Hello everyone and thank you for having me on this form! (My first post!)

Okay, I have used this site to view various different things regarding the RX-8, and now I have just started having issues with mine.

Yesterday, I installed a set of aftermarket fog lights on my car. Everything went smooth (Besides the random spark I had when I was plugging the lead connector for the foglights to the battery- more on that later.)

After I got done with the install, I tried out the lights. They worked perfectly. I went to start the car and something funny happened. First off the car ran rather rough, with a somewhat rough idle. It was shortly after that I realized that my engine light was on and also the power steering light. I then found out that my power steering had stopped working.

So I immediately did some researching, to find out that this is a common problem with this car, and figured that spark I had on the battery had to do with the power steering terminal I was messing with earlier (I originally had the lead wire for the headlights hooked up to that post.) I found some potential fixes. Here is what I have done

- Checked the fuses (none bad)

- Cleaned battery post and terminals

- Flipped the fuse (both ways) to the power steering post connected to the battery, and checked/cleaned the 15 amp Engine Fuse in the engine compartment

- Did a battery reset (unhooking both battery terminals and touching them together for about 10 minutes)

- Reset the ECU and KAM (Keep Alive Memory)

- Drove it for about 3 miles while the power steering was still not working

After resetting the battery a few times and flashed the ECU the car is running fine now, no more rough idle, but I still don't have power steering.

To run the wires to the switch in the cab I ran a clothes hanger with the wires attached (for the fog light switch) through the rubber boot in the firewall where the wiring harness runs through to the engine; through a hole I drilled with a power drill- is it possible I could have damaged just a few wires to operate the power steering on that harness? As far as I know I was not near the wires when I drilled through the boot.

As of right now (6:30 EST 3/13/2012) I have left the car outside with the battery disconnected until further notice. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

I'm afraid trying to diagnose this over the web will be impossible....you can check the continuity of the wiring harness you drilled beside to ensure you haven't hurt any of the wires....can you pull the harness out a bit to see if you nicked the covering in the area of the hole?

Otherwise it is possible you had 2 unrelated things happen at the same time...but usually wiring fails from screwing with it

Have you check the usual power steering failure modes? IE the connectors on the harness between the steering rack and the harness that goes under the radiator outflow??

 

yeah i think thats whats wrong with mine its the harness... i think i read somewhere that we can use the 09 harness??? but cant seem to find the part number but i'll just got to my dealer and get look for it in the diagrams but my steering works but sometimes turning too the left it'll getting jittery or make a weird sound usually when i first start the car its jittery until i turn the wheels a bit and the sound after i drive a while idk maybe its not the harness but its always good to try whats least expensive before i start think about replacing the rack....

 

I have tried to pull out the wiring harness, it is far to snug to even get it to budge a little bit. So next best bet would to be to try to use the test light on each of the 50 wires on that harness...

So the harness between the steering rack and under the radiator outflow- what exactly does the steering rack look like? I hear that this is a common issue with the RX-8's but I am unfamiliar with the appearance.
(This link maybe? http://pressroom.toyota.com.au/newpr...06RAV4-085.jpg)

And under the radiator outflow- is that underneath the reservoir at the very front of the car? Would I have to remove that to see the connectors? Thanks for your quick responses, I have been gone the rest of the night attending to other matters and just now got a chance to respond.

 

^yes. you gotta remove your Airbox and the tray that holds it to locate the connectors...once youve located them, pull them apart and give them a good cleaning with keyboard duster, and dab some dielectric grease on both male and female side of the connectors...try this first, if the problem goes away then you saved your *** some money. happened to me and hasnt came back in 4 years.

 

this is obviously aftermarket, but its right under the tray, thought id share pic to help you understand where the Connectors are at

 

Is it possible I could have blown a relay switch somewhere- and that is why I am getting both a check engine light and the power steering light? Does anyone know off hand of a relay that would be handling both (maybe idle control because that was one of the issues I had after putting the lights in) and the power steering? Just a thought.

 

Excellent, my aftermarket box looks just like yours, thanks for the great picture I'll go pull it apart and let you know what happens.

 

get the code read, we'll never know whats REALLY wrong until then, could be something as small as your gas cap going bad (coincidentally) and your PS going out at the same time.

 

Yeah I should go get that looked at- I know that this is related to when I put my lights in, as I crossed my wrench on the positive battery terminal with something on my car that made an obnoxious spark, and after that is when I started having issues. Perhaps the engine code shall shed some light on the issue... now to find someone with the code reader! I'll have my friend or local mechanic check it out sometime this week.

 

YEA do as i said in my first post, should only cost your about 7 bucks MAX for the stuff needed, autozone has those little packets of dielectric grease for about $1.20, the keyboard duster should cost you ~$4...if you cant get the code read, do that at least to see if your PS comes back then we can definitely cross that out

BTW, theres 2 connectors under there, and i Believe its the one with the Thicker cables and grey connector. doesnt hurt to do both tho. just unplug the battery to make sure no power is being ran thru

 

Thanks again, I'll pick up the parts at the hardware store (I work there part time so I know they have those few items) hopefully tomorrow and I should have about 2 hours to play with it before work. I'll fill in as soon as I find out some more info/ give the 'quick fix' a shot.

 

Alright everyone here is the update as of 11:05 pm 3/14/2012

After removing the air filter, air box, battery, some screws, finding the two connectors, cleaning them out with the air compressor, filling the plugs with di-electric grease, re-installing the air box, loosing a few screws, slinging a few choice words, and plugging back in the battery and other components, I went to start the car. I did the locking left and right reset on the steering wheel, crossed my fingers, and turned the key.

I started the car and wah-lah! POWER STEERING HAS RETURNED! I am not going to lie I did not think this rather simple fix would work, but it did.

**Thanks to dozer for supplying me with the invaluable pictures to aid me in my work to locate the connectors**

However on the down side, I still have a check engine light/engine code, even after flashing the ECU again. Guess I will have to get that looked at tomorrow if possible. Don't know what is causing that as the car seems to be running fine, will have to test drive it some to see how it runs.

I will update with more information as it becomes available. Thanks again for everyone's help thus-far.

 

Okay Test Drive:

Power Steering works better then I remembered.

Car is not idling and keeps stalling when in neutral. At least its not the rough idle but it is a pretty annoying issue. I read the eccentric shaft sensor may need a cleaning. I peaked at the sensor from the top of the motor and it is quite dirty. I'm going to get the engine code looked at tomorrow hopefully and not fool with the sensor tonight, I don't really feel like jacking up the car atm.

Thoughts anyone?

 

you are most certainly welcome

is the CEL blinking or is it solid?

 

The CEL is solid, no blinking what-so-ever

 

In that case, you need to get it read so maybe we can help you.

 

Okay I got a code reader from Radio Shack for my iPhone (Called the BT1, all you tech geeks check it out here http://gopointtech.com/products/bt1/ ) it actually worked pretty well.

Anyways, it gave me 2 "Codes" really one code and two descriptions.

Here is the info directly off of the phone-

Code number: P0103
Description 1: "Mass or Volume Air Flow Sensor "A" Circuit High"
Help: "Circuit issues are usually caused by loose connectors or faulty wiring."
Description 2: "Land Rover - Mass Air Flow Sensor High Out of Range Fault"

Any thoughts?

 

clean and check your MAF sensor, check the connection too. make sure nothings burnt out

 

Alright thanks again for the picture!

I checked the sensor and cleaned out the connections and put some do electric grease on it and I'm still having issues... Possibly I burnt up the sensor when I sparked the battery?

 

possibly. buy a new maf, im stumped...maybe someone can chime in

 

Anyone? Maybe that Erratic Shaft Sensor I mentioned earlier? I heard sometimes that leads to rough idle issues

 

put your car on the on position and press on the brake 20 times fast^, your gauges will act funny for 1 second, wait then turn the car back on. maybe that help

 

I've tried that- I have also tried the odometer trick to no avail. Maybe I should see if the shop comes up with more codes.... hmm. Thanks for your help thusfar dozer

 

My mechanic friend is coming to the house tomorrow to pick up my old turbo 350 4x4 transmission. He is also bringing a snap on scan tool; updates when they become available.