Just another (LOOK AT ME!!!) 69 DIME build thread.

[Crashtd420]

Is this the diagram your looking at?

 

 

You seriously only need 

Power 

Ground 

Ignition power

And a signal from the coil to make this work....

And fuel pump if your using that output...

[Crashtd420]

So your problem is only getting  ignition power to the pink wire? Correct?

[Crashtd420]

What are you triggering the relay with?

The power wire to the coil?

[510revisited]

So far a swing and a miss. I think I'm going to undo all the wiring and see if I missed something. That is the diagram I am referring to. For the life of me I cant figure it out. I did realize that I put my pressure guage on the wrong line, so I swapped that out. Didn't seem to make a difference, but now I can see the guage work!!

[Mattndew76]

Dude.....

 

I feel the pain of these EFI installs. It took me weeks to run down all the issues I had installing my EFI on the F100 I put it on. I installed the FiTech and their customer service was absolute garbage.

 

 

[510revisited]

7 hours ago, Mattndew76 said:

Dude.....

 

I feel the pain of these EFI installs. It took me weeks to run down all the issues I had installing my EFI on the F100 I put it on. I installed the FiTech and their customer service was absolute garbage.

 

 

Thanks. I know it will work. I have faith. I've been scouring the facebook forum for MONTHS, and it's rare that someone has problems like this. There is a guy on YouTube who put a sniper on a 280z. He said it fired right up. I must be doing something wrong. I think it's in the timing. I installed a 123 ignition dizzy at the same time, and have seen some people have a few issues with these. They work the bugs out, but there are bugs... example: homebuilt by jeff on youtube installed the same dizzy on a 240z and had to make his own timing Mark's on the pulley. I honestly think my timing is off. I attempted to use a timing light while my daughter cranked the motor. But it's been so long, and I've done so little timing I had to refresh myself. Plus the battery was dying. Plus my frustration level was rising! Here is a shitty diagram of how my distributor looks when installed. The rotor JUST points 10-12 degrees past the actual wire.. in my mind that makes sense because if the plug sparks 10-12 degrees BEFORE tdc, then when the crank is at 10-12 btdc THEN the rotor would point directly at the wire. I'm no expert. And thank god for the internet. Any and ALL help is appreciated. Shout out to crashtd420. You've been a big help..

[Mattndew76]

I will say that if you do not have a battery that is fresh and sustains more than or right at 12V while cranking then the system will not fire. The Sniper will limp the injectors and shut off your fuel pump. Also make sure you are running the correct PSI on the pump or it will just crank but and not fire. I had this issue. The fuel pump I bought said 60-psi on the box but the pump that was in the box was only a 30-psi pump. Double check your PSI as you crank. 

[Draker]

Good grounds are equally important!

[510revisited]

Ok, just got off the phone with the guy who sells the 123 ign. I told him the story, and he has asked me to just go through the install one more time to verify it works, or doesnt. He said that the dizzy can spark all the way down to 6v. He also mentioned that the clocking of the rotor will be past the plug wire by a few degrees, i.e. my picture above this post. I'm going to try and make sure I have done everything right, like he said. If it doesn't work, he said he will replace it. I must say, he was very nice, and informative. The plan as of now is to reinstall my old datsun dizzy, when my new matchbox shows up, just to make sure the sniper works... if it works, I will pull that and put the 123 in. It was mentioned before that too many irons in the fire COULD be a problem, and I agree. So I'm gonna start fresh.

 

On 12/11/2019 at 9:55 PM, Mattndew76 said:

I will say that if you do not have a battery that is fresh and sustains more than or right at 12V while cranking then the system will not fire. The Sniper will limp the injectors and shut off your fuel pump. Also make sure you are running the correct PSI on the pump or it will just crank but and not fire. I had this issue. The fuel pump I bought said 60-psi on the box but the pump that was in the box was only a 30-psi pump. Double check your PSI as you crank. 

I have a video I made of the fuel pressure. When it primes it hits about 60 ish. Which is correct. After prime it drops AND holds at 50, then ever so slowly drops to around 40 ish. Holley says it's normal to drop, but to around 55. So maybe I have a small leak that I cant see. I'm super frustrated so I may take a few days off the project, but I do want to say thank you to everyone for trying to help. I know this is a bit of an unusual build, but so am i!!

 

On 12/12/2019 at 11:33 PM, Draker said:

Good grounds are equally important!

I agree with this 100 percent. But I must say that I am only half ass wiring everything as of the moment to make sure everything works before I finalize. However, I will stop being stupid, and go buy some cheap connectors to make sure all connections are good.

[510revisited]

So, its official. The whole system works. As many of you who have already seen from another post, the car runs. It's been a good holiday. Hannukah came early. As many of you saw as well, my alternator was overcharging at 15 ish volts... no idea why till this morning. Yes my xmas so far has been unwrapping problems. 

So the day after I got it started I noticed the BRAND SPANKING NEW battery was drained. So that sparked my imagination. Why is it draining? Well, like any idiot would do, I jumped on youtube to figure out how to do a parasitic drain with my voltmeter.. come to find out, nothing in the cars stock wiring. I pulled every fuse. Nothing. Still had a 5.0, I think, milliamp as read on my voltmeter. Go figure... so i pulled all the wiring for the holley, and then the bluetooth dizzy. Still a draw. Ok, so no change in draw while every fuse is out, and still a draw with all the wiring pulled from fresh install..... 

This got me to thinking... my alt was overcharging... maybe that's the problem. So I disconnected the wiring from the batt to the alt.. low and behold, the alt giveth, and taketh away. Apparently they can charge, and discharge your battery. Who'da thunk it. Well, now it's off to o'Reilly's. I wanna say thanks again for everyone's help. And to be perfectly honest, I think I messed up my alt by wiring it wrong. Dont judge, we all make mistakes...

[datzenmike]

If you mean the two wires in the plastic plug, I had mine backwards for 3 years before I found out and no problems when corrected. If this alternator was from O'Reilly's they are likely cheap Chinese crap or poor quality rebuilds (or both) This is why they have a 'lifetime' warranty. Just keep taking them back till you get a good one and hope this dosen't happen where you need a tow.

[510revisited]

32 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

If you mean the two wires in the plastic plug, I had mine backwards for 3 years before I found out and no problems when corrected. If this alternator was from O'Reilly's they are likely cheap Chinese crap or poor quality rebuilds (or both) This is why they have a 'lifetime' warranty. Just keep taking them back till you get a good one and hope this dosen't happen where you need a tow.

Ya, but is that "common" for a bad alternator to discharge a battery? Or at least NOT unheard of?? 

[datzenmike]

Not that common, I'm saying that you didn't do it.

[510revisited]

1 minute ago, datzenmike said:

Not that common, I'm saying that you didn't do it.

Being the datsun guru that you are, any chance you got that little plug for the back of the alternator? That's one reason I fd up. I dont actually have that plug...

[510revisited]

Well, it came and went... I can say, finally she runs and drives. Took her out for her maiden voyage tonite... she has some bugs, and I still have a few buttons to.. up?! But she runs. I took her straight to the gas station and filled her up. Then I promptly proceeded to drain half the tank by driving. In town, freeway, back country. Found a couple loose bolts. One at the dreaded alternator!! I must not have tightened the charge wire enough. She kept trying to die. Got that fixed. Found a bolt that was loose where the throttle body bolts down. No biggie, tightened her right up! I gotta say, it's an interesting setup. Being able to tune the distributor while I drive, and tune the throttle body too is pretty cool. Sure the novelty will wear off, but it is pretty awesome to do it while in the car. Throttle response is good. Temp is good. Never got above 170, which has me a bit concerned. It likes to stay around 150 ish. Now I do have the hood off, so I'm taking that into account. Now, better seats, a fifth gear, and sort out the suspension front and back, and shell be almost mint... oh and brakes, wheel bearings, master cylinders, calipers, rotors, bushings, coilovers.... well you get the point. I wanna say thanks to everyone who has helped. You guys have put up with my new topic every day, and I much appreciate it. It's nice to have a forum like this with this much info... now heres a snipet

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

I bought an IR (infrared) gun when on sale. Now I can 'shoot' the thermostat housing to get the exact temperature of the coolant leaving the engine. I can also shoot the rad for hot/cold spots or the hoses. Temp gauges, at least the stock ones, are more of an indication that something is different than it's usual running position. Car makers don't put numbers on the gauge and they are buffered in that they don't instantly read transient highs and lows, because the average driver cannot understand or interpret them. When I was a kid I put gauges on my '64 Dodge and was horrified to see idle and running oil pressures read so different. On a hard stop it would drop to zero! Owners don't need to know this, it freaks them out.

[510revisited]

My old lady has an laser temp gun. I think it's the same thing your talking about... I planned to use it as well. If I recall correctly the sniper likes to see about 180. Im almost positive it's two things.. no hood, and where the temp sensor is.. now I could be talking out me arse, which I'm quite fond of doing... I'm gonna drive the piss out of it today...

[Duncan]

Curious to hear your follow up report on your car.  I have been looking at the sniper for my wagon with a L20 in it for a while now, and I just found your thread a week ago or so. 

 

I hear that the throttle is a bit difficult to modulate smoothly, but Holley offers some sort of throttle extender that bolts to the TBI to help this condition.  I also understand that their fuel pump is excessively noisey.

 

Again, just curious if you find a measurable improvement. For the cost of rebuilding two SU carbs, the Holley system seems to be a nice system..

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Duncan

[510revisited]

 

22 minutes ago, Duncan said:

Curious to hear your follow up report on your car.  I have been looking at the sniper for my wagon with a L20 in it for a while now, and I just found your thread a week ago or so. 

 

I hear that the throttle is a bit difficult to modulate smoothly, but Holley offers some sort of throttle extender that bolts to the TBI to help this condition.  I also understand that their fuel pump is excessively noisey.

 

Again, just curious if you find a measurable improvement. For the cost of rebuilding two SU carbs, the Holley system seems to be a nice system..

 

 

Well as of right now I'm fighting an exhaust leak, and a fuel leak, which is just unique to my situation. I've only put about 50 or so miles on it since I got it running. However, I am initially happy. It has a nice throttle response, it starts up real quick, even when it hasn't been started for a couple days.. the pump is a bit noisy, but what I'm learning, is dont make the pump "suck" the fuel out. Let gravity help. I ran a fuel line from my pump, which is under the back passenger seat, to the top of the tank. I'm fighting fuel starvation. So either explore an in tank setup, or something... I'm not familiar with wagons fuel tanks. You'll need to make an adapter somehow. If you use a typical l20 intake manifold, you wont have a lot of clearance for the air filter (I'm assuming you have a 510 wagon). I'm exploring the idea of modifying my old, original air cleaner. Other than that, it's really simple. I went the long drawn out route, cause I didn't wanna just slap it together. But in all honesty it can be slapped on rather quickly. If you go this route, hit me up.. I'm willing to help in any way. There is also a page on facebook dedicated to just the sniper, but most of it is all muscle cars. But a lot of the info is still relevant.. as for the throttle you mentioned, I haven't put enough miles on it to notice really. 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/SniperEFISupport/?ref=group_header&view=group

[Duncan]

Thanks for the info.  I do have a 510 wagon, and the hood clearance has been a little concern.  I have a Weber carb on there now with the taller air cleaner, and have no issues with that setup so far...

 

I was thinking I'd do a bit of info gathering in the motor swap section, and see what fuel pumps everyone seems to use on the SR and KA swaps.   Depending on the cost, I can use an aftermarket pump and keep the one in the kit as a spare..

 

Anyway, keep us posted on how it goes. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[510revisited]

On 1/2/2020 at 8:46 PM, Duncan said:

Thanks for the info.  I do have a 510 wagon, and the hood clearance has been a little concern.  I have a Weber carb on there now with the taller air cleaner, and have no issues with that setup so far...

 

I was thinking I'd do a bit of info gathering in the motor swap section, and see what fuel pumps everyone seems to use on the SR and KA swaps.   Depending on the cost, I can use an aftermarket pump and keep the one in the kit as a spare..

 

Anyway, keep us posted on how it goes. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, bit of an update. I just re-re-re-installed the gas tank. Had a -6 bung welded at the bottom of the tank. Almost in the same spot as the original fuel inlet/outlet. My fuel pump still seems to be a bit noisy, and I can here it strain at times, and others it is quiet. I'm still thinking I'm having fuel starvation issues. It only cost me 50 to have the bung welded. Now I'm seriously contemplating an in tank fuel pump. Even possibly a custom tank with better baffling.. we'll see. I'm sure they both come with their own head aches.

If I'm honest, the sniper seems to be a nice setup. Again, im having issues, but even after sitting for a couple weeks outside in 35 ish weather in nor cal, it fires up instantly after the fuel pump is done priming. Runs a bit rough in the beginning, and dies at idle sometimes. BUT AGAIN, I have found an exhaust leak right where the manifold meats the exhaust pipe. The sniper cant have any leaks before, or 18 inches after the o2. I suspect most of the running issues are from said leak. I have not brought it in to an exhaust shop only because I dont have a lot of time after work to do so. I also suspect my location of my temp sensor is a bad spot... the car never seems to get above 170... it needs 180 to start "learning". 

I've also been struggling with suspension handling. My front end was super bouncy. I seemed to work that out today, only to bust a rear brake line while installing my rear coilovers. Which was in preparation to balance the car out.

So for now @Duncan im still happy. I plan to have the exhaust redone and see how much that cures and go from there. I also wanna say the pedal is stiff, if you use the wrong hole. With out the extension from holley, just going to the very top of the throttle linkage on the sniper seems to work pretty good. I'm still fiddling with the linkage. I only have a temporary setup as of now..

All in all I'm still confident. If in the end I have solved all the problems I can, and it still doesn't run correctly, there is a dude on the sniper owners Facebook page who can tune the bugs out. I wish I could say more good things but I dont wanna lie. 

[Duncan]

Thanks for the report.  My wagon is kind of on hold right now. 

 

I have another round of health problems I'm dealing with, and my wagon is running and driving well, I don't want to start messing with it.

 

I'm very interested in seeing how your project turns out.  Good luck!

 

 

[510revisited]

So just a quick update. With all the crap that happened in the build couple months back, i just had to take a break. And now that we are on lock down, its the perfect opportunity to do something... well, tbh i had all week off, did nothing, and then banged a bunch of crap out today.

I redid my fuel lines. Got rid of my external fuel pump. Talked to Holley, and they are gonna send me an intank pump.. which I'll mount to a home made module. Along with a home made baffle to surround said pump. I made a bracket (POWER OF BINKY!!) for my throttle cable at the firewall, which to be honest im not happy with. So I'll redo that. Im also mocking up another bracket for the linkage at the throttle body.. all the empty holes where the fuel pump was will be sealed somehow...

In the long run, i may redo the location of the fuel filter. It kinda looks hobbled together now. Which it kinda is. Well SAFELY hobbled. It just looks odd. Atm i am just using leftover supplies. I dont wanna pay for anything till this covid bs settles down... 

Edited March 22, 2020 by 510revisited

[Lockleaf]

I don't recall if it was Duncan or Just Joel who installed a fuel cell in place of the factory fuel tank.  I think it might have been Just Joel but Duncan can confirm.

 

I mention that as just an option for doing an intank fuel pump.  

[mrbigtanker]

2 hours ago, Lockleaf said:

I don't recall if it was Duncan or Just Joel who installed a fuel cell in place of the factory fuel tank.  I think it might have been Just Joel but Duncan can confirm.

 

I mention that as just an option for doing an intank fuel pump.  

That was justjoel with a fuel cell that he made, Duncan modified his stock tank for filling purposes.