How to install the easy to use Sniper EFI Hyper Spark Ignition System

This is Jeremy from Holley Performance and we brought in Matt, one of our EFI engineers, to help introduce the Sniper Hyper Spark

ignition

system

. Matt, aside from the initial EFI

install

ation, which we solved with our EFI kits, one of the most challenging aspects of checking timing with your ECU is getting your distributor timing right, which is why we created this foolproof

install

ation tool. So Matt, why don't you show us how to use this cool tool to set the reference angle of our distributor. Sure, no problem. Our first step is to verify that we are on the compression stroke on cylinder one and that the balancer is reading zero.

This indicates that we are at the top dead center of that cylinder. The next step is to install the distributor, first start by removing the distributor cap. If your kit came with a gasket, be sure to install it on the distributor before putting it on the engine. Don't forget, sometimes you will have to turn the oil pump shaft to line up with the distributor gear. That's right. Go ahead and drop the distributor into the engine and make sure the distributor housing seats completely against the engine block or intake manifold. So does it matter which direction our rotor faces?

No, that will depend on the

spark

plug wires if they are long enough to reach terminal number one. Okay, is this where we can use this installation tool? It is, let me show you how. take the cap and place it on the rotor, you will see that it is not aligned with the housing, but what you can do now is rotate the distributor housing until the cap falls on both the housing and the rotor. It doesn't matter which way you turn the housing as long as you have access to the pigtail. So this really is a foolproof way to set the correct reference angle.

Yes, at this point it is as simple as blocking the distributor. Let's do it. Be sure to use a wrench to tighten the nut. Now can we install the distributor cap? No, not yet, we need to mark cylinder number one. So how do we do that? The installation tool has a small indication that allows you to put a mark on the distributor housing where your number one cylinder will be. Now you can put the distributor cap on. Man, this installation tool sure makes it

easy

. Yes, its patented design really simplifies installation. It sure does. Let's go ahead and tighten the screws on the distributor cap and now shown here is the mark that we made earlier on the distributor housing with the insulation tool, this indicates where this number one

spark

plug terminal post is.

Well, that seems simple enough. Yes, the Hyper Spark distributor uses a sensor to provide the Sniper EFI with an RPM signal. What else do we have to connect? The next thing to connect is the

ignition

box to the coil, for that you can use the harness that comes with the ignition box. It has the main plug that connects directly to the ignition box, it has two wires. Now the ones I know need to go straight to the battery, right? They do that, they power and ground directly to the battery, and then there's a connector that goes directly to the coil.

You'll notice that we still have a connector with two loose wires. Where do we need to connect them? Well, the red wire from the ignition harness and the pink wire from the distributor harness need to be connected to a 12 volt switch source. That source should be hot while cranking and while the ignition switch is in the run position. Ok, what about the white wire? The white wire should be connected to the Sniper, the way to do this is to use the 10 pin output harness that comes with your Sniper EFI and find the wire that is labeled output points, that white wire will connect to the white wire. on the Hyper Spark ignition

system

and that's as simple as it gets.

So that provides RPM signal? Yes, that provides the RPM signal that came from the distributor that went to the Sniper, now the Sniper is providing an RPM signal to the ignition box. To provide a spark. Correct, don't forget to connect the ten-pin harness to the Sniper EFI. Is that all for the installation? The ignition system is completely installed, the only thing left to do is program the Sniper to communicate with the Hyper Spark ignition system. And how do we do that? Through the wizard that comes with the Sniper EFI, it's very simple and today we brought in this C-20 that already has the Hyper Spark ignition system as well as a Sniper EFI throttle body.

Perfect, why don't you show it to me? Yes. Now that we're on the truck, let's turn on the Sniper and send it a configuration. OK. The first thing to check when installing the Hyper Spark ignition system is to make sure that the firmware of the handheld and the ECU are compatible with the Hyper Spark ignition system. Ok, where do we do that? So if you press fire and then ECU HW/FW it will list the firmware version that is on the Sniper EFI, 1.1.1 is the minimum version that will be used with the Hyper Spark ignition system.

So are we okay there? Yes, the ECU is fine, let's go ahead and check the handheld and press the back button once and press local settings and then local information. It lists 1.1.7 as the device firmware, which is also the minimum version to be used with the Hyper Spark ignition system. Alright, we're good on that, but what if we didn't have updated firmware? There is a really good video tutorial on Holley.com that tells you how to install the new ECU firmware and the handheld firmware. Perfect. So since we're good, let's go ahead and start with the Wizard, this would be the Wizard, this is no different than any normal installation of Sniper, the first installation this is how you would do it.

So we're going to choose the 4150 version of the Sniper, we're going to choose our number of cylinders, we're going to choose our displacement, our idle speed, our target idle speed, the type of camshaft we have, if we had a power adder now is when we would do it. we would do choose it. Do you like nitrous? Exactly, we don't have that and now we have a question about the type of ignition. I see they added distributor Hyper Spark to the list. Yeah, the Hyper Spark dealer, that's why we had to update our firmware to make sure it shows up, so I'm going to press the next button, it's going to ask me for a sync number with wide open throttle and then we're going to choose something appropriate.

For this motor here, we'll only choose thirty degrees, but it's important to choose something appropriate for your application. Now you have a start button here that when you press that start button it will actually put the calibration into this ECU for this Sniper that is already configured for Hyper Spark. Ok, so can you communicate? Yeah, so we can go ahead and do that, and at the end we'll say, please turn the ignition on, so we'll go ahead and do that, turn off the ignition, and go ahead and turn the ignition on. I hear the fuel pump.

The fuel pump came on because we sent the calibration. We'll choose something that gives us the ability to see the RPM signal, so now it says stop, but let's go ahead and see if we can start this. Yes, it fired instantly right there, so we have the RPM signal and it looks like it's running, so it's important that we check that the timing is set correctly. Alright, I'll set up the timing light. All right, I'll set it up here on the handheld. What you need to do is go back to the main menu and press tune, system and then set static sync.

What that allows you to do is put in a sync number that will be constantly read on the balancer, so in this case we have a mark of 15, so I'm going to press set and on the balancer it should say 15. Go ahead and check it out now . Okay, 15 degrees on the button. Awesome! Perfect! THAT'S what we expected, done. So I'm going to go ahead and hit delete and close and we can turn off the truck. I'm glad the time was synchronized at 15 degrees. Yes, it was clear at 15, but what if it's not? If not, it's as simple as loosening the distributor fastener and rotating the case forward or backward to match what you've ordered on the handheld.

You weren't kidding, this whole system has been super

easy

to install. Yes, the installation cap makes it very easy to set the crank reference angle and everything else is plug and play, it's really a system truly designed for Sniper EFI. It is a great way to add ignition timing control to the Sniper's ECU. With that timing control, you get some additional benefits like better fuel economy, better idle stability, and possibly even more power. Well, great, I appreciate you coming and helping us do this installation. Yes, absolutely, at any time. Very good, thanks for watching. For more information on the Sniper Hyper Spark ignition system, visit our website at SniperEFI.com.