it will take you less time to do it yourself. really, drive to the dealer at least 30 min to and from..

this is super simple.. really.. i put it off for about 2 weeks. one day it would work another it would not. depended on how much it rained the day before..

and i had to take out relocated coils to do mine!

beers

 

swoope: dealership is about 1 mile from my office. I ordered the new wiring harness, I'm going to replace it (and fix my issue) once it arrives. (hopefully)

 

ok,

cant wait to see what the harness is! big photos!

something that goes between the two connectors?

beers

 

extra large pics just for you.

 

anyone knows the part number of wiring harness ? I'm having this problem as well..

 

I think a poor Battery could also cause PS out problems as the other member said his dealership fixed his PS problem, having said that coolant overflowing onto cables/connectors is not a good design.

But, it is worth trying your cars battery...??..yes??

 

Well. pics please....

 

and?

beers

 

Pics please !! I really need to get this fix ~ Also, part # would help

 

Extend your coolant overflow hose and get it down below the harness. I had some left over hose from doing a catch can install that I used and now my overflow hose runs just about straight out the bottom of the car.......just in case!

Now...............about those pics................where are the Jorge?

 

my PS failed yesterday morning so i tried the battery disconnect and it cleared my issue this morning. went back inside to get ready for work and came out to find that the PS failed again. will have to check the connectors after work today.

 

just wanted to update - i disconnected the negative battery terminal again one more time just to give it a shot since i was at work and had my tools. i let it sit longer this time with it off and then went back and retightened everything to make sure it was good. it worked and i drove home with no issues and it's been fine for a week. the weekend was too rainy for me to get under the hood and clean the connectors but <<knock on wood>> it hasn't come back yet so we'll see.

 

My recommendation to try to fix this problem it`s write in www.safercar.gov ,and write a complaint. we know now about other mazda cars with the same problem.

 

I had my first experience with failed power steering today at 110,400 miles. Drove to work without assist, and then on the next trip it was back and has been working all day. I can only assume it will fail again.

For those who have replaced the wiring harness, could you clarify what harness it is? I called the nearest dealer and they think it would be part of one of 2 large engine bay harnesses. One was ridiculously expensive ($400), the other obscenely so ($1100). Not to mention a bit time-consuming to replace if it wires other things in the engine bay. Based on descriptions here, I was expecting something much more targeted for the power steering.

If anyone has parts numbers available that would be a big help. Thanks in advance.

 

kcrx8: send a Private Message to Ash8, he helped me out with the part #.
I believe mine cost me around $100. (give or take a few)


oh damn it, I just realized I never posted pics for Swoope.
I'll see if I have those on my laptop...

 

Steering gear harness pic. I think this is the part number you guys seek.

 

long overdue pictures.



Anyone see a design flaw here?





new harness (just for you swoope)





Easiest way to access the harness is to remove the intake box / tray.

 

Always good to have information..

The latest and Last Part Number now is F151-67-SH0D...$97.23USD

Used in ALL S2 RX-8's

And used IN S1 RX-8's from Feb 19 2008 Production, in other words the very last of S1.

Other "iterations"..
F151-67-SH0B Original April 2003 to?(no date for number change)
F151-67-SH0C Used up to Feb 19 2008.

 

You guys rock!

I just started to have power steering issues (2004 w/~112k miles on the odo).

This thread exactly describes my PS issue and how to go about either fixing the problem yourself or going to the dealership armed with enough info so that you don't get taken to the cleaners.

In fact, I didn't even know this car had electric assist until I read this thread -- the owner's manual (at least the 2004 version) doesn't exactly explain that there's electric assist and therefore no power steering fluid. I guess one could figure it out with inductive reasoning because the Owner's Maintenance section talks about every other type of fluid but power steering fluid.

One of these days, I really need to write a post about all the ways that RX-8 Club has helped me. I don't post much, but I've been a member since 2004. You guys have literally saved me thousands by way of finding discounted parts and providing diagnostics/pics/part #'s for folks. My stupid local dealership can install parts well enough, but they can't diagnose their way out of a paper bag.

Thanks!

 

mine is similar but its not completely off or on, Its hard to turn one way, easy to turn the other. Usually after driving for a while it goes away but its progressivly getting worse. Does it sound like it could be the harness too?

Here is a link to a thread I made with a vid I found that shows the same thing mine does. (hard to turn one way, jumps around turning itself the other way)
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/steering-hard-turn-right-turns-left-its-own-208489/

 

anything irregular is the cable.
the actual PS rarely goes bad.

 

awesome, thanks.. no chance of cleaning it right? just the replacement?

Also, is there any way to test it? I hate to spend 100 on a car im getting rid of in the next few months and that not even be the issue. I bet it is though, I had a mishap with coolant a while ago and quite a bit went down haha

 

that's awesome Cap! I'm glad we, as a community could help you out.

 

I had a full power steering failure issue maybe 2 years ago. The dealer decided to soilder the connection I believe to correct the issue.

Just today, as I fired up the car to come home from work, the power steering kicked a little bit at low speeds in the garage, never had it do that before. it kept doing that for a bit and after a minute seemed to be fine.

Should I investigate the getting the harness replaced? Car has been fine for several years.

 

you can try to clean it but sometimes its not the socket its the wire that goes into the sockets.
if you can strip the wires and solder them (assume you good at soldering), then you dont need new harness.