Finally replaced my last coil(I know Ishould've just replaced all 4 ont just 1 at a time, they've all failed over the last 12 months) and had a week of problem free motoring until now. Started the car and pulled away but the steering felt like there was no assistance and as i turned the wheel it felt notchy like the assistance kept coming ond going. And occasionally it feels like you have to use slightly more effort than normal to change lanes but mostly when warm there are no problems. Oh and the warning light doesn't come on either. Any ideas???

 

This has been covered numerous times recently. Check the power steering plug under the stock air intake box next to the coolant reservoir. its either dirty or toasted from coolant overflow or elements. Clean, replace or hardwire it

 

yea its really retarded how the steering harness sits under the coolant overflow... it explains when it gets hot coolant will expand and possibly overflow on the steering harness and corrode them, remove the intake undertray and check clean the connections what yksing said.

 

Thanks guys I'll let you know how it goes

 

Any other ideas?
I checked the two connectors underneath the air box and the contacts inside are shiny and new.
Anything else I can check?

 

where do you stay at? if youre in socal i can help you out

 

We've experienced this several times. Check the ground. Get some sandpaper and clean the metal that the ground wire attaches to.

Another thing to do is start the car (and you need two people to perform this exercise) and have someone turn the wheel. You want them to put load on the steering wheel but not actually turn the wheel. Have the other person wiggle the heck out of the wiring harness. MOST ALL OF THE TIME it's the wiring and not the actual steering unit. The RX8 wiring harness is a PITA to diagnose problems with. PITA. Spend more time checking your contacts with a powerful flashlight and a very several tweezers. Push the pins back into the connector gently.

Invest some slow, quiet time in this diagnosis. Often people quickly breeze through tlhis effort and cross it off the list only to end up coming back to it.

Eric

 

Check torque sensor and power steering motor.

 

Hey thanks for the offer but I'm based in the UK.

The thing I don't get is that I never get a warning light, it's just kinda notchy and it's worse when cold.

 

Cheers I'll give it a go, so much for relaxing on my day off

 

tried cleaning the pins in the connectors with sandpaper but still no joy any other ideas? also if it was a problem with the wiring why is the problem worse when its cold. on first start up its like there is no assistance but after a few minutes it gets a little better