This morning I just wiggled the fuse before I started it up and the PS worked. I took the fuse out and put it back in and started it up a couple of minutes ago and it didn't work. However the PS was working before I turned it off last night. I also jumped off another car before I turned it off, but I don't think that had anything to do with it.

 

This little trick worked for a while for me, but not anymore. Pulling the fuse and putting it back in worked a couple times. Then, jiggling the clamp on the positive terminal worked too, but not anymore either. I was going to clean all the connectors anyway, so I hope that'll be the solution, but I can't get to that for a while. I'll just have to drive without power steering.

 

You guys might wanna try cleaning the power steering connectors. It's right under the coolant bottle. Just spray some contact clearer and plug them back in. There's a guide in here somewhere. I am out now, and therefore cannot search.

Give it a shot

 

why can't people just accept the fact that these EPS is designed to fail ? and this is not just a Rx-8 issue, it's happening to ALL modern cars with EPS, they ALL fail after certain period of time.

Only thing u can do to completely fixes it is to replace it with new, or have someone who actually knows how these thing works to rebuild them, parts are usually cheap if the guy knows where to find them, but the labor alone will rape u.

 

False

True

True


Yes, people need to accept that no part is immune to failure, but that isn't the same thing as accepting that Mazda deliberately designed the steering rack to fail. The former is a rather constant fact of life, the latter is something that would bury the company. Look at what VW is dealing with after designing something that did fail, and designing how to hide that it did. No car manufacturer would survive the collosal mistake of designing something to specifically fail as key to safety as a steering rack. No engineer or CEO or whatever would be stupid enough to do that.

 

I had this same issue when I first got my 2004 RX-8 two years ago. It would randomly be on or off when I started the car. Took it to the local Mazda dealer and they replaced the entire steering rack.

That fixed it for a while, but it started doing the exact same thing last year (with like 5k miles on a brand new steering rack...) Took it to Mazda again and they fixed it by apparently chopping up the steering rack connectors and soldering it all together... weird solution, especially for the dealer. But I haven't had a problem since then.

 

Mazda will not say "oh, we design something to fail after X of time", they will use this phrase instead "the design life of XXX is XXX(amount of time)"

put it this way, in the old days, they wanna design stuff that last forever, which explains why Hondas/Toyotas in the late 80s,early 90s are so damn durable, hell some of the engines u can even run it with olive oil or even no oil (for a while, of course )

now? they understand 1 simple fact , and that's "how to stay in business if our products never fails?" and thats how all these wonderful electronic stuff comes into play, if they stay with the good'old power steering, they lose a lot of parts business, investors not happy, CEO gets fired.

 

I think you fail to realize that it is literally impossible to design a part that will never fail. Every single part is thus designed to last at least a given lifespan. That doesn't mean it was designed to fail after that point, just that it shouldn't fail before that point.

If I were to use your logic, brake pads are designed to fail. Tires are designed to fail. Clutches are designed to fail. Engine oil is designed to fail. Subframes are designed to fail. Window motors are designed to fail. Fuel pumps are designed to fail. Your house is designed to fail. Your computer is designed to fail. Your phone is designed to fail.

I could keep going.

But no. Parts are designed to last at least a given duration, with that duration specified by the people that manufacture it. If they keep failing before that point, they revamp the design to make it last longer.

No one can ever make a part that will never fail. Even those old engines. They don't actually last forever.


Hydraulic steering parts can and will fail too you know.

 

Personally I think it gives too much credit to auto designers for knowing what they are doing. Putting the connectors for power steering directly under the coolent overflow so that its seems to be assured you will loose power steering shortly after an overflow? It just doesn't sound like good design to me.

I remember High School shop when I asked how it was that Airplanes could land in salt water fairly regularly (WWII Seaplanes) and still fly 30 years later and my Dad's car turned into a rust bucket in 8 or 9 years. He explain zinc plating and I asked "Why don't they do that on cars?"

Wow did he give me the your a moron look. "If they did that you could keep the same car going for 30 years" *Replacing parts as they wore out. On the other hand the designers for Seaplanes probably realized that having an airplane "rust" to pieces would probably be a bad idea.

Like loosing power steering!

BTW I forget now the type of connector (I think its a GM design) but its made to be moisture proof. Or at least it tries. I'm glad this thread came up again since I have a bag of these for a different project I think replacing the ones that have failed once and getting this out of the coolent splash zone would be a great idea.

Another thing that comes to mind is the Varnish? That the Army painted on everything inside electronics. Like radios and such. It was jungle proof.

Anyway I'm depressed. The bolt head who worked on this car didn't replace the engine cover (The one under the engine) so all the "crust" is from water blasting in from under it which we all know is NOT a good idea for a car that is this computer gizmo happy.

Anyway once I make some more money I guess I'll be looking at a lot of work to make my baby right.

 

Just thought I'd post an overdue follow up to this. So, I eventually was able to take my car to a mechanic, who cleaned all the EPS connectors as per the guide I found in this forum. Guess what--it worked! Haven't had a power steering problem since.

The power steering didn't come back on immediately after cleaning, but the mechanic didn't turn off the ignition and restart, which is probably required. My guess is that the EPS module is programmed to never turn on if even a slightly weak signal is detected. I imagine the engineers think it's better to start driving without power steering, rather than start driving, then have it fail on you while driving.

Hoping this issue remains solved, and the power steering doesn't go out again.

 

Thanks for getting back to us with your results!

Make sure to complete the repair with a longer overflow tube, one that actually exits below the steering gear.

 

That would be a good idea in any event. If you have a coolent overflow keep it out of the engine compartment!

 

I cant found a picture about inside of power steering box. Do you know any picture or video showing disasembly power steering box?
I want this for: My steering box is working good but when i turn steerin wheel, I hear some minimal friction sound. Any solution for this? Our power steering system contain any oil or sth?
Thanks...

 

Yeah I'm getting it too. It's a "scratching" sound right? Like someone dragging a fingernail over the dash? Some say it's the clock spring inside the steering wheel. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Yes, its stratching sound. I was hear the sound under car when someone turn the steering wheel. I think the sound comes inside of steering box. I cant dare open the box without any information. Has anyone open the box? Any picture or video? If I see any video or picture, I can make new video with more explanation.
Thanks a lot.

 

By the way, I will try oiling steering joint.

 

Hey guys, i have the same issue with my 05 RX8, cleaning and putting dielectric grease on the connectors did not work So i bought a brand new set of connectors/harness,i put some dielectric grease just in case..but that didn`t fix the problem neither..still not having a power steering ;( What would you suggest my next step be? New EPS module ?!

 

If you do a search of this threads for posts by me. I gave a link to a bunch of HD photos when I completely dismantled my entire ps system. I'll try and search for it a little bit later

 

What all have you done to diagnose where your problem is? Do u have 12volts going into the ps control system? Have you confirmed good continuity between both connectors on your harness? Have you tried checking the resistance of your torque sensor?

 

I have done none of those. I bought the car with EPS not working, then i found all those threads about cleaning or replacing the harness which did not help me. Checking the resistance of the torque sensor with multimeter?-is that the one right off the power steering motor?

 

Well let's see if this works...
Hopefully the pictures show >_<

 

I have been having the same problem. Cleaning the connections works for 7 days at most and then I'll be driving the steering will jerk super hard to the right on its own and then poof ps is gone. So lately I've just been putting up with it and steering like a man lol. I was thinking of trying the new harness but does anyone have a foolproof fix that doesn't cost 3k for a new rack? I have also put a new boil over line on the coolant bottle that leads out of the engine bay straight to the pavement which is why I'm confused why the cleaning with contact cleaner doesn't work more than a few days. Thanks guys anything helps.

 

nycgps,

rather than look it up on here I'm going to opt to be a bit lazy... you said the D rack was much better. Are you referencing a part number here?

 

MazdaManiac,

I'm currently running the gauntlet of RX8 steering issues with mine...did this fix end up being a permanent resolution for you or did you have to do something else later?

Thanks

 

You won't be getting a reply from him on this forum, he's been banned for some time.