Sniper EFI wiring

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Thanks Chis for the feedback. I have worked a long time (pretty much all weekend) to make sure I understood exactly what wires could be used and which ones are not needed. I think I'm going to still "confirm" some of the connections with a meter before making any connections.

Then comes some more fun, cutting out unused wires and tossing them. Baby's going on a diet!
 

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well you should confirm ALL your connections either with a meter/test light or by putting power/ground on the wire to trigger it and confirm it is correct. When I installed alarms we would have a dozen wires to connect but we had to confirm that each was correct prior to doing it. Trust me you just can't trust wiring diagrams and color codes as often as you would like....
 
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At this point I can only assume the ECU is DOA. Got my laptop connected, I tried with and without the touch screen attached, no bueno. Unless someone knows more and I am missing it. Got power to the main harness and pink wire (12v each). I should be able to at least "talk" to the ECU, right, not time out?

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Yes if you have power on the correct ignition wires to power the ecu up you should be able to connect, are you sure that the version of the software that your using is correct/matching for what is on the ecu? They do updates and if your ecu is running a different version of the software than it might not communicate well or at all and might need to do an update on the ecu before you can start changing things, or downloading an older version of the software to match the ecu.
 
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Per the folks on the Holley forum, I cut the pink ignition wire and put it straight to the battery to power up the Sniper, so the ignition is completely out of the picture. I can try again with the ignition on and see if it makes a difference.

As for the software and ECU versioning, I'm not sure sure how I could tell. The Sniper software, I just downloaded last week, so it should be the latest. The Sniper itself, I bought back in June. The ECU firmware shouldn't be that old based on that, I could be wrong. I can confirm the software's version easy enough, but without being able to communicate with the ECU, how do you get the version. I don't think it is listed in the installation manuals and even if it was, you can't be sure it's correct.
 

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Per the folks on the Holley forum, I cut the pink ignition wire and put it straight to the battery to power up the Sniper, so the ignition is completely out of the picture. I can try again with the ignition on and see if it makes a difference.

As for the software and ECU versioning, I'm not sure sure how I could tell. The Sniper software, I just downloaded last week, so it should be the latest. The Sniper itself, I bought back in June. The ECU firmware shouldn't be that old based on that, I could be wrong. I can confirm the software's version easy enough, but without being able to communicate with the ECU, how do you get the version. I don't think it is listed in the installation manuals and even if it was, you can't be sure it's correct.

Go to this link and download the SD Card Contents. Save your old SD Card Contents...just in case. Copy these files to your Sniper SD Card and pop it in. UNPLUG THE Y-PLUG AND/OR THE LAPTOP CABLE. ONLY have the handheld plugged in when updating firmware.

It will load the latest firmware to the handheld and the ECU. No, the SNiper may not have shipped with the latest. Don't cycle or interrupt power while doing this or you can inadvertently get a firmware mismatch between the handheld and the ECU that will complicate your life. This can also happen if you try to update the FW with the Y-Plug or Laptop plugged in. UNPLUG THEM.

What happens when the handheld is plugged in? Anything?

Do you hear the injectors cycle when the key is turned on (or in this case, when the pink wire is touched to the battery)?
 
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Hey all. I know it's been a few days, but I had to weigh my options and figure out next steps. Unfortunately, I have reverted all of my work back to what I had before. I removed the Sniper/Dizzy/intake etc. and put back my GT-40 upper and lower/24# injectors/larger throttle body/larger MAF/MSD dizzy for Ford.

Somewhere in this whole process, I managed to break my heater core (one of the copper tubes coming out of the core moved too far and broke) and had anti-freeze pouring out the core drain onto the exhaust. Baby is in a shop today getting that fixed.

Holley finally got back to me on my first email to them around the time I started posting here. I replied to them today and looks like I need to return the Sniper for a repair at Holley.

I thank you all for the encouragement, replies and feedback. Again, I need to weigh my options.
This is the grand scheme:
1. I have a 351W that is mostly built, bored 0,040 over, stroker kit, AFR 185 aluminum heads and an Edelbrock 4bbl Performer RPM intake.
2. My calculations put it at 395 c.i.
I hope to someday put that into this car with the Sniper system, so this was kind of a test run... epic fail.
Back to square one.
 
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Go to this link and download the SD Card Contents. Save your old SD Card Contents...just in case. Copy these files to your Sniper SD Card and pop it in. UNPLUG THE Y-PLUG AND/OR THE LAPTOP CABLE. ONLY have the handheld plugged in when updating firmware.

It will load the latest firmware to the handheld and the ECU. No, the SNiper may not have shipped with the latest. Don't cycle or interrupt power while doing this or you can inadvertently get a firmware mismatch between the handheld and the ECU that will complicate your life. This can also happen if you try to update the FW with the Y-Plug or Laptop plugged in. UNPLUG THEM.

What happens when the handheld is plugged in? Anything?

Do you hear the injectors cycle when the key is turned on (or in this case, when the pink wire is touched to the battery)?
Hand held is completely dead, nothing appears on the screen.
When the key is turned to the on position or the pink wire to the battery, same thing... nothing, no injector cycle, no fuel pump.
 

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its been a while since I was knee deep in the wiring of it, was there only one ignition wire or was there a true ignition and then a 2nd ignition as well? If you have power/ground on the correct power/ground wires and the ignition wires and nothing is powered up then if all the harnesses are plugged in all the way then it sucks but it sounds like its a bad system possibly.
 

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its been a while since I was knee deep in the wiring of it, was there only one ignition wire or was there a true ignition and then a 2nd ignition as well? If you have power/ground on the correct power/ground wires and the ignition wires and nothing is powered up then if all the harnesses are plugged in all the way then it sucks but it sounds like its a bad system possibly.
On the Sniper there is just one ignition wire that gets connected (pink) and that is in the run/start operation. The other is a main RED to the battery direct. Pretty much the same as the HP.
 

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Sounds like a bad unit. It happens. I had two bad FiTech ECUs out of the box. If their customer service was any better than a flaming pile of absolute garbage, I would've stuck with it. But I like the Sniper muuuuch better anyway.
 

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Holley has great service most of the time but I am not sure how they go about a self installed ecu. There is probably just as good of a chance if not better that the ones that are returned are because of user err causing a problem but I don't know if/how they go about it.
 
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I've been working with Holley for a return/repair. I've got a UPS label coming to send it back. I'll update once I hear more.
 

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they have always been great for support when I have had questions and I hoped they were as good with returns or problems.
 

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Holley has great service most of the time but I am not sure how they go about a self installed ecu. There is probably just as good of a chance if not better that the ones that are returned are because of user err causing a problem but I don't know if/how they go about it.

I think they've been hit hard by the pandemic and service has fallen off as a result. If you can get through the phone line, they will take care of you lol. Getting through may take a while though.

I've been working with Holley for a return/repair. I've got a UPS label coming to send it back. I'll update once I hear more.

Good to hear!

Fwiw, situations like this are why I buy everything through Summit. They have never denied me a return when I had an issue. On my ill-fated FiTech install, they replaced a defective one once because FiTech was useless, then refunded me in full after the second one, when I decided to go Sniper.

With them, you have two sources to look for help, Holley themselves and Summit. I'm sure it's the same with Jegs, etc, I have just always been happy with Summit.

Plus, Jegs site seems to have been planned out by the same person that planned FiTech's customer service.
 
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I whole heartedly agree, so far I have good experiences with Holley's phone and email support. The Holley forum, not so much. I too prefer Summit Racing for most of my purchases, including this Sniper. Fortunately I haven't had to return too many items so I have that going for me and the shipping is pretty quick. Jegs is good, but I find they tend to be more Chevy/GM focused and have very little in the way of Mustangs especially SN95's.
 

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the forum use to be a little more helpful but now if Danny can't cut/paste a link to the factory instructions we are already having some kind of issue with then there is not much of a response. There is a holley facebook page that is not to bad though.
 

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the forum use to be a little more helpful but now if Danny can't cut/paste a link to the factory instructions we are already having some kind of issue with then there is not much of a response. There is a holley facebook page that is not to bad though.

YES. That is infuriating. He is extremely knowledgeable and has written a ton on the subject, I totally get that he is trying to reduce the workload. But linking me to the same info I already found when searching and didn't understand or find helpful...doesn't usually help all that much.

I found and paid two separate guys that helped with my tuning. I usually make my own changes these days, but it is nice to have them as a backup.
 

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