ALSO... remember that I only crimped my connection because I couldn't use my soldering iron. Most people seem to solder the wires together which is fine. Just like my crimp, follow it with shrink wrap (or two) and wrap with electrical tape. Then ensure that its tied out of the way from any moving components.

 

thanks much man, i am concerned about replacing a junction with another junction though...

I wonder if i shouldnt just go ahead and replace the entire wire like MM did but then id have to figure out how to access the steering column.

I hope the new sway bar i threw in there wont hamper things much.

 

I would just start off with soldering the three 14ga wires like MM suggested.
If you still experience power steering issues, then do the 8ga wires.

 

I have done this (junctioned the 3 sensor wires) and it started looking positive but then it looks like it went right back into intermittent failure. Sometime u start and it goes out, others it feels intermittent and then u have some power and some jerk...

Could it be a case of insufficient power from the battery? I installed crazy sound like a month ago and dropped it on a 2 farad cap. The sound plays awesome btu I m just curious if it could deteriorate over time and the power is now inadequate...

or does the theory completely make no sense :D please advise.

 

Remember, once the car is running, you are drawing electricity from the alternator.
Depends a lot on your sound system too... not sure on this one.

Would be nice to know if my theory (for my situation) was correct and it was the 8ga wires. Couldn't hurt doing those wires too.....

 

Another failure point is the wiring under the ECU at the Steering control unit There is a junction in there ...you might want to check the connectors there as well. Mine was getting an intermittent failure when I was playing with the IntX....All I had to do to fix it was unclip the connectors and clean and lube them with contact cleaner and it went away

 

would it be too much trouble to ask u to take a pic for me there dannobre? or is it the same one ON the steering rack u are referring to?

 

The control unit and a noise filter?? is under the ECU in the passenger front corner...the wiring in there has given me some grief at times...but I would check the wiring under the intake and the coolant overflow first...that one is the more common failure. I'll see if i can scare up a picture...maybe look in the service manual..there is a drawing in there

 

I had pulled the intake etc and cut the junction and rejoined the 3 torque sensor wires. I had left the power alone and the problem has recurred so I am just wondering whether when I pull the engine again I should join the power and check the other one you are referring to.

I got mine from Japan, no manual availale for me. The ones you guys can download from the website I cannot cuz my ver is different. (JDM).

 

dannobre... any1?

 

dannobre mentioned to check wiring under the ECU at the Steering control unit.
I've mention to connect the 8ga power cable.

Aside from that, you'll probably be looking into replace the control unit unless someone else has run into a different situation/solution.

 

I was asking him where it is before I went and pulled it up since I have no manual at my disposal.

I was wondering if he meant the one on the rack itself?

As for the 8ga power cable, I am already going to try that as well but when you have to pull several things you try to kill two birds with one stone as it were :D

Translation: Lazy, very lazy.

 

I can appreciate lazy... thats why I did the torque sensor wire and the power.
I am assuming he is talking about the connection to the rack itself, but we can wait until he chimes in with a definite answer.

 

It could be the control unit....or the rack...the torque sensor is in the rack and not replaceable.

Could also be a communication error that has the ECU confused for a better way to put it.

You might need to hook it up to an iDS and see what it shows.

The techs seem to want to replace parts though...and your two main options are kinda expensive.....

 

Do you have the CD Factory service manual? there is a large section on diagnosis and trouble shooting the EPS system? If you don't PM your e-mail and I'll send you a PDF of it.

 

aite, many thx.. dropped u a pm.

 

I remember pulling off intake etc and it looked like a PITA to get to the connection to the rack itself.... so I basically jus tried to ignore it in my mind.

it's like, under the battery tray down below and below another cross metal support...

looked like i had to pull the ECU box jus to get down there too, for the want of space... maybe i was jus being lazy but it seemed like miles to get down there.

 

I just got this problem, after driving in some major rain for two days straight. I went through some deep puddles (OK, deep for the RX-8, like 3-4" deep) on the first day and I wonder whether something on the steering rack got too wet. *shrugs*

The car has 70K miles.

I cleaned (with caig deoxit) and reseated the 2 harnesses by the radiator and the EPS control module harnesses (all 4), and no luck. The power steering goes out 30 sec to a minute into driving the car.

Not in the mood to try to get to the steering rack. What does that involve anyways? Jacking up the car and removing the undertray?

I'm gonna go to the dealer tomorrow to see what kind of codes the system is throwing. Out of warranty, but I'm curious to see what the system thinks is wrong.

Manual steering with 245 super-sticky tires ain't fun. Had to parallel park in the city yesterday, I was glad I had a larger spot and the pavement was wet.

 

right there with you bud, i'm actually thinking of pulling the entire harness and having the wires redone instead of soldered at the junctions.

pretty much what MM did i think, where you run fresh wires, but i'm doing an oil change tomorrow so i'm pretty much just gonna commit another 30 mins to pulling all those steering wires.

I hope before such time someone tells me what i don't need to do :D

 

I understand... unfortunately, many have experienced the same symptom, but the corrections were different.
Some had to solder the wires (which harness to splice also various).
Some had their whole EPS control unit replaced.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I just had my Power steering fail on me yesterday. This thread has helped me save a lot of money. I took out the harness and cleaned the terminals and put them back. My PS is up and running again. Thanks guys.

 

What did you use to clean the terminals? Just Curious...

and which terminals did you clean? just the ones by the radiator fans? (the two that is, Power & Torque Sensor)

 

****, my PS failed yesterday also when i disconnected my battery to clear a CEL.

I guess i gotta go wire hunting also, btw mine is JDM.

 

Cerebral: Mine is JDM as well, so lemme know what you discover.

 

Light went off 2day after doing the 2 reset procedures i saw on this site.