Just to make it clearer, the sway bar didn't cause the problem. The problem occured as a result of the installation. I just finished installing the RB front sway bar by myself tonight/this morning. It's a pain, if you do it yourself.
Anyways, I had no problems with the torque wrench clearance while torquing (is that even a word?) the nuts back. I did have one clearance problem on the endlink at the driver's side. There was not enough space for the torque wrench due to this type of sensor mechanism next to the top endlink bolt. It was bolted onto the frame so I removed it, giving me plenty of space.
After I reinstalled it, I noticed the car radio stopped working and the led display showed a red back ground color (without any lettering) . I had the key still in the ignition, so I can move the front wheels around, at that time. I figured I will look at the problem tomorrow, since I'm tired.

Questions :
1. What is that sensor/mechanism/switch?
2. Did I mess anything up?
3. Is this a simple fix that I can resolve in the morning?

Thanks guys!

 

you probably killed the battery

 

1. If it has a small link that looks like a miniature end link, it's the headlight leveling sensor. If not, take a photo of it and post it.
2. ???
3. ???

Sorry I can't be more helpful. I'm sure someone else will answer the other questions.

 

If you accidentally pulled on the ABS SENSORS YOU INDIRECTLY CAUSED A SHORT it tells you in the RX8 MANUAL TO TIE BACK THE SENSOR IN ORDER TO AVOID THESE SITUATIONS , WHEN YOU INSTALLED YOUR SWAYBARS YOU MUST HAVE hit the sensor .

cheers
michael

 

Disconnect the battery for five minutes. If that doesn't reset it, you have a problem.

S

 

Yes, it's the small link looking thing.

 

Yeah, that's the headlight leveling sensor all right. Reset the PCM as suggested above and if that doesn't do the trick, you'll probably have to take it in to your dealer. Unless someone else has another idea.

 

Well, I finally got a chance to look at the car (night time). I disconnected the battery for about 5 min+ and tried to start her up. No luck. I get erractic gauge readings. If I hit the brake, all three needles start to sweep. I tried the headlights..none (since the problem started with the headlight leveling sensor).
Do you think the battery died and I should jump it? Hopefully I can find a solution in the manual otherwise I'm going to have to tow it to the dealership on Monday. Anyone with inputs?

 

If I did hit the ABS sensors, how to I fix it? Do I just push the connectors back?

 

If the needles sweep from min to max. Check the "room" fuse.

 

I checked all the fuses..all OK. I'm going to jack up the car again to check for any loose connections. I'm hoping for a miracle that it "fixes" itself after check for any loose fittings, etc. Otherwise I'm SOL until Monday. I was hoping to make it for Sunday's autox to test out the sway bar.

 

well that's a shame, using a torque wrench to tighten the endlink nut is overkill

 

Well that's what I get for following instructions :o . It seems that the battery is dying now. Window doesn't seem to want to roll up, interior light is dimming, etc. Everything seems to be dying.

If it turns out the battery needs to be replaced, how much do they cost? I might as well upgrade to the Ultima battery if that's the case.

 

Check for a load with a test light..

Unhook the negitive battery terminal and hook one end of the test light to the battery and the other to the cable you just unhooked. If all is well the light should be really dim(if all the doors are closed and Ign is off)

If the light glows brightly you can start popping fuses out until the light goes out. You can isolate the curcuit in this way.

 

sorry, I didn't mean to imply you did anything wrong, but I use the "that feels tight enough" method for stuff like that, most techs do to

that must be a traction control device, I don't have it on my Base model car, the ABS sensor is the wire that bolts down by the the front sway bar chassis pivot bushing and runs over to the backside of the hub

sounds like you just have a dead battery to me

 

Update: Car is fixed. It turned out to be a dead battery after all. I didn't know the battery can go out that quickly and cause all the instrumentations to go hay-wire. I wonder why it wouldn't even charge when it was being jump started. Thank goodness it was only something minor. At least it was under Mazda's bill.

 

glad that's all it was

 

like i said the very first time...you probably killed the battery. :D always start with the obvious so you don't "waste" time messing with other stuff.