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Holley Sniper and HyperSpark install.

BeepBeepRR

BeepBeepRR

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Well over a year ago I installed a Sniper on the RoadRunner. Last week the orange box took a dump. So I will be installing the Hyper Spark System on the car. I have the distributor already installed, coil mounted new plug wires installed. Tomorrow I will do the mounting of the ECU and cleaning up and finishing up the wiring. Storm came screaming in and I had to stop working on it. Plus it got dark. Anyhow here are a couple pictures of where I am at right now with it.

IMG_4731[1].JPG
IMG_4732[1].JPG
IMG_4733[1].JPG
 
Coulda done a little better job on the wiring. ..but I'm probably nit-picking.
:lol:
 
Naa its the Ramen noodle version Hyper Spark.. Had a storm roll in with lightning.. I was like I'm done for now.
 
Not really sure if I should just leave the resistor up there or not. Its not needed. I might just leave that wire in tact and where it is just in case.
 
Nice web page :thumbsup: the RR sounds great.
 
OK the car starts right up but today was really the first time I took it out on the road. And man it ran like ****. I took the hand held and set it to hold 15 degrees so I could verify timing with a timing light. And it was at 15 on the harmonic balancer. So I buttoned it up and took it out for another drive. It gradually got worse and was loading up real bad. Before the orange box took a crap on me the car ran great. Hell even had good vacuum for the brakes. I think I need some school on the hyper spark. I apparently do not know WTF I am doing. I did the install as noted in the installation video. The car starts and runs but no balls and borderline back fires. Black smoke and almost didn't make it back to the house. So I may end up going back to an orange box or something like that for the time being. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to timing. Any help of good info would be great.
 
Forgot about this post but I'm having an issue with the factory tach in the standard dash. When I had it hooked up it was erratic and not correct. So I unhooked it and have not hooked it back up. So here is my dilemma. I hooked it up then but cannot remember which wire it was at the time. They instructions say you can use the older style coil with the setup. But I have the square coil hooked up. Can I come off of the negative side of that coil to run the tachometer? Seems like thats what I need to do to fix it. But Holley is saying you need some MSD tach adapter.

I don't believe I need to spend 80 more bucks. Do you think I can just use the brown off the coil which is the negative side to feed the tach or am I thinking wrong? FYI There is no tach adapter wire on the hyper spark computer. Unless its the yellow coil negative wire that it says not used. The Holley Sniper has a supplimental harness for triggering electric fans and AC stuff. But also in that harness it has a tach output. And It says its for after market tachometers. Which is the wire I believe I had it hooked to. But it was acting weird. This is what it says in the instruction manual.
G Dark Brown Tach Output Used to drive an aftermarket tachometer.

HS383.png
 
Last edited:
You did setup the handheld for hyperspark timing control right?
Timing for idle and WOT are set? The rest should be blended in by the ecu.
 
Wietse said:
You did setup the handheld for hyperspark timing control right?
Timing for idle and WOT are set? The rest should be blended in by the ecu.
Click to expand...
Answer is yes to both. And Hyperspark is selected as timing control.
 
BeepBeepRR said:
OK the car starts right up but today was really the first time I took it out on the road. And man it ran like ****. I took the hand held and set it to hold 15 degrees so I could verify timing with a timing light. And it was at 15 on the harmonic balancer. So I buttoned it up and took it out for another drive. It gradually got worse and was loading up real bad. Before the orange box took a crap on me the car ran great. Hell even had good vacuum for the brakes. I think I need some school on the hyper spark. I apparently do not know WTF I am doing. I did the install as noted in the installation video. The car starts and runs but no balls and borderline back fires. Black smoke and almost didn't make it back to the house. So I may end up going back to an orange box or something like that for the time being. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to timing. Any help of good info would be great.
Click to expand...

I was having a fueling issue turns out that the Holley supplied o2 sensor took a crap. Replaced it with a copy and its been running fine. Now to just get the tach working.
 
You will need a tach adapter i believe.
I am also using one since i have my RTR MSD distributor and Blaster SS coil.

I am using the below tach adapter, if unsure message them and ask since they have 2 different versions that work a little different.
Since i installed this my tachometer works well and compared to the rpm the Sniper handheld says it is correct.
https://www.holley.com/products/gauges_and_gauge_accessories/tach_adapters/parts/8920

Edit: If you install one, do not place it below the dash since it makes an annoying humming/buzzing sound.
 
Wietse said:
You will need a tach adapter i believe.
I am also using one since i have my RTR MSD distributor and Blaster SS coil.

I am using the below tach adapter, if unsure message them and ask since they have 2 different versions that work a little different.
Since i installed this my tachometer works well and compared to the rpm the Sniper handheld says it is correct.
https://www.holley.com/products/gauges_and_gauge_accessories/tach_adapters/parts/8920

Edit: If you install one, do not place it below the dash since it makes an annoying humming/buzzing sound.
Click to expand...
I looked at that but the wiring schematics do not make sense to me. They are showing a MSD box which the Hyperspark is not. There aren't any of the same leads from the Hyperspark that are on the MSD. The only tach output wire is the one from the triggering harness. But that comes from the Sniper itself. I guess I would use that wire to the white wire on the adapter as tach input. But what I don't get is why you need switched 12volt and the trigger wire from the adapter to the tach. It only has one wire a grey wire with a black tracer.
MSD1.png
msd2.png

hs383-png.png

Here you see the brown wire as the tach lead. From the output harness of the sniper. Which is where it was wired up before and was very erratic. I assume take this to the tach adapter then use the violet trigger wire from the adapter and tie it to my grey tach wire going to the tachometer? I see this as possible but I guess the red wire from the adapter just needs a switched 12v? Is this correct?
Sniperwiring.png
 
Last edited:
68Dart470 said:
Man, that coil is awfully close to the ecu.
Click to expand...
Lol nooo.. If you are talking about the drawings the coil has a pretty long harness as does the ECU. I have the ECU mounted to the firewall in sort of the same place the orange box was mounted and I moved the coil to the original holes where the washer tank bolts up. Everything in the first pictures is just roughed in. And the drawings dont really give you a good perspective on how long the harness really is.
 
The tach adapter basicly only needs a signal from the coil negative side, the tach wire (grey) from the dash just connects to the tach adapter.
And it needs a switched 12V and ground.
The tach output of the Sniper system you will not need at all, these digital signals do not work on these old style tachometers.
The OEM tach is just triggered by the pulses that can be sensed on the negative side of the coil.
The tach adapter receives the clean pulse and converts it to a messy pulse signal that our tach does understand. :)
 
Wietse said:
The tach adapter basicly only needs a signal from the coil negative side, the tach wire (grey) from the dash just connects to the tach adapter.
And it needs a switched 12V and ground.
The tach output of the Sniper system you will not need at all, these digital signals do not work on these old style tachometers.
The OEM tach is just triggered by the pulses that can be sensed on the negative side of the coil.
The tach adapter receives the clean pulse and converts it to a messy pulse signal that our tach does understand. :)
Click to expand...
OK that makes sense... Thanks man... Ill give it a go hate to spend 88 bucks though. lol But on that same note. Why cant I just come off the negative side of the coil straight to the tach like it was before? Does it have something to do with the ECU and tach signal? Trying not to be annoying but also trying to make sense of it too.
 
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