Singapore Honda Club

Hi guys, am driving a honda stepwagon 2L auto. and recently i installed a japanese branded ETC onto my car. The throttle response is really good and what really impressed me was my FC improved too. by a KM per Liter. that is of cuz if i were to behave and not to be too playful on the road. anyway, it was all good for about 3 weeks until 3 days ago. while driving my engine lights came on and suddenly the car felt like it didnt have power. couldnt even accelerate beyond 70kmh. after i turn the car off for a couple of hours the light disappeared and i could drive normally again. and then, it happened again last night. it was quite scary as when i needed power the most, it didnt come. the thing is i suspect that it has to do with this ETC. anyone can help me with that?

i got the ETC (dunno what its called) installed at Autobacs in JB. the guy took it out from a brand new box so i guess its brand new. this ETC is unlike other ETCs. it has a dial of 14 clicks. from low to sports mode. i set it to the middle only. wana use it for saving FC rather than for power.

thanks guys!!

if its the ETC..
possible cause is
1. loose wiring..
2. item faulty within..

Go back to the installer to check on wiring and if the unit is faulty...

navi76 wrote:Hi guys, am driving a honda stepwagon 2L auto. and recently i installed a japanese branded ETC onto my car. The throttle response is really good and what really impressed me was my FC improved too. by a KM per Liter. that is of cuz if i were to behave and not to be too playful on the road. anyway, it was all good for about 3 weeks until 3 days ago. while driving my engine lights came on and suddenly the car felt like it didnt have power. couldnt even accelerate beyond 70kmh. after i turn the car off for a couple of hours the light disappeared and i could drive normally again. and then, it happened again last night. it was quite scary as when i needed power the most, it didnt come. the thing is i suspect that it has to do with this ETC. anyone can help me with that?

i got the ETC (dunno what its called) installed at Autobacs in JB. the guy took it out from a brand new box so i guess its brand new. this ETC is unlike other ETCs. it has a dial of 14 clicks. from low to sports mode. i set it to the middle only. wana use it for saving FC rather than for power.

thanks guys!!

==> plug in a code reader to check for the cause of the ECL... it will give u a clear indication what causes the ECL to float rather then guessing....

went to my mechanic today. had the reader thing read my ECU. apparantly there were 2 faults, one was ELD low and the other was something to do with APP. not sure what that is. anyway he reset the ECU to let it learn the car and whatever new thats added on it. i hope there are no problems after this.. gonna give it a few days b4 i go back to seller to check the wiring. JB a bit far lah..

anyway thanks guys for the replies.

navi76 wrote:went to my mechanic today. had the reader thing read my ECU. apparantly there were 2 faults, one was ELD low and the other was something to do with APP. not sure what that is. anyway he reset the ECU to let it learn the car and whatever new thats added on it. i hope there are no problems after this.. gonna give it a few days b4 i go back to seller to check the wiring. JB a bit far lah..

anyway thanks guys for the replies.

==> do you have the error code number?

well one of the numbers is P1297 and the other i believe is P2138. Cant really rememeber the P2138 tho.. to what i understand, P1297 Electric Load Detector (ELD) Circuit Low Voltage and P2138 Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensor 1/2 (Throttle Position Sensor D/E) Incorrect Voltage. Frankly i just copied and pasted that from Google. what it means i have absolutely no clue. would u know how to solve those?

navi76 wrote:well one of the numbers is P1297 and the other i believe is P2138. Cant really rememeber the P2138 tho.. to what i understand, P1297 Electric Load Detector (ELD) Circuit Low Voltage and P2138 Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensor 1/2 (Throttle Position Sensor D/E) Incorrect Voltage. Frankly i just copied and pasted that from Google. what it means i have absolutely no clue. would u know how to solve those?

==> bro, from what I understand from these error messages, it seems to be pointing towards grounding of electrical current... I may be wrong but having 2 errors referring to similiar nature could warrant a check on grounding.... do check the battery condition too.

wah bro.. just saw ur msg. didnt know about that.. totally caught by surprise. had that installed with a voltage stablizer and a while after that my car died. didnt really find out why. thanks for the info. i will check on that as soon as i can.

navi76 wrote:wah bro.. just saw ur msg. didnt know about that.. totally caught by surprise. had that installed with a voltage stablizer and a while after that my car died. didnt really find out why. thanks for the info. i will check on that as soon as i can.

==> remove that voltage stablizer and try again...

Based on the error code, the problem is unlikely to be due to the voltage stabilizer. The ETC is a Ethrottle controller and due to an aggressive setting, the Ethrottle was opened to quick and thus the ECU thinks that there was a problem and hence the engine check light. The ECU goes into 'limp' mode that allows you to drive slowly to a workshop to check the error. If you want to use the ETC or similar products, just set a less aggressive setting.

hey guys.. just a little update for your info. i sent it to my mechanic to check the problem. what he did was to reset the ECU so it will learn the car. after that, i have no problems at all. i usually set the ETC to half and didnt touch it after that. the other day, after the reset of the ECU, i played with the ETC but tuning it up and down. the car still perform as usual and there wasnt any engine check light. so i think, AMSYL is right about the ETC thing. i just set it back to half and thats how i have been driving ever since. looking good so far. next mth sending car in for servicing again and will probly check on the ETC also.

i hope my feedback would help others with the same problem. anyway thanks guys for helping. its much appreciated.

oh btw.. my consumption level went down again but another 0.7 from originally b4 installing ETC was 8.0km/l then after installing was 9.0km/l till after reseting ECU was 9.7km/l. perhaps was the way i drive but still same route to work and outings. distance was the same for the mth too. dunno if this will help but just for ur info. (i was told that the ETC will help save petrol, i guess its true. )

navi76 wrote:oh btw.. my consumption level went down again but another 0.7 from originally b4 installing ETC was 8.0km/l then after installing was 9.0km/l till after reseting ECU was 9.7km/l. perhaps was the way i drive but still same route to work and outings. distance was the same for the mth too. dunno if this will help but just for ur info. (i was told that the ETC will help save petrol, i guess its true. )

With ETC, you tends to step less on the accelerator to achieve the power... thus your FC goes down... But if you are a heavy footer, then it will be the opposite...

navi76 wrote:oh btw.. my consumption level went down again but another 0.7 from originally b4 installing ETC was 8.0km/l then after installing was 9.0km/l till after reseting ECU was 9.7km/l. perhaps was the way i drive but still same route to work and outings. distance was the same for the mth too. dunno if this will help but just for ur info. (i was told that the ETC will help save petrol, i guess its true. )

What is your ETC brand?