Sniper EFI wiring

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So it seems as though you are familiar with the "assistance" I got from the Holley forum. It's too bad, because as a kid growing up, "upgrading" from a QuadraJet to a Holley was a big deal. Now, there are too many other choices for them to be so carefree about quality and support. But, what do I know.

The Sniper is on its way back for repair, replace or regret (we'll wait to see what this costs me).

In the mean time, I am going to see about getting the current set up either retuned and dyno'ed or since I have a Terminator X that was never installed, have the same shop (yes, they are a certified Holley installer) install that and set up the tune(s). I need to see what that will cost me too.
 

Chris Stephens

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So it seems as though you are familiar with the "assistance" I got from the Holley forum. It's too bad, because as a kid growing up, "upgrading" from a QuadraJet to a Holley was a big deal. Now, there are too many other choices for them to be so carefree about quality and support. But, what do I know.

The Sniper is on its way back for repair, replace or regret (we'll wait to see what this costs me).

In the mean time, I am going to see about getting the current set up either retuned and dyno'ed or since I have a Terminator X that was never installed, have the same shop (yes, they are a certified Holley installer) install that and set up the tune(s). I need to see what that will cost me too.

It shouldn't cost you a penny...you got this new and it never ran, right? I would tell them you aren't paying a cent. That it's already cost you having the car down, new gaskets, rewiring, paying to ship it back, never mind the frustration involved and the subsequent alcohol you had to buy to deal with it. Firm, but pleasant with them, but don't let them stick you with a bill imo.
 

ttocs

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It shouldn't cost you a penny...you got this new and it never ran, right? I would tell them you aren't paying a cent. That it's already cost you having the car down, new gaskets, rewiring, paying to ship it back, never mind the frustration involved and the subsequent alcohol you had to buy to deal with it. Firm, but pleasant with them, but don't let them stick you with a bill imo.
With this being a system that he installed there is more to it than its new system and should work perfectly. If it was done by an authorized shop then yes he should have zero accountability but there are probably a million ways to hook something up wrong and cause a problem that can't be fixed.
 

Chris Stephens

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With this being a system that he installed there is more to it than its new system and should work perfectly. If it was done by an authorized shop then yes he should have zero accountability but there are probably a million ways to hook something up wrong and cause a problem that can't be fixed.

I could probably acquiesce to that IF there weren't so many QC issues with the Snipers out of the box. If OP is sure that he did everything right and troubleshot it properly, I would insist on it being covered personally.

That doesn't mean Holley won't shoot him down and say, "Give us the money or you don't get your part back."

But what else is a warranty for on a part that is advertised as "easy" and for non-'computer/tuning wizzes' if not for a situation like this? If Holley won't cover this scenario, they could easily tell any customer, "Oh, looks to us like you charged the battery with Sniper plugged in" (or some other excuse) and never have to cover any warranty at all.
 

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I wasn't aware there were quality issues with the snipers out of the box. My experience has only been with the hp.
 

Chris Stephens

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I wasn't aware there were quality issues with the snipers out of the box. My experience has only been with the hp.

Yeah, there are a lot of guys with issues. On the second or third page, I posted a photo of zip tieing injectors. It's practically mandatory, as you'll probably end up running on 3 injectors at some point if you don't. It happened to me on the dyno with my new 427w...thankfully we figured it out and fixed it before we hurt anything. Injector drivers seem to have trouble and have to be sent back to Holley for repair. Some guys have trouble with RFI/EMI, though I haven't and I think a lot of that particular issue is install-related. The injectors themselves sometimes fail and Holley doesn't directly sell a replacement (and it's not common to a factory vehicle like most other parts and sensors), although EFI System Pro does. The fuel pressure regulators had a lot of trouble for a while, but I think they got that one solved now. Coolant temp sensors are cheap and usually read 10-15* higher than other gauges. Throttle blades have trouble closing, especially on the secondaries, and a lot of guys add another turn to the spring.

I don't have most of these things, and I have had the system for almost two years trouble-free. But there are definitely some common things that can be traced back to Holley. I still don't regret buying it by any means, it works well for what it is. And I think there's some truth to the "That's hot rodding" and "That's racin" mentality.

Someday in the future I'm gonna swap the Sniper over to my 1983 F-100 and run a Terminator or something on the Mustang.
 

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What is the advantage of the sniper over the hp?

Simplicity, ease of install, and price.

It's about $1000 for the base Sniper, takes the place of nearly any carb, and has the ECU mounted directly in the throttle body, reducing the wiring and mess into an external computer.

It's really designed for cars that just want the reliability of EFI without too many features. And to compete with other low-cost units from FiTech, etc. Not every car/driver NEEDS the flexibility of the HP, Termi, Dominator, etc. It would be the perfect thing to put on my old 1983 F-100, for instance. It's a 300 Inline 6, auto trans, 3.55 gears, the very basics of everything. I just want the dang thing to start up and run every time. Past that, I don't care about power or anything else. I don't care about monitoring fuel pressure, oil pressure, temp, anything. I just want to be able to crank it up in the winter without having to spray starting fluid and then cranking and cranking to get the mechanical pump to refill the bowls.

The Mustang I think I would enjoy taking a new direction. I've seen a lot of guys with the Holley dashes and like them. The Sniper doesn't monitor oil pressure, fuel pressure, oil temp, any of that. So I run those separately on mechanical gauges (well, I don't have oil temp yet, but will soon). Being able to input and datalog those would be awesome. Speed, too! I wish I could monitor speed after a track session is over within the Holley program. Sure, I can look at a Log and figure out how fast I was going based on speed and gearing, but that's difficult unless I pay attention to exactly where I started the log on track. Harry's lap timer does it, but that's a separate program I have to look at.
 
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So what are your thoughts on getting the Term X installed versus just keeping the OBDI and getting it tuned? Worth it or no.
 

ttocs

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if you can find someone that is happy to still tune the obd1 and is good with it I don't think there is anything really wrong with it. Anymore though its just hard to find someone comfortable with it, or that would rather steer you towards a new ecu either for their ease fo tuning or for their profit
 
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Update: Got an email from Holley with a UPS tracking number. Sniper is on its way back, should be delivered tomorrow. So far, no charges. ;)
 

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