I cleaned all my connectors a few days ago after suffering from no power steering for a few month or so and worked like a charm.

Addendum: It wasn't mentioned in this thread, but if the EPS still act out after cleaning all the three connections, check the fuse which is located on the positive terminal of the battery marked EPS 60 A. And make sure your terminals are clean and tight; if the positive terminal is loose, a slight bump may cause to cut off your EPS' electrical continuity.

Awesome diy... Gna try this tmrw. My p/s has been kinda shotty for awhile, kinda goes out off an on, usually when im turning at low rpms and then when i get on the gas i feel it loosen up. Steering wheel kinda shakes left or right sometimes but i guess ill see if its the harness or rack tmrw

i already done all of that and still my eps lumpy when i turn right and also only when the engine temperature is cold or below normal operating temp
please help me

BUMP for the COLD WEATHER EPS PROBLEM!

no solution yet?

It seems like replacing the ES harness is your next step. I've been doing a lot of research because this just happened to me on my 06, and it seems that there are three steps. Cleaning the harness connectors is step one. If that does not solve the problem, then step two would be to replace the ES harness. And if that doesn't work, then step three would be to replace the rack. I cleaned my connectors, but I still have to test drive it and see if that solved the problem (crossed fingers), if not, I'll be ordering a harness pretty soon!

Make sure ALL the connections are cleaned, not just the pair under the coolant reservior!

On step 5; does anyone know what that connector is for? is it just the ground for the ES motor?

Not exactly sure, but this is what the EPS harness looks like:
Electric Power Steering Harness

Cool thanks!
I knew that plug had nothing to do with the harness.

I cleaned mine about 3 times and it lasted a out 3 weeks before it went bad again. I finally bypassed the plug using wire taps and electrical wire (I did not want to cut the harness and eliminate the plug.

power steering
 

my power-steering has been out for several months now. Been having to drive it around cause its too expensive for right now taking it in into Mazda. I tried cleaning all those connections but nothing. Turned the key and the light is still on and its still hard to steer. I checked with a local "mechanic" he took a quick look under the hood and recommended to replace the rack & pinion unit. I checked at autozone and they want $530 for the system, What would ya recommend? Thanks

its on top of the rack & pinion. its hard to unplug. it kicked my ass a few hours ago when i was doing it..lol

Great DIY - Fixed my problem
 

Thank you and this website for yet another great DIY process with great pictures. I had recently replaced an upper radiator hose and during the process of topping off the radiator, the coolant clearly had been flowing right onto these connectors. So I started feeling a difference in the steering - it would be very easy to turn to the right and more difficult to turn to the left. Then the Power Steering light started coming on and I would lose all Power Steering. I followed this DIY tip and process, cleaned all my connectors and coated with the grease. Problem solved - good to go. Thanks Again!

subbed just in case I ever need it.

I dont' have a light on the dash, but when the car is cold and randomly other times, the steering is just very.. off. Its hard to turn at times but only at certain points in the rotation of the wheel. It's quite off and a little concerning since I haven't gotten any warning light on the dash.

I stopped at Pep-boys on the way home and bought both the CRC electrical cleaner and die-electric grease so we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I have a bookmark saved for a new revised harness if I dont' have any success.

Normally if it is your EPS, you will feel a jerking motion as though your car is possessed before the whole system fails then the light on the dash lights up. If you haven't taken up the task of cleaning those connectors, take the time to read this DIY first: Lower Steering Shaft U-Joint.

Thats gotta be my issue then since I just cleaned every connected on the EPS harness and its still doesn't feel right. O well, at least the harness is clean ;)

subbed.

This worked beautifully!!!! Thanks

I'm back... so the cleaning only helped for about a week and then the problem has returned. What's interesting is sometimes when I get in the car it works and other times the light is on and it has failed. Even when it does work however you can feel that the system is failing. I've cleaned all those connectors. What should be the next thing to try?

This thread will determine whether or not this is a GOOD saturday evening in Cincinnati...

Attachment 288877

(Image just taken of my garage... as PSU surgery starts.... )


Now, where is my rum?

So, on the way to work this morning my power steering pretty much failed completely.

No warning light (and the light is functioning) but very sporadic operation of the PS, which is worse than having none at all in my opinion.

The problems started about 2 weeks ago, and have been becoming more frequent as time goes by. The primary problem is that the power steering really doesn't want to come "off center" when it goes bad, so changing lanes is a rather sketchy thing right now, as I never know if I will have power steering or not when I move the wheel off canter.

For the last couple weeks I have been trying the "Manual Calibration" technique of turning the ignition to accessory, cranking the wheel all the way to the right, then all the way to the left, and then starting the car. This seems to work in most cases (at least for a short time) but today it stopped helping.

So... I pulled up this thread, pulled out the air box and cleaned and treated the connections as indicated in the top of the thread. On first re-assembly, after cleaning, the PS warning light was on, and I had no power steering at all.

So I took it back apart and tried again, and now the warning light is back off, but the power steering is still sporadic in its assist. It is better than it has been in the last week, but still hesitant to come off center when I start to turn.

I checked the U joint and it seems ok, and there does not seem to be any binding issues.

I guess the next step is to go ahead and replace the wiring harness... but I thought I would go ahead and post what I had done so far, and what was occurring, and see if anyone had any other suggestions.

-Someone on here said that owning an RX-8 with over 110,000 miles was like being married to a stripper... and I am starting to agree. Since 110,000 (two months ago) I have had an O2 sensor fail, the power steering fail, and a serious degradation in braking.

I hope I am not just seeing the tip of the iceberg here. My last car was a 1990 Integra, and when I sold her to the teenager next door she had 525,000 miles on her, and he is still driving her.

-Shadow

+1

this should be added to the original post as most people apparently are not addressing this important area.