There is no power steering after I replace my engine. We disconnected the steering shaft, the EPS motor plug, the ground wire, and the steering angle sensor plug, in order to lower the subframe for engine replacement. We did mark the alignment of the steering shaft before disconnecting.

Everytime I start the engine, I feel the power steering for 1 second if I turn left first, then it goes away and the power steering light comes on. Moreover, it is exceptionally hard to turn both left and right even the car is runing at 60 mph. It feels like the power steering is fighting against your steering effort!

I took it to dealer yesterday, and they found the code c1099 for power steering, which is the EPS motor mulfunction code. Dealer told me that the possible cause may be an open or short circuit on the wire harness between the EPS motor and the EPS control module. Dealer did not fix it because they want $345 just to find out the problem.

I did a search on the problem already and found that several members have similar problem before. However, no final results or solution have been confirmed on how to fix or which parts need to be replaced.

Any input regarding where to start the diagnostic?

Thanks,

Sammy

Did you calibrate the EPS as instructed in the owner's manual? You need to do that after the battery is disconnected or the power interrupted for some other reason.

Edit: Page 5-22 of the owner's manual.

The one you are talking about is the calibration for traction control. I already did that.

Thanks,

Sammy

unplug everythign and clean all the connections and look for obvious signs of damage. then plug it all back in. then reset the eps again

There IS a recall for the steering wiring harness, you may be "lucky" and your car may be in the VIN range for this.

Steering breaks thread. (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=78508&highlight)

Been there, one more t-shirt for the collection!

S

I fixed it last night!
It turned our to be the plug goes from the EPS control module to the battery positive terminal was not connected. It has a black plug which should plug to the bottom of the EPS 60A fuse right on the battery positive main cable.
There is also a white plug which goes from the EPS control module to the negative terminal of the battery. Those plugs were hiding underneath the battery box so I missed them.

:D: excellent