Power Steering Malfunction Indicator Light appears every few days now
#1
JDM-8
Thread Starter
Power Steering Malfunction Indicator Light appears every few days now
Guys,
I faced this problem with my power steering system 8 months ago, and it happent to me for second time a month ago, since then it happent to me last week and today again.
What i do is clear/reset the ECU using the odometer procedure, switch off then on the car and everything is ok.
Anyone faced the same problem? Solutions suggested?
Is it an ECU problem?
Any ECU firmware upgrades i should do to fix it?
Is my ECU diing ?
P.S.: my car was never recalled as here mazda dealer doesnt know the word "recall". please help.
I faced this problem with my power steering system 8 months ago, and it happent to me for second time a month ago, since then it happent to me last week and today again.
What i do is clear/reset the ECU using the odometer procedure, switch off then on the car and everything is ok.
Anyone faced the same problem? Solutions suggested?
Is it an ECU problem?
Any ECU firmware upgrades i should do to fix it?
Is my ECU diing ?
P.S.: my car was never recalled as here mazda dealer doesnt know the word "recall". please help.
#2
NOT SEARCHING
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I have had the same intermittent problem for almost 2 years now until it was fixed last week.
There is a wiring harness that connects to the power steering module that is just a little too short to make a complete and solid connection. When the car heats up or the chassis flexes just right the connection is lost or interrupted and the PS light comes on and you lose PS.
My car even would go so far as to reach full assist in either direction and at times would turn the wheel on its own.
The fix is to lengthen the wires and offer some slack in the loom. There is a TSB for the fix. DO NOT use butt connectors to splice the wiring, you have to solder the connection together or you will not have the correct resistance and the PS Module will fail.
Check this thread for my experience.
https://www.rx8club.com/mw-rx-8-forum-31/tumminia-mazda-can-lick-my-balls-read-121111/
There is a wiring harness that connects to the power steering module that is just a little too short to make a complete and solid connection. When the car heats up or the chassis flexes just right the connection is lost or interrupted and the PS light comes on and you lose PS.
My car even would go so far as to reach full assist in either direction and at times would turn the wheel on its own.
The fix is to lengthen the wires and offer some slack in the loom. There is a TSB for the fix. DO NOT use butt connectors to splice the wiring, you have to solder the connection together or you will not have the correct resistance and the PS Module will fail.
Check this thread for my experience.
https://www.rx8club.com/mw-rx-8-forum-31/tumminia-mazda-can-lick-my-balls-read-121111/
Last edited by SHOWOFF; 07-09-2007 at 04:46 PM.
#3
JDM-8
Thread Starter
omg SHOWOFF!!! THANKS!!! i thought that the problem was on the ECU and i was terrified the last weeks.
Can i ask you to give me the TSB and a picture showing which cable it is under the hood?
Can i ask you to give me the TSB and a picture showing which cable it is under the hood?
#6
Grasshopper
iTrader: (1)
Sorry... should have been more clear! The attachment shows the two connectors that SHOWOFF was talking about (and if you followed his link, you would have read my post about cutting the connectors off and splicing the wires together). Splicing the wires together is something I did ONLY AFTER troubleshooting it to that point. I didn't want to go to the dealer because people have reported that they (dealers) have kept their cars for awhile and sometimes still wouldn't get it right on the first attempt. Not saying all dealers are like that, its just my RX8 is my only car and I couldn't afford to lose it on a gamble. Plus I was confident that I discovered what was wrong so that was my fix!
I would not recommend you doing this yourself unless you are really comfortable about wiring (one connector uses two 8-gage wires). Plus, you are better off taking it the the dealer and have them look at this.
Reason being is that your EPS (Electronic Power Steering) could malfunction from:
1. The connector(s) listed in the attachment above
2. Wiring harness
3. Torque sensor
3. EPS motor
4. EPS control module
5. Fuse
Due to all these variables, like I said, I would just take it to the dealer and have them verify everything. Save yourself some trouble unless you are really up to it!
I would not recommend you doing this yourself unless you are really comfortable about wiring (one connector uses two 8-gage wires). Plus, you are better off taking it the the dealer and have them look at this.
Reason being is that your EPS (Electronic Power Steering) could malfunction from:
1. The connector(s) listed in the attachment above
2. Wiring harness
3. Torque sensor
3. EPS motor
4. EPS control module
5. Fuse
Due to all these variables, like I said, I would just take it to the dealer and have them verify everything. Save yourself some trouble unless you are really up to it!
#8
Grasshopper
iTrader: (1)
I was simply listing what could malfunction with an EPS in general... yours could be any one of those items on the list (and I'm confident that its not the fuse in your case... it was only there for reference... possibilities for others who might be reading this with similar problems) I can not guarantee that the connectors are the culprit (though it appears that many have had problems with them... thats why I focused there on mine).
I was trying to save you time and possible headache by telling you to take it to the dealer. Think about it... lets say you do what I did and cut/splice the wires together and found out that you still had issues. Do you think the dealer is going to be OK with what you did and still warranty the problem (the harness, toque sensor, or whatever else it could be)? I would be surprised if they did. I don't feel comfortable telling you to do something that will void your warranty, that is a choice (risk) you must take.
I was trying to save you time and possible headache by telling you to take it to the dealer. Think about it... lets say you do what I did and cut/splice the wires together and found out that you still had issues. Do you think the dealer is going to be OK with what you did and still warranty the problem (the harness, toque sensor, or whatever else it could be)? I would be surprised if they did. I don't feel comfortable telling you to do something that will void your warranty, that is a choice (risk) you must take.
#9
JDM-8
Thread Starter
i live in cyprus, i have imported my car from japan used.
I have no warranty .......
i just want to fix this. it happens only when i switch my car on, never after.
can we isolate few of these possibilities?
I have no warranty .......
i just want to fix this. it happens only when i switch my car on, never after.
can we isolate few of these possibilities?
#11
Grasshopper
iTrader: (1)
I have to get ready for a long day at work so I'll PM you later on what I did to isolate the problem and what I did to resolve it. Now if this doesn't work for you, then you might want to ask some of the "senior" more knowledgeable people here (Rotarygod, Mazdamaniac, TeamRX8, staticlag, just to name a few) as I have not personally troubleshot further from there (obviously).
#13
Lubricious
Join Date: Oct 2003
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I had this same exact problem. But it was after I fixed another problem, so bear with me....
Initially I had a problem where the car was harder to turn in one direction than the other, resulting in a feeling of pulling to one side. I found MazdaManiac's post on the subject, which mentions that there is a known problem with the wiring harness and there is a replacement part available. Part of the problem was described as being that the connectors were simply crimped to the wires and this introduces problems with variable resistance, etc.
So, I did what MM did, and I removed the sub-harness, disassembled the connectors and soldered the pins to the wires, reassembled and then re-installed the harness.
The pulling tendency was fixed!
But after a couple of weeks, I began having the problem you describe -- the power steering sometimes would be disabled when starting the car. The ECU evidently does a self-check and if it doesn't like what it sees, will disable the power steering. Sometimes if I ran the car for a few minutes and then restarted it, everything would be fine.
Based on yet another post, I once again pulled the airbox to get to the connectors. I took the 3-wire connector at the top and disconnected it. I then bent the male pins in the receiving connector about 10 degrees with a flat-blade screwdriver. I then reassembled.
To be complete I must also add that I disassembled and cleaned all the battery connectors and also took apart where the connectors join to metal plates with a bolt and used a wire brush to bring those mating surface to a shine. Just to be sure there weren't any subtle ground issues. But I think the 3-wire PS connector was probably the issue, as the battery connectors were already reasonably clean and tight.
The intermittent problem has not returned, and it has been a couple of weeks. Much nicer in the parking garage, though I must say I liked the freeway stability without the PS .
As far as worrying about warranty issue, screw it. I'd taken the car in twice with the initial problem and they declared both times that they couldn't feel anything wrong. So I got an alignment, which I had to pay for and didn't fix the problem. So they aligned it again and still didn't fix the problem (which they couldn't "feel" anyway). Bleh. Fixed it myself. If I have any more issues I'll just buy the part and install it. It'll be worth the hundred bucks or so, just to not have to deal with the garage monkeys.
Last edited by Nubo; 07-10-2007 at 05:04 PM.
#15
Grasshopper
iTrader: (1)
Both Nubo and MM just about nailed what I was gonna say.
I first started off (from reading the forums) that people were disconnecting the two connectors under the air intake box and cleaning them with contact cleaner. Every time my power steering went out I would pull over and clean the contacts. It got to the point where I was "cleaning" the contacts every week, I knew that those contacts weren't "tarnishing" that quickly. So while looking at the connectors I saw how skinny and flat the contacts were, so I used a flat head screwdriver to slightly bend the contacts down. After doing that I never had a problem with my power steering.
I ran it flawlessly for about a month (just waiting for the day it fails) when I decided to just cut the wire and splice them together. Attached are pics of the final result. I plan on dressing it up better later, but my steering has ran great since. I also wanted plenty of extra wire in case I needed to get in there.
Hope this helps.
I first started off (from reading the forums) that people were disconnecting the two connectors under the air intake box and cleaning them with contact cleaner. Every time my power steering went out I would pull over and clean the contacts. It got to the point where I was "cleaning" the contacts every week, I knew that those contacts weren't "tarnishing" that quickly. So while looking at the connectors I saw how skinny and flat the contacts were, so I used a flat head screwdriver to slightly bend the contacts down. After doing that I never had a problem with my power steering.
I ran it flawlessly for about a month (just waiting for the day it fails) when I decided to just cut the wire and splice them together. Attached are pics of the final result. I plan on dressing it up better later, but my steering has ran great since. I also wanted plenty of extra wire in case I needed to get in there.
Hope this helps.
#16
JDM-8
Thread Starter
thanks for all the information given,
I will take out the airfilter box this weekend to check if there is anything wrong there.
i am not sure, but i believe that since i bought my new battery i got this problem, and its not that the battery is not good, its that the poles are not like stock's (completely rounded) they have 2 cuts and that makes the cable loose a little.
I will have to put something between battery's pole and cable's to tight it enough.
What do you thing? would it be the problem?
I will take out the airfilter box this weekend to check if there is anything wrong there.
i am not sure, but i believe that since i bought my new battery i got this problem, and its not that the battery is not good, its that the poles are not like stock's (completely rounded) they have 2 cuts and that makes the cable loose a little.
I will have to put something between battery's pole and cable's to tight it enough.
What do you thing? would it be the problem?
#17
Lubricious
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: SF Bay Area, California
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thanks for all the information given,
I will take out the airfilter box this weekend to check if there is anything wrong there.
i am not sure, but i believe that since i bought my new battery i got this problem, and its not that the battery is not good, its that the poles are not like stock's (completely rounded) they have 2 cuts and that makes the cable loose a little.
I will have to put something between battery's pole and cable's to tight it enough.
What do you thing? would it be the problem?
I will take out the airfilter box this weekend to check if there is anything wrong there.
i am not sure, but i believe that since i bought my new battery i got this problem, and its not that the battery is not good, its that the poles are not like stock's (completely rounded) they have 2 cuts and that makes the cable loose a little.
I will have to put something between battery's pole and cable's to tight it enough.
What do you thing? would it be the problem?
You need a shim to tighten up the battery terminal connection, or get another connector that is smaller or has more room for adjustment.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" has this to say about shims:
When he brought his motorcycle over I got my wrenches out but then noticed that no amount of tightening would stop the slippage, because the ends of the collars were pinched shut.
"You're going to have to shim those out," I said.
"What's shim?"
"It's a thin, flat strip of metal. You just slip it around the handlebar under the collar there and it will open up the collar to where you can tighten it again. You use shims like that to make adjustments in all kinds of machines."
"Oh," he said. He was getting interested. "Good. Where do you buy them?"
"I've got some right here," I said gleefully, holding up a can of beer in my hand.
He didn't understand for a moment. Then he said, "What, the can?"
"Sure," I said, "best shim stock in the world."
I thought this was pretty clever myself. Save him a trip to God knows where to get shim stock. Save him time. Save him money.
But to my surprise he didn't see the cleverness of this at all. In fact he got noticeably haughty about the whole thing. Pretty soon he was dodging and filling with all kinds of excuses and, before I realized what his real attitude was, we had decided not to fix the handlebars after all.
As far as I know those handlebars are still loose. And I believe now that he was actually offended at the time. I had had the nerve to propose repair of his new eighteen-hundred dollar BMW, the pride of a half-century of German mechanical finesse, with a piece of old beer can!
Ach, du lieber!
Since then we have had very few conversations about motorcycle maintenance. None, now that I think of it.
You push it any further and suddenly you are angry, without knowing why.
I should say, to explain this, that beer-can aluminum is soft and sticky, as metals go. Perfect for the application. Aluminum doesn't oxidize in wet weather...or, more precisely, it always has a thin layer of oxide that prevents any further oxidation. Also perfect.
In other words, any true German mechanic, with a half-century of mechanical finesse behind him, would have concluded that this particular solution to this particular technical problem was perfect.
For a while I thought what I should have done was sneak over to the workbench, cut a shim from the beer can, remove the printing and then come back and tell him we were in luck, it was the last one I had, specially imported from Germany. That would have done it. A special shim from the private stock of Baron Alfred Krupp, who had to sell it at a great sacrifice. Then he would have gone gaga over it.
"You're going to have to shim those out," I said.
"What's shim?"
"It's a thin, flat strip of metal. You just slip it around the handlebar under the collar there and it will open up the collar to where you can tighten it again. You use shims like that to make adjustments in all kinds of machines."
"Oh," he said. He was getting interested. "Good. Where do you buy them?"
"I've got some right here," I said gleefully, holding up a can of beer in my hand.
He didn't understand for a moment. Then he said, "What, the can?"
"Sure," I said, "best shim stock in the world."
I thought this was pretty clever myself. Save him a trip to God knows where to get shim stock. Save him time. Save him money.
But to my surprise he didn't see the cleverness of this at all. In fact he got noticeably haughty about the whole thing. Pretty soon he was dodging and filling with all kinds of excuses and, before I realized what his real attitude was, we had decided not to fix the handlebars after all.
As far as I know those handlebars are still loose. And I believe now that he was actually offended at the time. I had had the nerve to propose repair of his new eighteen-hundred dollar BMW, the pride of a half-century of German mechanical finesse, with a piece of old beer can!
Ach, du lieber!
Since then we have had very few conversations about motorcycle maintenance. None, now that I think of it.
You push it any further and suddenly you are angry, without knowing why.
I should say, to explain this, that beer-can aluminum is soft and sticky, as metals go. Perfect for the application. Aluminum doesn't oxidize in wet weather...or, more precisely, it always has a thin layer of oxide that prevents any further oxidation. Also perfect.
In other words, any true German mechanic, with a half-century of mechanical finesse behind him, would have concluded that this particular solution to this particular technical problem was perfect.
For a while I thought what I should have done was sneak over to the workbench, cut a shim from the beer can, remove the printing and then come back and tell him we were in luck, it was the last one I had, specially imported from Germany. That would have done it. A special shim from the private stock of Baron Alfred Krupp, who had to sell it at a great sacrifice. Then he would have gone gaga over it.
#19
JDM-8
Thread Starter
i was actually thinking of it all day. I will use copper between battery poles and cord connectors to tight them better.
I will do it on friday or saturday as i dont have enough time these days.
I will do it on friday or saturday as i dont have enough time these days.
#20
Lubricious
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Yeah, I was just coming back to add a similar caveat about galvanic corrosion. I just love that passage though
#22
JDM-8
Thread Starter
guys i ve tried to use shims to my poles and unfortunately it didnt work.
I went to a garage and bought 2 new better solid poles and i have replaced my stock. They are tight enough now to keep all electronics steady.
I dont want to put an eye on my car :P but since saturday ive driven my car a lot and everything are ok now.
I went to a garage and bought 2 new better solid poles and i have replaced my stock. They are tight enough now to keep all electronics steady.
I dont want to put an eye on my car :P but since saturday ive driven my car a lot and everything are ok now.
#23
Lubricious
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Lol, I'm living in a parallel universe a couple of months behind, I guess. The damn light came on again. I just made the permanent(?) fix on Wednesday, soldered the wires directly and pulled that grey sunofabitch out of there. Thanks for blazing the trail.