How To: Install Terminator X EFI on any LS Engine

So, you're planning your next LS upgrade, or maybe you just want to add that new turbo or supercharger to your current LS-powered vehicle, and you're wondering: what are my options? Is there a cost effective answer to this stock ECU? How can I get nitrous and increase control and data logging capabilities? Well, look no further than Terminator X and X max. Holley's Terminator Terminator X can control anything from a 4.8L truck

engine

to a stroked LSX. or even an upgraded LS9 powerplant. Holley has kits designed for almost any

engine

combination. To better assist you in choosing the correct EFI system for your application, we have included information on the Terminator Convenient onboard diagnostic LEDs help you troubleshoot vital engine systems, and since the Terminator When you choose Terminator X Max you can do more than just manage the engine, Terminator I won't go into detail about the fuel system requirements for the Terminator You can find everything you need to complete your fuel system right on the Holley website.

If you need help selecting a pump for your system, check out our fuel pump selector video. Before purchasing a kit, be sure to check items such as whether it has a 24 or 58 tooth crankshaft sensor and determine which injector design you will use. The last thing you want to do is dive deep into a weekend project and discover you ordered the wrong parts. Installation couldn't be easier with our plug and play harnesses. All harness connectors are labeled for easy reference, you just need to pair them and make the connections to the corresponding sensors. Some of you may have a strange setup, or maybe you just prefer to route your wiring on a custom loom.

If so, we offer unterminated harnesses that can provide additional flexibility for your needs. If you have a Gen 3 LS, you'll find the cam sensor located at the rear of the engine block, near the valley pan. Most Gen 4 engines will have the cam sensor mounted on the front timing cover; however, there are still some exceptions to this. We offer wiring harnesses for Gen 3 and Gen 4 engines. We can also plug in the oil pressure sensor. As we move forward, connecting individual injectors to the correct connector found on your injector harness, they are labeled one through eight. Be sure to select the correct harness for your injector design.

We offer harnesses for the EV1, EV6 and Multech 2 injector designs, and there is also a useful reference guide on our website to help you identify your injector design and make the correct harness selection. Once your coils are mounted and you have the subharness

install

ed, we can connect them to the main harness. Pay attention, each connector is marked, one for the odd bank coils and one for the even bank coils. If your subharness is defective or missing, we offer replacement coil harnesses. As we move towards the front of the engine, you will find the TPS and IAC connectors located on the throttle body.

You'll also find provisions for the optional fuel pressure sensor. I'll be using one of Holley's 0-100 PSI transducers, their part number 554-102. Don't forget about the coolant temperature sensor, which is usually mounted in the cylinder head. There is also a manifold air temperature sensor that must be mounted on the intake manifold for proper operation. Now we can connect the bank of even coils to the harness and to all the injectors that are on this side. Next, we need to connect the map sensor. For most aftermarket intakes, you will need to run a line from a full vacuum source in the manifold to the single bar sensor connector built into the Terminator vacuum below the cabin to the cabin where the ECU is mounted under the seat.

Use one of the supplied adapters that matches the diameter of the hose you are using. If you have a stock input the sensor can be mounted in the input like this, if your application is upgraded and requires a MAP sensor that is capable of reading more than one bar we recommend the two and a half bar GM. MAP Sensor part number 12592525. Can be used with our adapter, part number 558-416. This adapter plugs directly into the map connection found on the main harness. With this setup, there is no need to run the vacuum line from the manifold to the ECU.

We also need to connect the crankshaft sensor, which is located on the passenger side of the engine block, behind the starter motor, near the oil pan rail. Once all the injectors are connected, we can connect the injector harness to the main harness right here. You may or may not use nock sensor connectors; In my setup the factory knock sensors were removed and I replaced the valley cover with one from Holley. Don't forget to connect the dedicated ground connectors found on the harness. You will find two ground terminals located near the rear of the motor. One for each cylinder head.

Simply use an M10 by 1.5 bolt to secure them using one of the pre-drilled holes in their head. A good foundation is essential and this is especially true in EFI systems. Once you verify that all the sensors are connected, you will need to connect the J1A and J1B plugs found on the opposite end of our main harness to their corresponding connectors found on the Terminator X ECU. On the main harness you will also find some wires loose. Your red with white tracer wire must be connected to a dedicated switch power supply. Make sure and verify that your switch power supply has 12 volts running and in the start position.

If your vehicle does not have such a source, you will need to

install

a relay to provide one to the ECU. Depending on your harness, you will find several wires midway in the wire loom. The solid red wire powers the fuel pump relay circuit and should be connected to the battery or a clean, constant 12 volt source. The black wire is ground and does not necessarily have to go directly to the battery, it can be connected to a good chassis ground. Our harness includes a dedicated fuel pump fuse and relays to power your fuel pump. The green one located on the harness can be connected directly to the fuel pump to supply 12 volts of power.

But if your fuel pump draws more than 10 amps, you will need to connect a separate relay using this wire as a trigger. The blue with white tracer is the TAC output. This provides a twelve volt square wave signal to drive a conventional tachometer. The cam bus connection is used to connect the included three and a half inch touch screen or upgrade to one of our digital dashboards. It can even power a set of Holley EFI analog style gauges. Your Terminator X kits will also include this main power harness, it will have one heavy red wire and one heavy black wire.

Both should be connected directly to the battery terminals, not to a relay, kill switch or starter motor power cut, just directly to the battery. Before supplying power to the ECU, always verify that all sensor connections, as well as power and ground cables, are correct. This connector will be the last thing we connect to the ECU. Holley also includes this auxiliary entry/exit harness. It connects to the main harness and allows you four inputs to monitor engine sensors, as well as four outputs to control accessories. You'll also get the added benefits of nitrous control, boost control, and an internal data logger.

Try to get it out of your original ECU. I thought it would be a lot easier if I used this mockup engine to show you how to wire up all the sensors, but I wanted you to see it in action, so I brought Stewie in as my guinea pig and went ahead and wired it up. All the engine harnesses are done, so we just need to finish a couple more things and we can fire them up. You will find a Bosch LSU4.9 wideband O2 sensor. This is a critical part of Terminator X's self-learning capabilities, so be sure to use the sensor provided with the kit.

Installation is simple, but before soldering and plugging, be sure to follow our O2 installation recommendations found in the manual. Connect the supplied adapter line between the O2 sensor and the connector located on the harness. To avoid meltdowns, make sure all wiring is routed and secured as far as possible from high heat sources as well as all moving parts. The last thing we need to connect is our three and a half inch touchscreen handheld. It simply plugs into the cam bus connector found on the main harness. Once you have it routed and connected, we can start the wizard.

The Terminator X startup wizard works very similar to the Sniper Wizard. You simply enter critical information and a base calibration is created for your particular setup. Just follow the prompts. Starting on the home screen, choose the wizard and then the GCF wizard icon. Choose between multiport injection or throttle body. Terminator X supports multiple platforms, so you must select your system type from the menu. Choose the number of cylinders and then choose the correct firing order. Since all LS engines share the same firing order, there is only one option. Choose the unit of measurement you want to enter the motor size with and use the slider bar, enter your motor size or click the box to manually enter the value, then click save when you are done.

Use the slider bar or manually enter the desired idle speed. This is the target idle speed when the coolant temperature exceeds 160 degrees. Make your cam selection the one that most closely matches your engine's cam specifications. When cam option number three is chosen, closed loop operation will be disabled below 25 RPM. But this can be modified with the handheld. If you do not know the exact specifications of your camshaft, select option number one. Then choose between the 24 or 58 tooth crank sensor. Remember, the engine kit and harness you purchase must match your application. You will need to choose between a 43 or 60 PSI fuel system.

Most LS engines prefer to run at 60 PSI, but this depends entirely on your particular fuel injection system. Now choose the fuel injector manufacturer, each group contains a list of part numbers compatible with the Terminator X system. Choose the part number that matches the injectors installed on your engine. Injector data can be entered and modified using Terminator X software if your injectors are not listed. Next, choose any power plugin. Depending on your selection, it will choose the appropriate map sensor from the available options. If you have chosen the turbo or supercharged options, you can use either of these map options.

The assistant only supports up to two and a half bars of boost pressure. If your setup generates more than 21 pounds of boost, the motor must be tuned using available PC software. When the turbo or supercharge option is chosen, you will need to use the slider to set the ignition timing with the throttle wide open and no boost. You'll also use the slider to set the sync delay per pound of boost. Brake points are preset at 7, 14 and 21 PSI. You will also need to set the desired air-fuel ratio with wide open throttle and no boost, then use the slider to set the offset air/fuel ratio at the 7, 14, and 21 PSI braking points.

Choose whether or not to use a cable-actuated throttle body; This option applies only to the Terminator X Max system. Select no if you are using a cable-operated throttle body. If you are using Terminator X Max to control the electronic transmission, choose yes. Choose no if you have an older or non-electronic transmission like the TH350, 400 or 700R4. Also, select no if you are already using a driverindependent for electronic transmission. If you choose transmission control in the previous step, select the type of transmission you will control and then enter the overall diameter of your rear tire as well as the gear ratio of your axle.

The tire diameter and gear ratio must be entered correctly for the transmission to function properly. Once this is complete, select the start button and begin uploading the Terminator X custom calibration to your ECU. Congratulations, you have completed the wizard setup, now it's time to perform TPS automatic setup. This must be done on a new system; Otherwise the ECU will not activate the injectors or the ignition. With the vehicle ignition on, select the automatic TPS setup function located below the wizard icon. Then select start TPS automatic setup. Slowly press the accelerator pedal to the floor twice. If it was successful, you will see the TPS auto configuration successful pop-up message appear.

Select Done to continue. Before starting the vehicle, we must verify that all sensors are reading correctly. Turn the key off, turn it back on and you should now hear the fuel pump turn on for about five seconds. Don't forget to check for fuel leaks. From the home screen, select the monitor tab. This will display a couple of options. Select the monitor screen and you will see the initial startup, select this icon. With the key on and the engine off, the sensors should read the following. The engine RPM should show stall when not cranking and change to RPM once the engine is cranking or running.

Your TPS or throttle position sensor will vary depending on the throttle position. As you slowly press the accelerator, the reading should rise to 100% at full throttle. Cable-operated throttle bodies should read zero at idle. The MAP or manifold air pressure sensor should read between 95 and 102. However, at higher elevations, it could read as low as 75. Your coolant temperature sensor, or CTS for short, reads engine temperature and , when it is cold, you must read the outside ambient temperature. We'll address the IAC reading when we get to the idle tuning section. The battery is reading the battery voltage and should be a minimum of 12 volts before starting.

If any of these sensors are not reading correctly, you should troubleshoot and correct them before attempting to start the engine. If everything goes well, you can now start the engine. Once you start the vehicle, check for fuel or coolant leaks. You can let the vehicle warm up while observing other parameters to make sure everything is working properly. To view these other parameters with the engine running, tap the monitor, then the monitors icon and select the closed loop icon. The closed loop state indicates that the motor is a closed or open loop. Closed loop indicates that the ECU is adding or subtracting fuel to maintain the target air/fuel ratio.

The system must operate in a closed loop almost all the time. Closed-loop trim is a percentage of fuel that the ECU adds or subtracts to maintain the target air/fuel ratio. Your target air/fuel ratio is the target AFR that the ECU is trying to maintain and can vary depending on load and engine speed. Air and fuel ratio. This will display the air/fuel ratio from the wideband O2 sensor. The air/fuel rating should always be fairly close to the air/fuel rating. The fuel learning status indicates the status of the Terminator's self-tuning operation. The system will automatically tune as you drive and there are several conditions that must be met for auto-tuning to occur.

The engine temperature must be above 160 degrees and autotuning must be enabled with the system operating in closed loop mode. If any of these values ​​do not display the correct value, find out the reason before operating your vehicle. Once the engine reaches operating temperature, we can adjust our idle to the desired RPM. From the home screen, select the tuning tab, then select the basic and basic idle icons. You can see that the target hot idle speed was set when we ran the wizard. If you are happy with the current value, use the Back or Home button to exit, but if you want to change it, click the idle speed and move the button from left to right to adjust it.

Click the button to save the new value or select cancel at the bottom of the screen to go back. Whether you change the idle target or not, you will need to place the throttle plates on the throttle body in the optimal position. To do this, select the monitor, then the monitors icon, followed by the idle icon, then look at the IAC value. This value should be set between two and ten percent with the transmission in neutral and the engine at operating temperature. Also, make sure the TPS value is set to zero. If not, you will need to perform automatic TPS configuration again.

If the IAC position value shows zero, you must close the throttle plates until it reads between two and ten percent. If the IAC is stuck at zero, the engine is likely idling at a speed higher than what you set as the target. Slowly turn the throttle shaft adjusting screw counterclockwise to increase the IAC value and reduce the idle speed. If the IAC position value is greater than 10, you will need to open the throttle plate by turning the throttle shaft adjusting screw clockwise until the IAC position value is between two and ten. Also, make sure that the TPS value does not exceed zero.

If so, you will need to perform an automatic TPS setting again, then restart the vehicle and continue adjusting the throttle plates. Once the TPS exceeds the zero value, the ECU exits its idle mode and locks the IAC position at a fixed value. When you have completed all adjustments and are satisfied with the IAC position, you will need to recheck that the TPS reads a value of zero with the engine idling. All that's left to do now is drive the vehicle and let the system perform its self-tuning process. The best way to achieve this is to drive the vehicle in as many different operating conditions as possible.

Different engine speeds with different loads. Start by slowly revving the engine in neutral and holding it at different speeds up to 2500 RPM. This will help the system learn these different points. Then drive your vehicle. Possibly using different transmission speeds and allowing it to learn in different areas, if you have an automatic transmission you may want to put it in gear and with your foot on the brake pedal apply a small amount of throttle to allow the system to learn in this area also. All you have to do is drive your vehicle and enjoy all the benefits that Terminator X and X Max can offer you.

For more information on Holley's Terminator X and X Max engine management kits, please visit our website at Holley.com