The battery in the Electra was only three years old but it had lived through a couple of winters on a maintenance charger and last winter it lived in a storage unit and was left disconnected for long periods. I'd noticed the Dakota Digital dash reporting low voltage a few times on start up but it always started and with good charging I figured it would be fine after a run. A few weeks ago however the engine just quit running while driving! I noticed a yellow warning highlight on the small Sniper console for A/F ratio. I coasted to the side of the road (thankfully a quiet country road) and shut the ignition off. I had only driven a mile or so after filling the tank. I put more fuel than usual in as I had accumulated a good deal of discount points on the store card. My initial thoughts were I'd over filled and with sloshing around the vent tubes had become flooded and caused a vacuum build up in the tank. Well, sounded plausible in my head at the time. After sitting for a while the car started up just fine. I drove on and kept half an eye on the Sniper console. A few miles on and the A/F indicator started flashing yellow and then red with the messages 'Heating' and then 'Slow!' Car quit again. With a few more unintended stops I managed to get the car back to storage. There was nothing in the Sniper documentation for that 'Slow' error but a Google search turned up a post on another forum saying it related to a low battery voltage. I replaced the battery and have not had an issue since. Holley often points to the need for solid power. My assumption is that even with good charging the battery was not providing enough current to the O2 sensor for it to function and without proper control of A/F the system decided it was better to quit. Cheers Bob
All modern systems weather factory or aftermarket are in need of very clean voltage and ground signals and paths.....its vital that powers that says run to battery do just that.....not just a voltage supply, same as grounds. I know on paper there doesn't seem to be much difference in engine ground and vehicle ground.......but to these systems there is
My son recently had a similar problem with his Sniper EFI. Although, we did not see a "slow" error. The afr would go very lean then it would shut off while driving. Wait a few minutes and it would start back up but would do it again after about 20 minutes. After checking voltages, tank vent, return line and everything else we could think of he called Holley. They said the O2 sensor was going bad. We replaced it with a new one from Napa and it's been daily driven for about the last month with no issues. Ken
First go around with a sniper on the 401 I used terminal blocks do to not wanting a mess of wires running everywhere. It worked ok at start up but after a long dive it started having issues and weird readings on the AFR. It eventually left me stranded on the side of I-75 reading in red NO DATA. Went back and redid the wiring as outlined in the instructions and have not had an issue since.
The meter shows a healthy 15 volts after start up but would drop to below 11 on cranking. The info panel on the speedometer would occasionally read "Low Batt" and a number in the 9 range on start up but it would still fire up. I did not check the voltage when it quit on me. Too busy trying to ease the Electra to the side of the road with no power steering
Seems likely to be wiring or charging system issue. Could even be something as simple as a dirty battery connection. Battery doesn't seem like it was "bad". When the vehicle is running, the Alternator is the one producing the current for the electronics. Glad it's working now, but I would still be suspicious...
So the Electra had been running fine since the new battery but a couple of days ago after maybe a week sitting in the garage (battery disconnected) the A/F meter sat on heating and then the dreaded 'Slow!' after start up. I backed it out of the garage and shut it down. It was out for a quick wash and dust off to make it look it's best if we get to the show this weekend. I checked the O2 sensor to make sure it wasn't loose and all the wiring for signs of chewing. Everything looked in order. Went for about a ten mile run to shake the water out of the crevices and no issues. Being a pessimist however I ordered a replacement O2 sensor from Holley. If it does start acting up again I'll swap it out and see if that fixes the issue. Cheers Bob
