Hey..

My g/f has a 1998 Civic LX with the D16 that freaked out today. She got a CEL for awhile before the car finally died due to no voltage. I tested the batt and it tests fine, but the alternator's shot. I'm going to replace the alt. tonight, but I'm wondering about these codes. Do you think all these could be caused by an alternator failing, or should I be worrying about something else?

Here are the codes:

[from the jumper wire method]
20 - Electrical load detector (what I believe to be part of the alternator?)
41 - Oxy sensor heater #1
65 - Oxy sensor heater #2

[from the OBD scanner]
P1298 - Electrical load detector high voltage

So.... I'm thinking the new alt will clear the ELD code, but should I be worried about the Oxy sensor codes, maybe an ECU problem, or do you think it all could have been caused by the electrical freakout?

Thanks all,

Chris

 

Update for those who will be searching the archives someday...

Figured it out. Apparently there's a wiring harness just underneath the intake manifold that rubs and eventually grounds out, causing the #15 fuse (alternator) to blow, which cuts out the charging circuit. It also throws a CEL code 20 and usually both oxy sensor codes too, from what I found out.

Anyway, just wanted the info in there for posterity, I guess.

 

Oh yeah, and it's a good thing that alternator is such a bitch to get out, or I'd have just blindly replaced it and would have been out ~200 bucks for nothing.

 

Thanks for the info! Some people actually do search the archives, so this will be good. I'm going to check that harness under the manifold right now.

 

Also, the ELD is part of the fusebox, not the alternator, as I had previously thought. Just so nobody gets the wrong idea.

 

so all you did was relpace the fuse and not the alternator?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .redshift &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Figured it out. Apparently there's a wiring harness just underneath the intake manifold that rubs and eventually grounds out, causing the #15 fuse (alternator) to blow, which cuts out the charging circuit. It also throws a CEL code 20 and usually both oxy sensor codes too, from what I found out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

He fixed the problem by finding out what was causing it - a wire shorting out. He fixed it by making sure the wire doesn't short out anymore.

 

how do you find out what wire is shorting out?

 

There is a blue harness connector wedged underneath the intake manifold (labeled C115 in the helms manual) that is wrapped only in electrical tape from the factory. It's kind of in a bad place since it rubs against the manifold bracket and eventually strips the insulation and grounds out. The fix is to repair the damaged wiring, re-wrap the harness in wire-loom, and put it back where it goes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jaydm ferio &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how do you find out what wire is shorting out?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Which ever one is rubbing the bottom of the manifold and causing the insulation to tear apart only to expose the bare metal wire inside and touch against the manifold?

Common sense.