Holley Sniper EFI Issues

[Vshofel]

hi everyone, i did an efi conversion about 18 months ago - i know it was running rich from day 1 -running high RPMs at idle, but i fell in love with the peppiness of the action - but lately for the past month - its been acting up and yesterday i had misfires, sluggish, no power , black smoke from exhausts, smell of running rich - i know it was running rich from day1 - but yesterday. i couldn't get it home - the IAC was running very high and had to get it towed - in the past maybe shut it down for a minute or two and everything went away - (this happened maybe 3 o4 times in the past 2 months), now i really need to get this dialed in - and have lost confidence in my mechanic back in Florida - i'm currently in NY (Long Island) with the Bronco - and not sure how to bring it into - i'm not sure what the issue - usually the IAC was always around a 20

i feel i need an expert on the Sniper to dial it in - get it right -and fixe whatever may have been done wrong - to ensure its seamless - and the feeling of being towed - sucks - i guess i'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction on someone who really knows EFI and making sure i'm dialed in correctly and everything is setup and running perfect -

Help - have no idea how to find a qualified person to assist

 

[73azbronco]

Have you heard of sniper 2? Search the forums for quite a few sniper threads with issues.

 

[Vshofel]

I just did sniper 1 a year ago. I'm not comfortable dropping the money and calling it a loss to go to v2 sounds pretty crazy I can't get a specialist to dial it in and get it right. Just becuase I lost confidence 1lin 1 mechanic. Doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel

 

[BGBronco]

I went from FiTech to Sniper. I'd say it was a lateral move, at best. I have aluminum foil and duct tape shielding the electronics. Works well but thats pretty sad.

Rumors are that the Sniper 2 resolves the RFI / EMI issues, not sure what else, but I'm not headed in that direction.

That sounds like it may be a clogged injector. I did replace the injectors on my FiTech and somewhat solved the problem. You might start by calling the local hot rod shops and trying to locate a Sniper guru in the area. I don't think they need to be Ford-specific. Pretty sure the IAC needs to be below 10. There may be some posts about adjusting the Sniper at the throttle body on youtube as well.

 

[Vshofel]

thats what i'm looking for now a sniper guru - i'm hoping someone can suggest somebody or point me in the right direction - its the 1 thing that mechanics just are clueless and most claim they know and have no clue , or experiment on your dime...sucks

 

[36Fan]

Have you tried the Holley EFI forums, the place that deals with just Holley EFI?

 

[bronkenn]

Do you have a fuel pressure gauge in line before the unit. I think that is the most useful part. I had this problem and my fuel pressue was way high. The regulator on the ide of the unit was bad. Put on a new regulator and runs good. By the way mine is a Fitech, but could be the same issue. If not, I would agree with BG about a defective injector.

 

[Wild horse 75]

Get on the Holley forums there’s tons of help there. The other thing you’re going to need to do is datalog when it happens so you can show the Holley techs what it’s doing. One nice thing about efi and datalogging is you can have very little knowledge and someone on the other side of the globe can walk you through what to do online.

 

[73azbronco]

Vshofel, can you do us a favor, call Holley, complain, and state to the effect if Sniper 1 was so good, why do they now have sniper2, and how can you get me a cheap one or trade the 1 in for a 2?

 

[chuckji]

Contact the guy's a EFI System Pro. They will review your data logs and guide you through troubleshooting and config file corrections.
Assuming initial set up is correct, likely causes of what you described could be: IAC is not adjusted correctly, there is an exhaust leak, secondary butterflies are not closing all the way, EMI. First three are easy to investigate/fix, fourth can be identified through a data log.

 

[73azbronco]

Great suggestions chuckji

 

[walls]

hi everyone, i did an efi conversion about 18 months ago - i know it was running rich from day 1 -running high RPMs at idle, but i fell in love with the peppiness of the action - but lately for the past month - its been acting up and yesterday i had misfires, sluggish, no power , black smoke from exhausts, smell of running rich - i know it was running rich from day1 - but yesterday. i couldn't get it home - the IAC was running very high and had to get it towed - in the past maybe shut it down for a minute or two and everything went away - (this happened maybe 3 o4 times in the past 2 months), now i really need to get this dialed in - and have lost confidence in my mechanic back in Florida - i'm currently in NY (Long Island) with the Bronco - and not sure how to bring it into - i'm not sure what the issue - usually the IAC was always around a 20

i feel i need an expert on the Sniper to dial it in - get it right -and fixe whatever may have been done wrong - to ensure its seamless - and the feeling of being towed - sucks - i guess i'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction on someone who really knows EFI and making sure i'm dialed in correctly and everything is setup and running perfect -

Help - have no idea how to find a qualified person to assist

Where are you on longisland. I am located in sayville in Suffolk county. Maybe I can help you out.

 

[Vshofel]

I Cant get it to turn over - i tried everything - so frustrating

 

[Vshofel]

Where are you on longisland. I am located in sayville in Suffolk county. Maybe I can help you out.

im in quogue - do you have a good mechanic out here that can assist and knows the holley product that can repair and dial it in

 

[sprdv1]

I just did sniper 1 a year ago. I'm not comfortable dropping the money and calling it a loss to go to v2 sounds pretty crazy I can't get a specialist to dial it in and get it right. Just becuase I lost confidence 1lin 1 mechanic. Doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel

I don't blame ya...

 

[DirtDonk]

I Cant get it to turn over - i tried everything - so frustrating

How are you using the phrase “turn over“ in this situation?
Presumably, you mean the starter will crank, but the engine will not fire?
Reason I’m asking is that many many people use the term to turn over to be the same as cranking. Not the same as starting.
While many do still refer to turning over, as starting.
So just checking to be sure.

 

[WILDHORSES]

No expert here other than personal experience. Sniper 1, installed ran great then after a year or so started acting up. Dumping lots of fuel. Problem not the Sniper, it had a intake manifold gasket leak. The self tuning Sniper was dumping fuel because of the O2 sensor reading. Fixed gasket and reset the Sniper all good again. Other some what common issue to look for is single injector is bad. If the problem is intermittent and you can get the rig in the garage while it's acting bad look straight down the throttle body and you can see if the injectors are putting fuel in or not. Those units have to go back to Holley at least mine did.

Had had the same problem with Mitch's Edelbrock ProFlow 4. The computers are just doing what they think they need to do.

Tech tip: Get a can of starting fluid and spray it around the manifold, throttle body etc. to check for leaks. Sometimes we have done this stuff so long we forget the basics.

Jim

 

[73azbronco]

You can buy a smoke leak detect for $80 to check intake and pcv line leaks. Also good for exhaust leaks

 

[Vshofel]

How are you using the phrase “turn over“ in this situation?
Presumably, you mean the starter will crank, but the engine will not fire?
Reason I’m asking is that many many people use the term to turn over to be the same as cranking. Not the same as starting.
While many do still refer to turning over, as starting.
So just checking to be sure.

Yes, it will not fire - i changed the coil and ignition and tried spraying starting liquid - still will not fire - maybe sparkplugs after that i'm not sure , i know the IAC seems high - on initial when trying to start

 

[Vshofel]

i tried the starting fluid, no luck - im just trying to find a mechanic that knows the holley system and old fords (really more the holley since most mechanics should be able to do the 302 and older parts -