Frozen Steering?????

I use RedLine "power steering fluid" in my Jeeps just for this reason. I did have one regular car that needed it too, a DVCFH.

 

I had a 2004 RX-8 for seven years, from 2003-2010. Only once did I have the electric power steering lock up like that - IIRC, there is a process to "reboot" it and recalibrate it to prevent that. (Note, we get lots of cold up here in the winters ) Unfortunately, I don't recall the procedure.

Check out RX8Club.com to search for this problem or ask for more details.

 

I'd say you're on the right track, water ingress in the boots of the steering rack is a possibility, i can imagine an electric system to be more vulnerable to this since there are no fluid seals needed at the rack ends where the track rods attach, so water could progress further inside and lock things if frozen.

 

If the system is anything like the EPS fitted to european cars, then it was likely caused by low voltage during cranking making the ECU play up. My course of action would be to check the battery and charging circuit and then find someone to hook up the EPS ECU to a diagnostic computer.

Good luck filling it with redline BTW!

 

I'd be very upset if an ECU playing up could lead to "welded steering" as David (the topic poster) described. Failure to assist, okay - but locked? No way I'd have such a system in my car.

 

I had a chance today to browse the Series 1 Troubleshooting section of RX8Club, and found this thread that seems potentially relevant: Power Steering Failure - RX8Club.com

It seems there are 2 connectors on the wiring harness related to the PS system which can get corroded or dirty and prevent the EPS from initializing or powering up. With no PS assist, the steering becomes extremely heavy when parked - several posters said their steering was impossible to move when the car was stationary after having this failure. Aside from just gradual accumulation of dirt, another failure scenario was if the engine overheated and the coolant overflow tank dumped coolant - the overflow hose terminates directly above one or both connectors, and flooding the connectors with glycol seemed directly related to subsequent EPS problems.

Interim solultion was to remove the battery and battery tray to get access to those two connectors, then clean them thoroughly.

 

This power steering fluid is designed for use in cold conditions. Was OEM on some Swedish cars and recommended by some pros for Ferraris for power steering or the F1 system. Pour points are well below normal synthetic ATF, which is what most power steering fluids are.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great information and supports my feeling it was stupid to the extreme to go to electric power steering. The Japanese have been trying to get totally electronic steering with no mechanical link between the steering wheels and the road wheels. To my knowledge it has not been allowed here. It is only a matter of time before a bad connection or a blown fuse will turn you from a driver to a passenger at a very bad time.

 

I could never imagine being in a vehicle where there was just an electrical link between the steering wheel and the road wheels. It just sounds like an idiotic idea, like "wallpaper that glows in the dark" or better yet "lo-cal pizza"; thank you Mr Kramden.

 

It's electric steering not steer by wire though right? Just has an electric power steering pump versus a mechanical one? Although there are at least some cars out there now with actual steer by wire systems.

 

Not quite, there are no pumps or hydraulics in an EPS system - the electric motor is integrated into the steering shaft at the rack, and the motor acts directly on the shaft.

 

I did not even realize they had electric steering. I guess you could pour the Pentosin all over the steering and see what happens. Just kidding.

 

It's less expensive so it is only a matter of time.

 

A lot of the aftermarket PS systems are electric but as a production item they have been around a while. This sounds like in the absence of a signal it holds in position.

What a great idea.

 

We've used them on the DP prototypes, one of the Taylor boys had a 'failure' and went off on a yellow flag lap

I like that old steering column, although that killed Ayrton Senna allegedly and Geoff Brabham had a column detach from the rack as he headed into turn 1 at Pocono.........

Any system will keep the legal system busy and wealthy

 

It's low voltage. Try changing your battery

 

Electric brakes are coming ... so flipping scary IMO.

Pete

 

Not that much more scary than hydraulic if you think about it. People probably had similar issues with the change from mechanical linkage braking to hydraulic. It has benefits over mechanical, I think we can all agree. Yet it has risks too, I even had a temporary but complete failure of the master cylinder on a dual system, leading to no brakes at all out of nowhere. So had a niece of mine, completely separate events and cars. It is far from common but it does happen. Both cars had in common that they were relatively high mileage and older.
A bad electrical connector can be detected quite easily before it happens, or before it becomes dangerous.
That said, I am an EE and I do prefer ageing hydraulics over ageing electronics. Hydraulic is more predictable in failure mode and easier/cheaper to restore to like-new condition and reliability. I expect the biggest issues in the electromechanical areas, the calipers and pedal sensors, but how do you recondition an old ECU so it is like-new reliable? Engine management ECU's have proven very reliable, but would you trust a 30 year old brake ECU in the same way?