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.
It is more likely that the cam sensor issue, overheated the catalytic converter, which damaged the alternator and turned the battery light on. Check the alternator voltage output with a voltmeter attached to the battery posts. Bring the engine rpm’s up to about 1500 to 2000. Does the voltage stay between 13 and 14 volts? If it does it may be okay to drive the twenty miles to your friends shop. If the voltage is low you may have to charge the battery before driving. If it is high (15V +), park it and have it towed.
I have a 2001 honda civic HX, I was told for the 2 door civic HX versions that they don’t sell the part separately, which means they are asking to replace the entire fuse box? Is this true?
Sparky,
Thanks for what you do man. Quick(somewhat) question. I have an 02 Civic Si, recently the heat shield on the cat lost a bolt, and spent the last few miles of my drive home dragging on the ground. This tripped a MIL, read codes for Cam position sensor no signal, ELD fault, an O2 sensor heater circuit malfunction. Also, during the limp home, the battery light came on (I assume from the ELD fault), lost my speedo, shortly thereafter the EPS light came on, and eventually my power steering went and the battery died. I decided to leave it for the morning, went out, removed the heat shield, car started right up, ran fine, still has the 3 MIL codes and a battery light on. I’ve noticed from the bit of homework I’ve now done that these 3 tie into each other pretty closely, do you think that the heat shield cutting a wire jacket to the O2 sensor and causing a short could be causing all of this? The car is driveable, everything is normal, just down on power, I imagine because of the cam sensor. Is it worth driving to a friends shop about 20 miles away to get it in the air and attempt to clean up the harness for a hopefully quick fix, or would you recommend getting it into a mechanic?
Hi Sparky,
Thanks so much for the suggestion! I had wondered about something like that as well, but figured that surely something like that would produce an error code – though on the other hand, if it’s intermittent, whereas the electronics require more continuous out of bounds behavior for a fault to be detected, that could very well explain it. In addition, I have seen these go on other vehicles over time, so it’s not like it’s something that never breaks. I will look into this – appreciate also the suggestion on suppliers.
-DS
Hi DS,
It is kind of a long shot, but I did a little research and found similar symptoms being caused by a faulty front oxygen sensor. If you decide to change it be sure to use a Honda or Denso brand part.