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.
Hi Sparky,
I have a 2002 Honda Civic, maintenance light blinks for 5-8 sec after the car starts one day suddenly the car didn’t start and i have to give a jump to start. I took to auto shop to check my battery and alternator they were good and they could not find the exact problem. Then auto zone found P1298 code by looking at your blog i replaced the ELD but still the problem didn’t go the maintenance light still blinks and P1298 is still showing. Could you please advise on this.
Thanks,
Raj
Assuming that the power and ground signals also checked okay, the ELD is faulty.
Sparky,
Hi, so I did check the voltage on the ELD connector it reads 4.53V then turned on the high beams dropped to 4.52V fan on dropped to 4.51V so is it working right so needs to drop a lot more than that?!
The P1298 code can be diagnosed from the information in this article. The P0730 code is for internal transmission failure. Looking at replacing//rebuilding the transmission and a new torque converter. These are separate problems.
Hi 98 Civic owner,
Since the P1298 and oxygen sensor codes are some of the easiest codes to diagnose for someone with the correct tools and experience, I would suggest finding another mechanic to solve this problem for you.
Thanks sparky, 98 civic owner here..:).. ill see what we can do, we have tried other mechanic and they have told us that its the transmissions …is there anything I can tell my trusted mechanic to specifically check..or when can be start so he can resolve the problem….