My little girl threw a temper tantrum today. (NEED Sniper advice)

[ggunter]

Took the car to the local truck stop this morning to weigh it, (2320 with a full tank of gas) and when I left it gave me a little burble for about a second. Went to McDonalds for some breakfast, started right up, and when I left the parking lot it started a very heavy burbling and barely running I got it off the road and tried starting several times. You can tell its loading up really heavily with black smoke and then shuts off. I'm thinking oxygen sensor but would like to hear from someone with Sniper experience. Mass air flow sensor would be the only other thing I can think of. It does have correct fuel pressure.

[Blitzboy54]

JB in Nova had a similar problem and needed a new O2 sensor. Do you have the hand held? I would want to know what the read back is.

[BradCraig]

If O2 sensor, First thing to do is turn off the learning so you'll run off base table.

[TMartinLVNV]

This is starting to get a little concerning for me. If it is the O2 sensor, it will be the third one I've heard of in a short amount of time. I have 8000 miles on mine with no issues. But I'm starting to think about possibly carrying a spare in the trunk. How is yours mounted?

[Norm B]

If shutting off the learning to eliminate the issue doesn't work then you might have the same issue I did. I had similar issues and after multiple calls to Holley tech it was determined to be RF interference. The Holley guys had me wrap the distributor with aluminum foil as a test. That solved the issue, so I made a permanent shield.

HTH

Norm

[ggunter]

I called Holley tech line and they asked if the A/F was over 35.0 but mine wouldn't read. it said something about inital in the box. I ordered another o2 sensor it will be here tomorrow. If that fixes it that's fine but it only lasted 1000 miles. that a bit concerning to me. I will defineitely carry a spare but does'nt say much for the product. We will see. I did not know you could take it out of closed loop. I will learn how to do that so I can get it home next time. I will try the RF thing if that doesnt fix it. Jus funny it's been running perfect so far so im not sure that the RF would be the problem. I'll put the 02 sensor in tomorrow and report back. Thanks for the help.

[mburger]

My Edelbrock pro flo 4 system was giving me trouble. I called Support and they sent me a new O2 sensor. I swapped sensors and took it for a spin. 2 miles down the road and my AFR went from 13.2 to full-scale lean at 23. Of course the computer is now telling the motor it needs lots more fuel which makes for a lousy running car with black smoke and bucking. It was only after I got it home driving terribly that I remembered I could take it out of Learning mode. Like you, it was all new to me and you forget the simple troubleshooting steps. Anyway, my point is to not be too hard on the sniper at least yet because auto parts quality across-the-board seems to be a lost art. Bad 02 sensors happen I think more often than they should for sure. I had to replace my coil, 02 sensor, and TPS all within the first couple of months. To me, the “Edelbrock system” is the ECU. Everything else is just parts.

[DW66]

My Edelbrock pro flo 4 system was giving me trouble. I called Support and they sent me a new O2 sensor. I swapped sensors and took it for a spin. 2 miles down the road and my AFR went from 13.2 to full-scale lean at 23. Of course the computer is now telling the motor it needs lots more fuel which makes for a lousy running car with black smoke and bucking. It was only after I got it home driving terribly that I remembered I could take it out of Learning mode. Like you, it was all new to me and you forget the simple troubleshooting steps. Anyway, my point is to not be too hard on the sniper at least yet because auto parts quality across-the-board seems to be a lost art. Bad 02 sensors happen I think more often than they should for sure. I had to replace my coil, 02 sensor, and TPS all within the first couple of months. To me, the “Edelbrock system” is the ECU. Everything else is just parts.

I would wrap distributor in tin foil as well. I have seen this fix a very similar situation.

[Papa]

Question: Did you de-pin the unused wires from the Sniper harness? If you did, did you add the plugs to seal the empty pin locations? These steps can help with RFI problems, too. Any unused wires can act like an antenna. Holley offers a simple de-pinning kit with everything needed.

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_injection/wiring_shop/wiring_tools/parts/567-101

[frankeeski]

I'm sure Holley support asked this but............... Is the Holley main wire feed run directly to the battery?

[ggunter]

Well the oxygen sensor fixed the tantrum. Now she's calmed down and back to the little tramp she is. It's a quick fix and now that I have that experience under my belt it will be a required spare part to carry with me. I am thankful for all who offered their help. That's what I love about this Forum. I did learn how to take it out of closed loop and into fuel so that's a good thing to know. This Sniper is my first foray into the aftermarket fuel injection world so I'll learn as I go. I'm an old fart who grew up with carbs and being spoiled with modern fuel injection and the instant start, I wanted my car to start that way too... And by the way Hooray for AAA.

[J R Jones]

g, I have had issues with replacement parts vs OEM, and indeed when I specify to my Bumper to Bumper guy that I want OEM quality or better, I still have reliability issues.
I have had Toyota and Lexus exhaust and brake parts go 150K miles and more but Walker and Wagner replacements last 20K miles. That is unsatisfactory.
I find that if I locate OEM suppliers like NGK, Nippon Denso and Nippon Seiki that the quality is also in the replacement parts. That makes RockAuto and Amazon supplier alternatives.
Amazon listed a Honda hood latch at $80 and a Chinese replica at $30. The photos of the cheaper unit looked good. The actual part is thinner metal and not plated. I should have known better.
My Nippon Denso O2 sensors typically last over 150K miles.
jim

[mburger]

“ Now she's calmed down and back to the little tramp she is.”
Hahaha. That one cracked me up. Glad you got it going, and I also carry a spare.

[bobl]

If you have an 02 sensor failure you can unplug it and the engine will run in open loop just fine, assuming you have a good map. However, with the Holley EFI systems (and many others) if you have an 02 sensor failure it most likely will garbage up the learn table so even unplugging it will not get the engine running correctly. So, the best way to deal with it is to save a known good tune and have it available in the car. If you have a problem you can reload that tune and be good to go, just like backing up your computer files. I've had to do that on several occasions over the years to resolve issues. That's a shortcoming of a "learning" ECU. Garbage in = Garbage out!

Bob

[ggunter]

Thanks for that tip Bobl. I had to reset back to start new parameters and do the relearn and everything worked fine. I'm learning as I go. I hope the Oxy sensor is not a nagging thing to have to deal with. But Iv'e reard on here that a fair amount of people have had to replace them. Not really a big deal to replace, but $119 none the less.

[TMartinLVNV]

I just ordered a Bosch 17025 O2 sensor on Amazon for $60 delivered to keep in my trunk.

[phileas_fogg]

I just ordered a Bosch 17025 O2 sensor on Amazon for $60 delivered to keep in my trunk.

Double check that the sensor you bought is compatible with whatever Holley system you're running. On my Terminator, Holley dorks with the impedance at the sensor, allegedly for more accurate reading, but the effect is that I'm locked in to buying Holley's more expensive sensor.


John

[TMartinLVNV]

I did some research and all of the websites are saying they are interchangeable if not the same part with a different brand on it. I'm planning on swapping it out and running it to verify.

I will report back here the results.

[weendoggy]

Double check that the sensor you bought is compatible with whatever Holley system you're running. On my Terminator, Holley dorks with the impedance at the sensor, allegedly for more accurate reading, but the effect is that I'm locked in to buying Holley's more expensive sensor.
John

The Holley HP (Terminator) and Sniper use different O2 sensors. Not compatible.

[SourceLee]

My Edelbrock pro flo 4 system was giving me trouble. I called Support and they sent me a new O2 sensor. I swapped sensors and took it for a spin. 2 miles down the road and my AFR went from 13.2 to full-scale lean at 23. Of course the computer is now telling the motor it needs lots more fuel which makes for a lousy running car with black smoke and bucking. It was only after I got it home driving terribly that I remembered I could take it out of Learning mode. Like you, it was all new to me and you forget the simple troubleshooting steps. Anyway, my point is to not be too hard on the sniper at least yet because auto parts quality across-the-board seems to be a lost art. Bad 02 sensors happen I think more often than they should for sure. I had to replace my coil, 02 sensor, and TPS all within the first couple of months. To me, the “Edelbrock system” is the ECU. Everything else is just parts.

"Everything else is just parts". Insightful!

[mburger]

"Everything else is just parts". Insightful!

Thanks! Next time I’ll include pictures too!

[J R Jones]

A word of advice, O2 sensors do not tolerate silicone vapor or fumes in the exhaust.

[ggunter]

I think they have silicone that is O2 sensor safe.

[J R Jones]

I think they have silicone that is O2 sensor safe.

The low odor, lighter bond silicone sealant is listed as sensor safe.
The high bond acidic odor silicone is not.
Silicone spray will ruin an O2 sensor immediately. I am not sure about silicone grease.
You spends your money and you takes your chances. I will not gamble like that.
jim

[Jeff Kleiner]

I think they have silicone that is O2 sensor safe.

Permatex Ultra Copper

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/wcsstore/CVWEB/staticproductimage/N2132/large/7160075_ptx_81878_pri_larg.jpg

Jeff