ok i did some searching before actually beginning a new thread because it looks like my problem is all to common.....
so my car was in the shop two days ago for a heater core and a coolant flush of course, and it has been running fine like always but today i left work to go visit my friend at his job.

so i park and shut the car off for about 20 mins, then i get back in to turn it on to leave and as i start to back up i notice that the steering wheel is really hard to turn. i notice also that the steering warning light is on my cluster also. so i shut my car off
and pop the hood to look for any obvious problems,cant see any. but i do notice that there is alot of spilled coolant marks around the intake box and overflow bottle.

i start my car again and the steering light is still on and there is no assist. so i disconnect the negative terminal from the battery for about 5 mins and reconnect it.. it works!! no more light and it has assist.

it just happened today so im not sure if its fixed for good since it hasnt happened again but i was wondering if you guys think that some of that spilled coolant could have got into the sensors for the steering or if its just a coincidence and maybe my rack is going out??? my car only has 2k miles left on the extended warranty so would it be smarter for me too just take it to the dealer and have them replace the
harness or should i try to clean out the sensors?

 

Your rack is fine. (!)

If there is a problem, it will be coolant corrosion of the plugs and harness right below the overflow. Mazda put it in a stupid place, and I had the repair done in 2005.

no sensor, no rack - just some wire.....

S

 

Ya that's what I'm thinking to but I took it in to the dealer today so we shall see what parts they
Throw at it.

 

i got it back today and its fixed. they replaced the harness and all is well....for now (knocks on wood)

 

Third thread was VERY helpful. but I had a sort of unusual presentation of this problem, so here it is just in case it's helpful or anything.

2004 MT - 76,000 miles. Didn't initially get an error code, only later did I get EPS B2278 - "torque sensor" problem.

Power steering would only function on ONE SIDE at a time. If I manhandled it over to that side while driving, it would switch and only function on the OTHER side. This obviously points to a problem with the torque sensor. I think JonG and other people had a different problem, where it would cut out entirely.

I cleaned and lubricated (with silicone dielectric grease) the two top harness connectors, and it didn't help at all.
I then spliced out the torque sensor connector up top, and soldered the 3 wires together. Didn't help at all either.
Starting to panic and hoping nothing more serious was wrong, i did most of the diagnostics on the EPS control module and the torque sensor (resistance between 12 and 15 ohms, etc). Everything normal.

Finally, I cleaned and lubricated all four parts of the harness with electric contact cleaner + toothbrush, followed by silicone dielectric grease. Checked for good continuity through the whole harness. STILL NOTHING.

Giving up, I had to drive back to school. Half an hour into the drive, I notice "hang on, everything feels alright?!?" Everything was back to normal.

Moral of this story: this harness and system is EXTREMELY fragile/sensitive. if the tiny bit of movement/evaporation/something else tiny that occurred between leaving the house and a half hour later is the difference between power steering working or not, I consider that a VERY finicky system.

So if you've had this problem and cleaning the contacts doesnt work, definitely try replacing the harness and lubricating the contacts, even if you've tried rewiring the harness yourself. That, plus proper cleaning/greasing. Just dont go throwing expensive parts like a steering rack or EPS control module at it until you've REALLY exhausted all the options!

 

I've been having about the same issue. Is there anyway to test the actual control unit? Ohms test? something to that nature.

 

Yes...i forget the link (or PM me your email for the PDF) but get a copy of the service manual, and there's a troubleshooting procedure. the EPS module has a list of normal voltages you can test to see if its working properly. similarly, the torque sensor has resistance measurements you can check with a simple voltmeter. but the point of my post was that those things really fail pretty rarely yet if the troubleshooting process doesnt find anything wrong, the final steps are jsut to replace things suck as the EPS module or the steering rack. EVen though it's almost definitely a problem with the harness.

Because I believe this is an analog system and very sensitive, it's possible that it's very sensitive to problems with resistance, so even if you test the harness for connectivity and it checks out, it might not be getting the proper signals.

 

So, I tested the harness and there was good continuity through the harness. I also took apart the connector that goes into the torque sensor and soldered the pins to the wires and that didn't fix it. I'm leaning more toward the EPS unit but I wanna be sure. Can you send me the troubleshooting PDF? send it to tyler.saunders@rsu24.org

 

Sigh.

 

I'll send you the service manual docs, but honestly, re-read what I wrote above. And your next step is to buy a new harness (mazmart can get it for you for about $100) before replacing any control module or anything like that

 

I recently ran into an issue with my PS Right when i got my engine Replaced. The place that replaced my engine couldn't figure out what happened to my PS since it was working before they replaced my engine and told me i had to take it to mazda. Its throwing a b1342 Error or something. I'm not sure if thats the same problem everyone else is having or not. I tried to clean and reseat the connectors and didn't get any result at all. Should i try and solder them together or just goto mazda and see what they say?

 

fellas i must say this is the best advice ever !!!!!!!!!!!!! such a big problem so eaisly fixed 30 mins work and my steering is as smooth as ever thanks ah million .................

 

Yeah.. i still haven't gotten mine fixed. Took it to mazda and they said the voltage was all off in my car and they wanted to charge me by the hour to figure out the problem and they had already spent 3 days looking at it... I've researched as much as i could and can't seem to figure out the issue either.

 

whoa. is this a common problem ?

 

Well i'm not sure if its "Super Common" but at least the common fix is pretty easy. i didn't get that lucky but most people can just do the fix mazdamaniac did and be good to go.

 

Ah okay. Just wondering cos I was planning to be a rx8 owner at the end of this month is why I ask.

 

I've had power steering failure twice since owning the car (6 yrs). It was a simple matter of getting to the two connectors, disconnecting and reconnecting them. Problem solved.
When the problem occurrences, you don't totally loose steering. It just requires a bit more muscle to turn the wheel. The car is completely drivable.

 

Mine went out this weekend, disconnected everything cleaned with MAF cleaner (sorry all I had) and getting out my garage requires some finesse so I had to have it working.

Worked for two days, now on the way back from lunch it went out again. i'm thinking screw it, just replace the whole harness. I know I saw the part number somewhere but I can't seem to find it, does anyone have this? Thanks. This is the first time this happened in 110,000 miles. But I did have a radiator erupt so I am thinking things got wet.

 

Same problem. Started over with some shuddering when car cold started and begin steering. Thereafter, cleaned conectors and issue corrected for a while. Began again, this time loosing power steering and getting assisted steering light on. Ordered harness for +/- $85 +shp. Replace last w/end. It is working well and no steering light on so far but today noticed some brief shuddering again when cold. I anticipate that it will become an issue again.

If it occurs, next step will be to solder the wires of the torque sensor eliminating that conector. My only thought is that since the harness is new, including its conector, the fail may be at the upper connector part of that connection (the one that keeps going to the module). This is the connector that is located exactly below the coolant reservoir overfill and, althought the wires look sealed to the connector the action of connecting and disconnecting may have damage the thin wire.

Other fix that I applied was adding a longer hose to the OEM overfill hose and taking the discharge practically next to the bottom part of the radiator. Copy that form somebody else.

Both abovementioned fixes were taken after reading about this issue in this thread, so thanks to everyone that have contributed to a solution to this problem. Otherwise, I would probably invested $$$$$ in parts such as the steering rack or the EPS module.

 

You have the part number of that piece of the wiring?

 

Not really. Is weird but it doesn't appear in the webpage of the site (which is based on the OEM Catalog). Neither appear in my invoice. Anyway following is the description:

Items Ordered:
Item: Steering gear and linkage, Steering gear and linkage, Harness, Harness
Price: $89.75
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 1
Total: $89.75

When I want OEM parts, I access a site named "mazda-parts" and select OEM catalog. Probably you will need to register. For any OEM catalog, you will need to search for "steering gear & linkage" and you will see related parts, including the harness.

 

Got this today

 

+1
have found this works for a lot of things over the years

 

Guys I have found a simple fix that worked for me.
I noticed that the plastic housings for the PS connectors were allowing the connectors to move some. So what I did was popped the actual connectors out of their housings and then threw those damn things in the neighbors yard. I used shrink wrap (2 layers) over the connectors after I tighen up their fitting a little.
So far so good --no more issues AND i can still disconnect there if i want and it didnt cost me a dang thing!
OD

 

Yeah I will definitely extend the coolant overflow hose and possibly wrap the connectors in weather tape anyway.