring.
After testing and finding a faulty ELD, it was very easy to change. I removed the four adjoining phillips headed screws that held the two PAL fuses in place.
I released the latch on the harness connector and unplugged the connector.
With the wiring removed I simply lifted the unit. Slid the bar out and installed the new unit.
Below are a couple of pictures of the actual ELD part from Honda.
I would start by confirming that the charging system is not overcharging the battery. Then I would pursue the misfire and vtec codes.
Hi,
I have a 2002 Civic EX with the d17a2
i am pulling multiple codes including the ELD IAT VTEC solenoid and 4 random cylinder miss fires, i have already replaced the IAT. The car runs really ruff until about 2,500-3,000 rpms it starts to clear up but you can still tell it is miss firing, on idle the headlights surge or pulsate every once and a while the battery light will flicker on deceleration. I’m not sure what is causing all of this although i am going to Honda today to pick up the ELD. Just figured id get your input so i don’t start throwing parts at the car.
I would suspect that your problem is intermittent or it is internal to the PCM. The difference in our ground reading is of little consequence. If there was a problem with the ground while testing you would not have seen the voltage change when you applied loads. My suggestion would be to clear the code and see if it come back immediately or not. Next I would tap into the signal wire at the ELD or the PCM and monitor the voltage while driving under various conditions. For safety’s sake do this with an extra person to drive while you monitor voltage.
Have P1298 Eld fault,no other codes,checked with meter as in your pics,eld was at 3.74 which dropped to 1.59 when everything was turned on so lookks ok,but my battery ground comes up as zero,in your pics its .002 does this mean anything?
Perform the test outlined in the article for the P1298. Repair whatever problem the testing finds. Clear the codes and see if fixing the gas cap cleared the P1457. It may take several days of driving to find out about the P1457 code.