mate i had my oil cooler hoses replaced as i asked if all recalls had been done and they said there is only the oil cooler hoses as the rest were done. so get them to check on the dealer computer if it has been done first.

but i'd get it done as oil is the blood of this engine and you don't want it running low due to a leak plus environmental etc. but great to hear you'll be back on the road and can ditch the loaner unless its something nice

 

haha what loaner I am out of warranty. Mazda called today and it is done! Picking it up thursday.

 

Hello: I have a quick question. I've been having this power steering issue since last December. I showed my mechanic this thread so he could read about the connectors. He checked all that out, replaced them and we thought I was good to go. Now, I'm having the power steering issue again. I was just wondering if everyone who has had this issue in the RX-8 has resolved it by either cleaning/replacing the connectors or the harness or if people are still having the issue after trying those two options? Just wondering if it might have something to do with the recall that happened for the Mazda 3's and 5's. Thanks.

 

OK, it failed again. Was good for 3 weeks then it started acting up. It's the common feels very loose when turning right and heavy when turning left before it fails and the PS light light up. What do you guys think, does it reset because because I unplug the battery or because I clean the connectors? This is frustrating, not knowing if ordering the harness will fix it. The only good thing I have going is that I know of a rotary guy here in Davie, FL that can work on the car without me going to the dealer and paying $1K+. Is it too hard to install the harness myself with only a floor jack and jack stands?

Thanks as always.

 

sounds more like the steering rack to me...

 

Even if after I clean the connectors and disconect the battery it works? Would a faulty rack work for a while and then jam up? I just don't want to spend $1K if I can just order the harness for $100 + labor, if any. I did have 2 coolant leaks, first the water pump then the radiator so the original harness and connectors did get soaked.

 

i would get the harness.
go to your mate and get him to fit it and try that first.

the harness is the cheapest option £82 in the UK and what about $100 odd in US and from alot of the guys on here have said it solved their steering problems when they had the ps light on in the dash.

i would also get the U joint greased in case it has seized up slightly, that is what happened to me but it went away again and the steering has been ok lately.
ask your mate to check the voltage settings and pcm etc all ok.

worse case you need to replace the rack so go to a breakers and see if you can source one.

its a difficult one as i don't have the steering wheel light on in the dash, it comes on when you turn the ignition key but goes out as soon as the engine starts. i think i have a U joint which is starting to seize up, but i had also removed the battery leads and put them on again and tightened them up more and been grand ever since.

one last thing to check, the battery fluid levels are topped up, as its electric steering the battery needs to be working correctly so also test alternator and make sure its running properly.

 

Thanks mate. I will talk to the guy I know and see how much that will set me back in labor.

Cheers!

 

Looking for some information regarding the power steering connector with my car. Never had a problem with the power steering until yesterday. It began raining heavily when my husband and I went into a restaurant to eat. When we came out my power steering warning light was on. Looked up information online that pointed me towards the connectors. Did this and vola! I had power steering again. Today, however, our area received a DOWNPOUR. I went to get into my car this morning and power steering was out yet again. While it was raining I attempted to do the same as yesterday with no success. Could the rain and moisture be causing my power steering connection to ground out? And if so, is there anyway to fix this problem? Thanks in Advance!

Sarah

 

Sarah,

At this point, probably need to try again at cleaning the conectors with good contact cleaner, then try to keep them dry.(Not sure how).
Alternatives would be to buy the harness and replace it(part numbers and cost are up above in this thread)......or you could have someone bypass the connectors by hardwiring them and making sure they do the proper job when doing it.

 

....and don't forget the grounds!

That area has the all-important ground terminal for the steering rack, clean that too.

 

I picked up my car thursday morning, and the cars steering is perfect again. I did not realize how bad my steering was. After all said and done new U joint and (steering column covered by the dealership)

 

That's something I haven't done yet. Where exactly is the ground? My radiator and water pump have broken in 2 separate incidents and since that I've had problems with the PS so that's why I'm pretty sure it's the harness. Could a bad ground also be the culprit?

Update - it does the same thing every day: PS lights stays off, PS normal for 1-2 minutes, then suddenly I feel no resistance when turning clockwise (right) and hard turning the opposite direction. Will do this for 12-20 minutes then PS fails, lights turns on and I need to use muscle. The car will stay like this for 1-2 days and then go off and the process starts again. Will contact my guy today to see if we can do the harness, but would like to make sure that I clean the ground as stated above. This is the only thing I haven't tried.

Tks!

 

Thanks everyone! I got down to the power steering plugs and sure enough they were barely plugged into one another! Who knows how long I had been driving around with it like that! Thank goodness it was an easy fix and not something long and complicated!

 

im having weird issues on my 2004, every quarter turn of the wheel i'm getting resistnace..

tryed soldering the top connections today & got same issue, torque sensor resistance checks out & the connector seems fine...

i'm thinking you may be right with teh U-joint as i have no power steeing error light coming on....

did you grease the universal joint? doesnt seem to have a boot over it, did you just fill the joint in with grease?

i'm thinking about getting it up on axle stands next weekend & steering it without the ignition on to see if i have any resistance at a quarter turn....

if i dont then i'll take the connector to the torque sensor to bits & solder that end... although some people have been saying solder the wires stright to the torque sensor? is that right?
if so how do you get in there to access it?

 

hi mate, sent you a pm, but to answer the greasing issues, i had a look at where the rack is when i got her MOT washed. you may need her up on a lift to remove the tray to grease the u joint properly also safer, i don't trust axel stands or would ever lie under a car.

check for anything which may have got caught in around the joint into the rack, if you can see the joint and get spray grease use the long tube to get into the joint and give it a good blast, see how that goes.

i have found the bumpy roads may help joints keep from seizing up, you never know, all the jiggling of the parts.

my MOT man took her for a spin round the test centre so thank god the steering worked ok, usually they never do it.

 

cool, i'll give that a go.. noticed this morning its alot worse when its cold & gets progressivley better as the car warms up... heres hoping it just needs greased

think i can get to it from the top, as i will be taking it to bits again to have a look at the torque sensor connector.. might aswell do both while i'm in there..

 

i would check the battery is ok, get it tested, check the fluid level in it is correct.
to ensure enough power getting to the rack, my rx8 drove fine today so fingers crossed it was the battery stabilising. the steering is not super light in these cars big wheels and all but you should be able to turn without the heaviness.

when you say it gets better after she warms up could be the power stabilising to the rack from the alternator, so i'd get the alternator tested too.

good luck

 

I've been having this problem off and on for a while now. My original post was here: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/power-steering-failure-185732/

It's been over a year since my last incident and it just happened again yesterday. I drove for about 30 minutes, parked, turned the car off, and when I turned it back on, no power steering. So today, I did the whole routine again.
Disconnect Battery and clean post (some more crusty bits on the negative terminal).
Clean both power steering connectors.
But when I went to reconnect the small connector with the 3 wires, they didn't want to go in.
So I cut the connectors off and soldered them together.
So far, so good. Let's see how long this lasts, or whether it fixes the problem for good.

 

Hrm, Maybe my issue is the u-joint.

People insisting to clean the connectors, so I did. Several times. No change after any of the cleaning. I decided to replace the connectors with solid straight connections (soldered, sealed, protected, and tucked wires there, nothing to connect/disconnect unless you have wire cutters), finished just now, full battery reset, and absolutely NO change.

Steering is 'lumpy', resistance to no resistance to resistance over 180 degrees of steering turn, with peak resistance at opposing sides and peak power assist at opposing sides.

At really low speeds, a few times I hear a slight knock sound when the steering turned.

Anyone know a dealer price on replacing the u-joint? US, 2005, out of warranty.

 

Got the new harness for $108 with shipping and tax. Now, I feel I've gotten competent enough with the car. It's not too hard to change the wires myself right? Can someone post a picture of where the grounds go and also of the U-joint since it seems that could also be part of the problem?

Thanks.

 

Mine went out on the way to work this morning. I swear, every time there is a significant temperature change, something goes wrong with this car.

 

hi, i'm having problem with my power steering. (04 rx8)
no power steering lights on, on my dash but, when my car is not moving or at low speed, the steer is so heavy and sometime when i turn to left it's moving itself to the left with sound, and it's so heavy to turn right.

what should i do?

thanks

 

I have the same power steering problem for couple of weeks now but no PS light on. took it to the dealership today and after working 3 hours on it they found out the U joint has seized and needs to be replaced and it cost around $400. they haven't replaced the U joint yet but since i got the car from dealership the PS is working fine. I'm going to wait few days before taking it back to the dealership to replace the joint to see if the PS is gonna act up again.

 

My issue looks like it was entirely just a needed regreasing of the u-joint.

Simple and dirt cheap, so I would recommend checking it and/or greasing it occasionally.
(making it jump out for people skimming the thread)

Just jacked up the left front, removed the wheel, the steering shaft is right inside the frame, just forward of the spark plugs. The u-join is right above where the axle meets the frame. Hose it down with WD40 or carb cleaner or something to flush it out. Let it dry, hose it down again, let it dry again, maybe repeat a 3rd time. Rotate the wheel a quarter turn each time or so to get other angles. You want all of the grime and dirt particles out/off. Once it is mostly dry again, grab some grease and liberally apply it in there with your finger (or a grease gun if you have one with a long enough nozzle, mine isn't). spin the wheel back and forth from lock to lock a few times, rub the grease around in the join periodically to make sure it gets everywhere.


Steering lumpiness gone, all back to normal.