Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector....
12-08-2008
#36
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Re: Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector....
See this photo:
This is a photo of the fuse box under the hood, near the battery. The red squared in area is what is referred to as the ELD, or Electrical Load Detector, for our car. The ELD is essentially a current transformer that monitors the amount of current draw the car is pulling from the battery. This amount varies from time to time depending on what you have turned on (various electrical devices). The ELD will output .1 - 4.8 volts to the ECU. This reference voltage is what tells the ECU to increase or decrease the field strength in the alternator, which in turn bumps up the output of the alternator.
I have recently performed a test on my charging system, because I was / am having problems with my amps cutting out. I have traced it to the system voltage not being high enough - which is causing the battery to be strained. Essentially my battery is shot.
Back to the subject at hand though. The ELD. Since all aftermarket electrical feeds are pretty much tapped off of the positive terminal of the battery, the current path is not flowing through the ELD. What does this do? All of the amplifiers, LCD monitors, and pretty much anything else that isn't fed through the factory wiring of the car draw a lot of current.
Since the ELD isn't detecting any additional current draw from the battery, it is going to keep the alternator's output at minimum (12.3 volts) - just enough to keep the battery charged, plus enough to run the systems of the car.
Esstentially this poses two problems / issues.
1. You are not getting the most bang for your buck when you run your stereo equipment, since the system voltage is not at 14.4, but usually lower unless other accessories of the car are active.
2. This is going to put a lot of strain on the battery and possibly the charging system.
There is one possible remedy to this that I can think of at the moment (besides turning on something in the car to bump the system voltage up), and that is to hardwire a 0-5 volt signal into the ECU with a rheostat in line, to be able to manually adjust the output of the alternator.
Why not just run the 5 volts directly to the ECU? Honda designed this system the way they did for a couple of reasons. The first is to save gas. When the alternator isn't putting out its maximum power, there is less rotational resistance due to the electrical nature of the magnetic fields - this causes the engine to work less, thus saving gas. The second reason in my opinion, would be to save wear and tear on the alternator. If you were to drive around with the alternator output maxed out 24/7, your alternator isn't going to be around for too long.....
If you decide to try this - I am in no way held responsible for what happens if you damage your car or yourself! Take this post as information only - I may attempt the above modification myself, however I don't plan on doing it anytime soon (due to the fact that I need my car all the time at the moment).
This is a photo of the fuse box under the hood, near the battery. The red squared in area is what is referred to as the ELD, or Electrical Load Detector, for our car. The ELD is essentially a current transformer that monitors the amount of current draw the car is pulling from the battery. This amount varies from time to time depending on what you have turned on (various electrical devices). The ELD will output .1 - 4.8 volts to the ECU. This reference voltage is what tells the ECU to increase or decrease the field strength in the alternator, which in turn bumps up the output of the alternator.
I have recently performed a test on my charging system, because I was / am having problems with my amps cutting out. I have traced it to the system voltage not being high enough - which is causing the battery to be strained. Essentially my battery is shot.
Back to the subject at hand though. The ELD. Since all aftermarket electrical feeds are pretty much tapped off of the positive terminal of the battery, the current path is not flowing through the ELD. What does this do? All of the amplifiers, LCD monitors, and pretty much anything else that isn't fed through the factory wiring of the car draw a lot of current.
Since the ELD isn't detecting any additional current draw from the battery, it is going to keep the alternator's output at minimum (12.3 volts) - just enough to keep the battery charged, plus enough to run the systems of the car.
Esstentially this poses two problems / issues.
1. You are not getting the most bang for your buck when you run your stereo equipment, since the system voltage is not at 14.4, but usually lower unless other accessories of the car are active.
2. This is going to put a lot of strain on the battery and possibly the charging system.
There is one possible remedy to this that I can think of at the moment (besides turning on something in the car to bump the system voltage up), and that is to hardwire a 0-5 volt signal into the ECU with a rheostat in line, to be able to manually adjust the output of the alternator.
Why not just run the 5 volts directly to the ECU? Honda designed this system the way they did for a couple of reasons. The first is to save gas. When the alternator isn't putting out its maximum power, there is less rotational resistance due to the electrical nature of the magnetic fields - this causes the engine to work less, thus saving gas. The second reason in my opinion, would be to save wear and tear on the alternator. If you were to drive around with the alternator output maxed out 24/7, your alternator isn't going to be around for too long.....
If you decide to try this - I am in no way held responsible for what happens if you damage your car or yourself! Take this post as information only - I may attempt the above modification myself, however I don't plan on doing it anytime soon (due to the fact that I need my car all the time at the moment).
?
12-08-2008
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Re: Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector....
just adding my 2 cents to this never eneding thread 
why cant we move the ELD to the battery post so the amps and fuebox (the rest of the car) go though it. we can easaly extend the ECU wire and smoth out the amps draw with a couple big caps (as amp systems should have anyway. )
also my understanding was that the feild of the alt. had 12v to it and when the computer floats the control that means it's 12v on the otherside of the coil. when it starts PWMing the control to gnd is when the field gets a voltage diffrance and it's that diffrance thats poweres it and controls the output.
for ex. if we have a 50% duty cycle on the pwm and a constant 12v then we would get a 6v field and a (in a stock civic) 35A output.
the computer reads the analog voltage coming off the ELD and interprits it as a load on the engine. it increses this PWM to copensate.
why cant we move the ELD to the battery post so the amps and fuebox (the rest of the car) go though it. we can easaly extend the ECU wire and smoth out the amps draw with a couple big caps (as amp systems should have anyway. )
also my understanding was that the feild of the alt. had 12v to it and when the computer floats the control that means it's 12v on the otherside of the coil. when it starts PWMing the control to gnd is when the field gets a voltage diffrance and it's that diffrance thats poweres it and controls the output.
for ex. if we have a 50% duty cycle on the pwm and a constant 12v then we would get a 6v field and a (in a stock civic) 35A output.
the computer reads the analog voltage coming off the ELD and interprits it as a load on the engine. it increses this PWM to copensate.
12-18-2008
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im in school now to be an auto tech. my instructor was a honda tech for ten years. we wired my stereo into my fuse block. if you notice, there are a few empty spots in there. so we took the power cable and put it into the fuse block, and i cant remember the amperage rating of the fuse. but wouldnt this go through the ELD?
12-18-2008
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Well turning things on will cause the voltage to go up, but then eventually it will drop back down. Most of the car's accessories can run off the battery, so it's not an issue. Mine has been down below 12v most of the time.
And the funny thing is this voltage drop only occurs in the summertime. I've never had it drop to 12 v in the winter, even when the car is warm.
And the funny thing is this voltage drop only occurs in the summertime. I've never had it drop to 12 v in the winter, even when the car is warm.
This is because when heated car batteries, or ALL batteries, have much more strain on them. Car batteries speed up the reaction of acid and lead, making the battery fade quicker. In the winter the strain is much less quick, due to the lack of heat. Do you own an ipod? its like the warning label on the instructions that says do not leave in sunlight. Temperature kills batteries.
04-09-2009
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Re: Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector....
Could you run a capacitor from the main + battery lead off the alternator and grounding to the chassis bypassing the whole charging system?
09-03-2009
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sorry for bringing up an old tread, but in Europe we dont have ELD.
also Canada do not have ELD.
on my car Civic-98 VTI EK4, i have 14.2volt on battery on idle all the time.
i havent looked closer into how the EDM/CDM system works but (I will as soon as my car is back from bodyshop) i can do a few tests.
just a thought
what if you remove the ELD wire from ecu and and supply the ecu pin D10 (Obd1)(D16 obd2)
with, say 2.5v, wouldnt that be enough to charge, but not overcharge the battery?
also Canada do not have ELD.
on my car Civic-98 VTI EK4, i have 14.2volt on battery on idle all the time.
i havent looked closer into how the EDM/CDM system works but (I will as soon as my car is back from bodyshop) i can do a few tests.
just a thought
what if you remove the ELD wire from ecu and and supply the ecu pin D10 (Obd1)(D16 obd2)
with, say 2.5v, wouldnt that be enough to charge, but not overcharge the battery?
02-12-2010
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im in school now to be an auto tech. my instructor was a honda tech for ten years. we wired my stereo into my fuse block. if you notice, there are a few empty spots in there. so we took the power cable and put it into the fuse block, and i cant remember the amperage rating of the fuse. but wouldnt this go through the ELD?
1) the car's main fuse is 80Amps and the combination of your stereo+accessory loads could easily blow that fuse. you'd get stranded on the side of the road if the fuse opens.
2) the stock wiring is also very thin so there would be too much of a voltage drop for running any decent amps.
02-12-2010
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02-12-2010
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sorry for bringing up an old tread, but in Europe we dont have ELD.
also Canada do not have ELD.
on my car Civic-98 VTI EK4, i have 14.2volt on battery on idle all the time.
i havent looked closer into how the EDM/CDM system works but (I will as soon as my car is back from bodyshop) i can do a few tests.
just a thought
what if you remove the ELD wire from ecu and and supply the ecu pin D10 (Obd1)(D16 obd2)
with, say 2.5v, wouldnt that be enough to charge, but not overcharge the battery?
also Canada do not have ELD.
on my car Civic-98 VTI EK4, i have 14.2volt on battery on idle all the time.
i havent looked closer into how the EDM/CDM system works but (I will as soon as my car is back from bodyshop) i can do a few tests.
just a thought
what if you remove the ELD wire from ecu and and supply the ecu pin D10 (Obd1)(D16 obd2)
with, say 2.5v, wouldnt that be enough to charge, but not overcharge the battery?
Last edited by turboslug; 02-12-2010 at 11:45 PM.
02-13-2010
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I'll be checkin my car also ... I have dual battery's and 1300 watt's rms of amp power I can get the light's dimming quite bad... I have the daytime running lights fuse taken out so that I have good voltage during the day to pound the subs and keep the batt's a bit more charged I alway's pay attention to how high the fan in running for the heater.... from what I remember I alway's have 14+ volts. I made a digital voltage guage from www.canakit.com once I have it working properly I will alway's know my voltage, stinger has a digital battery guage but it was more fun soldering ic's and resistor's and cap's and such to a circut board. if I do have the ELD I would definatly be willing to mess with it since I have a crap load of resistor's sitting around the house anyway's.. I wouldn't even mind haveing a touch more voltage!! such as .2 or .3 more ... maybe 14.8 14.9 .... steve meade run's 15.5 or so in his tahoe... also i was looking into wiring in a delco remy cs144 alternator 145amp max output but the eld stuff kinda stopped that 
06-01-2011
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I encountered this post while attemting repairs to a 1990 civic wagovan after study of the diagrams I attempted a bypass of this cars eld as an alternator test revealed no problems but charging level was below standards and inconsistent . I can confirm that there is a conventional regulator in this alternator and that providing power to the ig and fr teminals provided me with a charging system that is normal ( i merely cut the blue sometimes blue/ yellow FR and spliced in the black/yel IG wire to provide power to the two teminals) carefull study of the electrical systems of civics may allow this Fix to cover many years this ought to provide help to many of you that are adding accesories to the electrical system that are not being enumerated by the eld and are running electrical systems at below par voltages
07-03-2011
#49
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Guys, I am running a window air conditioner off a big inverter, attached to my Civic's battery. Uh huh yep. Redneck air conditioning. Anyways, the ELD is annoying. 12.1-12.3volts sometimes even though the Air conditioning is over 500 watts of power. I have a 160A aftermarket alternator.
This causes the voltage going to my inverter to lower, and then sometimes it beeps, complains and eventually shuts off because the voltage is too low.
I'm not an expert, but if you remove the ELD, the alternator would keep the voltage somewhere around 14 volts, but that does not mean that the alternator would be at full utilization. I know when it is at full utilization, my car starts sounding like an electric car!
I have a volt meter attached to the cigarette lighter circuit, and when there isn't much load on the car's electrical system, but the system voltage is at 14 something (if ELD isn't throttling), the whine from the alternator is not very audible ..
So, I am thinking that removing the ELD would not cause the alternator to melt or the battery to boil or any crap like that. I would guess that the alternator would keep from boosting above 15 volts, but I'm not expert.
So, I may attempt to remove my car's ELD. I'll see if I can't a step by step guide..
This causes the voltage going to my inverter to lower, and then sometimes it beeps, complains and eventually shuts off because the voltage is too low.
I'm not an expert, but if you remove the ELD, the alternator would keep the voltage somewhere around 14 volts, but that does not mean that the alternator would be at full utilization. I know when it is at full utilization, my car starts sounding like an electric car!
I have a volt meter attached to the cigarette lighter circuit, and when there isn't much load on the car's electrical system, but the system voltage is at 14 something (if ELD isn't throttling), the whine from the alternator is not very audible ..
So, I am thinking that removing the ELD would not cause the alternator to melt or the battery to boil or any crap like that. I would guess that the alternator would keep from boosting above 15 volts, but I'm not expert.
So, I may attempt to remove my car's ELD. I'll see if I can't a step by step guide..
07-03-2011
#51
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OK, so I've managed to remove my 1999 Civci DX's ELD. The alternator doesn't overvolt. Stays below 14.3 volts no matter the RPM and load on the electrical system. On the plus side, at first glance it seems to make a great difference with alternator output!
07-04-2011
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thanks for sharing your info i'd subscribed to this thread and is interesting info for guys like me with sound systems and such.
07-08-2011
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remember the eld is there to lower alternator output when its not needed. by removing it, you keep the alt at a full 14v output all the time. this will reduce gas mileage and put more wear and tear on the alternator. im all for removing useless items, but this one is actually made with a purpose.
07-08-2011
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So I found this on another website in the link. Scroll down for a picture stating "ELD bypass". I am by no means an electritian but maybe you guys can decipher that picture better than me. Cheers
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...11#Post1806468
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...11#Post1806468
07-08-2011
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So I found this on another website in the link. Scroll down for a picture stating "ELD bypass". I am by no means an electritian but maybe you guys can decipher that picture better than me. Cheers
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...11#Post1806468
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...11#Post1806468
07-15-2011
#57
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Well turning things on will cause the voltage to go up, but then eventually it will drop back down. Most of the car's accessories can run off the battery, so it's not an issue. Mine has been down below 12v most of the time.
And the funny thing is this voltage drop only occurs in the summertime. I've never had it drop to 12 v in the winter, even when the car is warm.
And the funny thing is this voltage drop only occurs in the summertime. I've never had it drop to 12 v in the winter, even when the car is warm.
07-15-2011
#58
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Re: Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector....
I'm not sure if this was discussed but I have a 2001 LX coupe from canada and I have no ELD. Its the strangest thing. I never would have even noticed or cared until I got kpro and it gave me a code for it. Moral of the story is you don't need it. That's all im saying. The 01 civic just has a jumper bar across the 2 terminals where the eld goes. Unless you have kpro or ems i wouldnt disconnect it because you'll get a CEL
05-19-2013
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Re: Meet your ELD - Electrical Load Detector.... I believe all the wiring in my car is all messed up, my cigarette lighter was not working with all the original wires, was barely getting any power to them, so i ran a wire with an inline fuse straight to the battery, but you think that my cigarette lighter's original wiring could be causing me to get the code and have a problem starting my car sometimes?
01-23-2016
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Hi guys
Since I have my 2004 civic si 4 doors (last year), I've notice a fluctuation on my general power in the car. Sometimes a little dash does'nt work and come back or my headlights drop of power. I tought this was my alternator! Last month the alternator was dead so I replace it and I tought that the power fluctuation will disapear. But no! So I think I'ts the Eld. I ordered a brand new and when I start to replace it in the fuse box, I found that is no eld and no wirless for it. Is it possible that I have no eld on my civic ? White he is?
Thx
Eric
Since I have my 2004 civic si 4 doors (last year), I've notice a fluctuation on my general power in the car. Sometimes a little dash does'nt work and come back or my headlights drop of power. I tought this was my alternator! Last month the alternator was dead so I replace it and I tought that the power fluctuation will disapear. But no! So I think I'ts the Eld. I ordered a brand new and when I start to replace it in the fuse box, I found that is no eld and no wirless for it. Is it possible that I have no eld on my civic ? White he is?
Thx
Eric
