NEW $2000 HOLLEY SNIPER LEFT ME STRANDED

My New Holley Sniper system has crapped out after only a few months. What went wrong? Troubleshooting it only leads to a failure on the Holley system itself.
Affiliate Disclosure: Links in this article may be affiliate links. Affiliate links provide me a small commission on purchases of products, or by clicking on the link.
Link to my socials:
jovanidantegriego.com/mylinks
Enjoying my channel? Have my videos helped you out, consider donating
jovanidantegriego.com/donate
Thank you to Ancel for sending me the
Ancel PB100 Power Probe: amzn.to/3pcozMy
Follow me on twitch, Live every Thursday Evening:
twitch.tv/jovanidante

[@deviantrebel6326]

Power probe is dangerous if you are unsure of how much power a wire or circuit is supposed to get. Say something ecu might only get 5V, but you put 12v to it, that messes up the circuit. I don’t use the power probe on anything no with an ecu. I just use a multimeter.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Very good advice. Typically only send 12v if you understand the circuit. I usually use mine just to see if something is grounding or getting voltage or powering relays to test

[@smelterx]

I went through the Sniper nightmare 5 years ago. Took 3 units before I got one that worked. I ended up going back to my carb. You can read my lengthy review on Summit's website. Anyway I jumped back into the EFI mess last summer and installed a Terminator in my Dodge 440. Has worked much better than the Sniper. Few months ago it started to randomly miss/backfire during cruise. Finally found out the Dual Sync distributor was the culprit. It was losing sync intermittently. Put the MSD pro billet distributor back on and no more miss/backfire. Although I am sending the Dual Sync back since its under warranty I honestly doubt I'll put in back in. Having control over the timing is nice and all but it seems unnecessary in my application and not worth the worry of it acting up again. Plus the motor starts right up instead of the 2 second sync delay with the other distributor.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Thanks for this

[@garlandjones7709]

Helpful

[@LeftForDeadGarage]

Oh boy now Iam second guessing this Holley swap on a customers truck. I subscribed to catch the follow up video on this. Thanks for posting

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Thanks for subscribing. I am waiting for Holley to stock the cd box. I will buy a new one direct from them instead of sending mine out. That way if this becomes a repeat issue I will be able to get direct warranty replacement. I believe summit also has them in stock but not sure on their warranty

[@LeftForDeadGarage]

@@JovaniDanteGriego buying from summit wouldn’t be any different than buying from Holley. The guy who owns this truck also bought the refurbished sniper unit too, I couldn’t tell in anyway that it was refurbished. I have a lot of new going on with this truck. New blueprint 383, new trans now new ignition and efi. I almost wish I’d ran it carbureted and HEI first then swapped the sniper and hyper spark. Thanks for the reply.

[@garlandjones7709]

​@@LeftForDeadGaragehow did it turn out?

[@LeftForDeadGarage]

@@garlandjones7709 the internal regulator caused me lots of issues. I don’t think the sniper 2 has it internally now. I’d highly suggest using a aeromotive filter and FP gauge. If the sniper 2 is still regulated internally then use a aeromotive bypass regulator too. The guy has about 10,000 miles on it now. Would I install one on my own car??? Yea I probably would.

[@jerredwayne8401]

Believe I'd put the carb back on at this point. Just think, for another couple thousand bucks you could Cummins swap it and get 20mpgs lol

[@blindguygarage]

I would 4bt swap it 4 fuel mileage 20 MPG is not worth it. And he could also get 20 MPG by putting a 5.3 in this truck as well and putting a camshaft in it. He has already done that on the other truck. Diesel Injection systems are all over the place running just fine if it was a problem that was common with you feel injection system they would not be so popular.

[@jerredwayne8401]

@@blindguygarage why 4bt when they make a 6bt

[@blindguygarage]

@@jerredwayne8401 7 the 4bt makes about the same torque as a 454 gas motor stock and I've seen guys saying they're getting somewhere around 30 miles to the gallon. Especially when you put a turbo on one and you can turn them up a little they are plenty for truck that was originally gas the gear ratios work better to for the little 4bt

[@deviantrebel6326]

@@blindguygarage I seriously doubt any 5.3 would get 20mpg in that lead sled. You can get better than 20mpg from a cummins. And the power would be far superior to any gasoline engine. Repairs would be more expensive and fuel would cost more.

[@blindguygarage]

@@deviantrebel6326 I have a video series on my channel where I am working on a 1985 Suburban I was going to 5.3 swap it because I want 20 plus MPG. This is a number that is not hard to achieve with a 5.3 you cannot do it typically in the pickup trucks that they come from without a tune. The tune would be with a wideband O2 sensor makes it easier to monitor what's going on. The 12 valve Cummins and 24 valve Cummins struggle more to stay 20 MPG or higher a 12 valve is very difficult to get there and you don't have the drivability that you're used to it's loud and expensive. A 4.8 or a 5.3 with a turbo and a tune can give you 20 MPG and all the power you could ever want. Richard holding her proves that on the dyno. And loads of other KZbinrs running turboed LS is prove it time and time again sloppy mechanic as well. Look at Thunderhead 289 lawn mower carburetor on a 302. It gets 41 MPG. That is a point just for MPG from V8s. LS is very cheap if you do it right you can do it cheaper than $2,000 may take a while but it can be done. And a good tune gets you more than 20 MPG

[@boxerfan2]

It seems alot of people on you tube have bad luck with this setup. I see sniper kits used for sale more and more.

[@blindguygarage]

Where there is a will there is a way. First thing I don't know that it's fair to say that the $2,000 system failed when you bought a second-hand CDI box LOL. But how about buy a new CDI box if all the numbers are still correct send the old one back as the new one and ask for your money back. It seems as though it's dishonest but it is a loophole in their return system. If nothing else you can possibly negotiate Holly credit it looks like you would use that eventually also.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

I didn't buy a second hand one. I bought one from an authorized distributor. A manufacturer warranty should be a manufacturer warranty. Also it doesn't look good that a system failed within a few months. But I am buying one direct from Holley. If it fails again then I'll know its a bad product.

[@blindguygarage]

@@JovaniDanteGriego I understand I didn't mean secondhand I remember you saying in the video that you bought it off eBay. So what about buying a new one and sending the old one back as the new one LOL. Their product is their product. I've had to do that with products before. 30-day warranty 90-day warranty whatever it doesn't matter some stuff shouldn't last more than that amount of time anyway. So if you send it back and they don't want to give you cash back then you can do in-store credit with them and buy something different that you can use just as well on a different project. I've had to do it way too many times it typically works. I know it's working on CDI boxes from ATVs utvs and other machines the manufacturer is key. They are something that gets hot also typically. So they try to keep them and the coldest various possible. I have a friend who said he was part of the research and development team for the Holley Terminator and Terminator X it is very possible I have to speak with him and see what he would say. Although I did not see where you had it mounted because of my sight more than likely it was in the video and I just couldn't see it.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

@@blindguygarage no problem! It's mounted on the farthest right of the firewall pretty far away from heat. It could just be a defective unit. No biggie! Either way I. Somewhat stuck with the system unless I want to lose our by selling it for less. So I'm going to see what I can do to get it working. Most likely ordering one direct from Holley when they are back in stock. Thanks for watching!

[@theunderdawg]

See if it runs with you hei at least you could drive it till they back in stock with what you need

[@VATION3RD]

HEI is your friend

[@vidalmiller1773]

Also do yourself a favor and shrink wrap or zip tie Injector plugs they are cheap and clip sometimes come off

[@nicklang4515]

Why not stick with the HEI setup in the first place. CDI boxes unfortunately have a reputation for reliability issues. I have my sniper setup controlling my factory HEI distributor. Easy.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Because I want to control timing electronically

[@WTFSTOUT]

wiring looks bad...like bad install....sniper is questionable but at least do a good install

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Lol the wiring is not bad at all. I used huge grounds every where I could properly. Holley is all on it's own clean circuit. It was the hplleys fault. They sent me a new one

[@garlandjones7709]

Lol did you watch his other videos? That wiring job looked nice to me. I'm curious to know what you're seeing

[@vidalmiller1773]

I left a comment on pt 2 you should check it out

[@henrypastor8691]

De pipi $2000 to leave you stuck hell nah I rather drop a ls 6.0

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

That's what I'm saying 😂 this sucks

[@henrypastor8691]

@@JovaniDanteGriego yeah I had buddys that regret buying that holley sniper its a headache

[@garlandjones7709]

I wouldn't replace a big block with an LS.

[@frostygoob1508]

I totally understand what a headche... absolutely not plug and play I wish Holley would do something maybe reach out and take care of people with awesome cars cars so that it will run noemal

[@frostygoob1508]

Low quality!

[@franciscoburgos787]

All my V8 engines have tow hooks attachments point welded to the bumper (could be bolted on) just for this reason. I stopped paying for tow trucks a long time ago. Esp my daily which doesn’t seem to fit and AAA won’t tow.

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

This was my only truck :( surprisingly AAA covered it though

[@sadboycali]

I hate those type of day lol

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Same dude

[@chineseempanada420]

You think the terminator efi is better?

[@JovaniDanteGriego]

Yes I believe it is

[@smelterx]

Yes much better. But more expensive.