[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by cnc

Wow you have done an outrageous job on the car looks fantastic....
While reading over your build u we're looking for the small screws for the window sweeps did u ever find the Correct size as I'm going to be installing mine soon too and need to see if I can locate some screws any help would be appreciated ...

You want the original type screws? Because the ones that came with a repop set are different/different size?

I a long time ago just used the screws that came with the repop sweepers, and drilled the holes slightly bigger.

I bought OE type screws from clips and fasteners, they were identical to the originals (without boogered-up heads), and, they were also slightly difficult to screw in or loose. (I mic'd them even, they are just not tight specs, all over the place). Might have been the originals I took out were slightly rusted, who knows.

https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/

I know the issue is using either screw, you have a tendency to wobb-out the heads, because you have to crank on them. And I tried new screw drivers and everything, they just can't take the tq that's needed to drive them in.

So, I bought a bunch of drill bits, and redrilled every hole, use the screws that come with the repop sweepers, and, bingo. Multiple cars, multiple times, they just seem to never really fit right. And, rarely do the sweeps' holes line up anyway.

It's worse when the holes are too big, believe me.


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[cnc]

Yeah would like to if I knew the size I'd look around we have a place here Facca Fasteners and there carry just about any fastener
I need to really look for mine they could be bagged but I can't locate them yet...

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by cnc

Wow you have done an outrageous job on the car looks fantastic....
While reading over your build u we're looking for the small screws for the window sweeps did u ever find the Correct size as I'm going to be installing mine soon too and need to see if I can locate some screws any help would be appreciated ...

I sorted through a few coffee cans of misc. screws from various cars I've had over the years and found a set that seemed to work well enough. I'm sorry I can't help you out with the size...and I found just enough to do the job with no extras.

[cnc]

Originally Posted by Gator67

I sorted through a few coffee cans of misc. screws from various cars I've had over the years and found a set that seemed to work well enough. I'm sorry I can't help you out with the size...and I found just enough to do the job with no extras.

no problem appreciate u getting back to me.

[Gator67]

Rather than waiting on Dakota Digital for a bim module fix, I just ran wires for the tach and water temp gauge. The only issue I ran into was installing the second temp sender on the crossover...I had to modify the rear alternator bracket because of interference. With the exception of the speedometer, which I haven't checked yet, all the gauges work as they should. The gauges seem great..and setting them up was super simple. Just connected my phone to the gauge control box (with bluetooth) and used their app to make adjustments.

The only remaining issue now is that I can't make it all the way through the EFI set-up. I enter basic parameters on the handheld, and start the car, but as I'm making my way through the various screens to finish the set-up, the handheld screen gives me a lost com message, goes blank, and resets to the home screen with nothing saved. The car will stay running until I shut it off, but I can tell it's running pretty rich and not as smooth as it should be, so I need to finish the set-up before I take it out for a drive.

From what I gather, the issue I'm having is likely due to electrical interference, so I need to spend some time moving things around. The first thing I'll do is wire the ECU directly to the battery, as the installation instructions call for. I wired the ECU to a junction box close the battery, but not the battery itself. I doubt this will make a difference, but if I end up having to call FAST tech support, I'm sure this will be the first thing they tell me to do. The second likely culprit is that the ECU is fairly close to the ignition box and coil, and apparently, that's a big no no. There aren't many obvious spots left to put the ECU, so I may have to get a little creative with this. One of my friends here has installed several Holley EFI systems and has had good luck locating the components exactly like mine are...maybe the FAST ECU is just more sensitive to interference?

As I'm working my way through this issue, I'll also redo some of the wiring connections I made previously...the simple insulated crimp disconnect terminals work well enough and they don't take up much space, but weatherpak connectors seem much more sturdy, and I enjoy making them!

[HWYSTR455]

Yes, EMI & RFI are impactful, and at times tough to troubleshoot. Best practice is to do your what you can during initial installation, and THEN troubleshoot if you have problems.

An ECU can reset many times within a min, or some, even seconds. And that shows up as a (one of) symptom you are noticing.

USUALLY, the ECU itself is fairly well protected against EMI/RFI, so always start by looking at wire routing, connector assembly quality, etc.

Biggest issue I've seen is when people run sensor wires in parallel, or bundled with other wires. (when it's a proven EMI/RFI problem). Also running close to plug wires, coils, dizzy, ALT charge wires is another common cause.

Weatherpack connectors are good, but can become bulky when you need to run several, especially close together. Also, in order to prevent connecting the wrong pair together, sometimes it's best to mix connector types. (At least make connectors opposing).

The type/quality of wire you use can also be a problem. Using 'crossover' wire, or generic 'auto wire' is not a good idea, ever, but especially in an EFI app.

Gauge/size of wire is another area I see many mistakes. If you run 12g wire to something that only have 5v/micro-amps, not only is it a waste and more difficult to 'package', but it also becomes an antenna.

When wiring EFI components, as in the main harness, aside from the power, switch, and grounds, I prefer using the same type of connectors that the manufacturer of the harness uses. Helps you ID them as part of the EFI system, which can help troubleshooting.


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[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Yes, EMI & RFI are impactful, and at times tough to troubleshoot. Best practice is to do your what you can during initial installation, and THEN troubleshoot if you have problems.

An ECU can reset many times within a min, or some, even seconds. And that shows up as a (one of) symptom you are noticing.

USUALLY, the ECU itself is fairly well protected against EMI/RFI, so always start by looking at wire routing, connector assembly quality, etc.

Biggest issue I've seen is when people run sensor wires in parallel, or bundled with other wires. (when it's a proven EMI/RFI problem). Also running close to plug wires, coils, dizzy, ALT charge wires is another common cause.

Weatherpack connectors are good, but can become bulky when you need to run several, especially close together. Also, in order to prevent connecting the wrong pair together, sometimes it's best to mix connector types. (At least make connectors opposing).

The type/quality of wire you use can also be a problem. Using 'crossover' wire, or generic 'auto wire' is not a good idea, ever, but especially in an EFI app.

Gauge/size of wire is another area I see many mistakes. If you run 12g wire to something that only have 5v/micro-amps, not only is it a waste and more difficult to 'package', but it also becomes an antenna.

When wiring EFI components, as in the main harness, aside from the power, switch, and grounds, I prefer using the same type of connectors that the manufacturer of the harness uses. Helps you ID them as part of the EFI system, which can help troubleshooting.


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Your suggestions are much appreciated, thank you! Fortunately at this point I'm pretty familiar with how things are wired, and everything is easy to see and access, so shouldn't be that difficult to straighten things out. We'll see soon enough.

[HWYSTR455]

Some ALTs can pump noise too, and only thing you can do is swap it out.

An AM transistor radio, turned on, can be used to zero in on areas by pointing the antenna at stuff under the hood. It will be obvious, like a Giger counter.


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[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Some ALTs can pump noise too, and only thing you can do is swap it out.

An AM transistor radio, turned on, can be used to zero in on areas by pointing the antenna at stuff under the hood. It will be obvious, like a Giger counter.


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I identified a few things that could explain the problem I'm having. First, I mistakenly hooked up the 12v switched wire from the ignition box straight to the battery, and the positive battery wire from the ignition box to a 12v switched source. Second, the handheld wire from the EFI ECU, the tach output wire from the ignition box, and the water temp sender wire were all zip tied together and go through the same grommet in the firewall. Third, I bundled all the unused wires from the ignition box and EFI ECU together and stuffed them in the inner fender. Finally, the power and ground wires for the ignition box and ECU were bundled together and run across the firewall, right next to the coil and spark plug wires. Not sure if any of these things will make a difference, but I'll address them this weekend and report back.

[HWYSTR455]

Yes, all those are issues, at least you know where to look, nice sleuthing!

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[Gator67]

Tried everything, including locating the ECU completely outside car, complete engine bay rewiring, install noise capacitors, but no dice. Then spent a bit of time on the line with FAST tech support troubleshooting, and they couldn't figure it out either. So I'll be shipping the system back to get it checked out. They're short handed so it will be a month before I get it back. What a bummer.

[HWYSTR455]

Are the dizzy wires/connector close to the dizzy or dizzy cap?

Is the coil close to the dizzy cap?

Is the handheld wires close to dizzy, dizzy cap, coil, or plug wires?

Are any sensor wires close to the dizzy, dizzy cap, coil, or plug wires?

If you have a tach, disconnect it for testing. Remove all non-required connections. (Especially the CAN link)

You should be able to walk thru the setup screens with only the key on and not started.

If you are cycling the key a bunch, pull the fuel pump wire so you don't flood it with multi prime shots.

Just throwing ideas out there, but you've probably gone thru this w tech already. If it does start and run, you can look at the ECU 'trigger' light, and if it goes off or is erratic when the screen resets, that's a pretty good indication it's interference.

I'm not too familiar with the FAST unit, but have helped others. So bare with me if I sound redundant.

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[HWYSTR455]

Sometimes if the ECU stores crap data, like setting something while it's getting interference, you can unplug the ECU unit for a few mins, plug it back in, and walk thru the initial startup settings again. That can help.

You can flash it with an update, or re-apply an update, which can also help clear crap data in the ECU.


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[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Are the dizzy wires/connector close to the dizzy or dizzy cap?

Is the coil close to the dizzy cap?

Is the handheld wires close to dizzy, dizzy cap, coil, or plug wires?

Are any sensor wires close to the dizzy, dizzy cap, coil, or plug wires?

If you have a tach, disconnect it for testing. Remove all non-required connections. (Especially the CAN link)

You should be able to walk thru the setup screens with only the key on and not started.

If you are cycling the key a bunch, pull the fuel pump wire so you don't flood it with multi prime shots.

Just throwing ideas out there, but you've probably gone thru this w tech already. If it does start and run, you can look at the ECU 'trigger' light, and if it goes off or is erratic when the screen resets, that's a pretty good indication it's interference.

I'm not too familiar with the FAST unit, but have helped others. So bare with me if I sound redundant.

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Thanks for your suggestions. I went through all of these things, and FAST tech support had me do quite a bit more, and in the end, concluded there's likely a problem with the ECU. They said the particular set of problems I'm having is typically due to the 12v switched dropping out and delivering less than 12v, but we checked that and I'm good there. Even hooked that wire up directly to the battery with no change. So I'll just send it in (along with the main harness and throttle body just for good measure). The unit is a few years old (2016) so maybe there are things they'll update.

Already removed the harness and ECU, but forgot to depressurize the fuel system so not sure the best way to do this and remove the throttle body without making a big mess.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by Gator67

Thanks for your suggestions. I went through all of these things, and FAST tech support had me do quite a bit more, and in the end, concluded there's likely a problem with the ECU. They said the particular set of problems I'm having is typically due to the 12v switched dropping out and delivering less than 12v, but we checked that and I'm good there. Even hooked that wire up directly to the battery with no change. So I'll just send it in (along with the main harness and throttle body just for good measure). The unit is a few years old (2016) so maybe there are things they'll update.

Already removed the harness and ECU, but forgot to depressurize the fuel system so not sure the best way to do this and remove the throttle body without making a big mess.

Maybe open the regulator wide open?

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Maybe open the regulator wide open?

No external regulator (GM ZL1 fuel module with Vaporworx pwm controller) so I just cracked the line near the fuel pressure sensor open slowly...not much pressure was left in the system so no mess.

But wow, once again reminded of how crazy shipping costs have become. I used the original box, ground commercial insured, and it cost me $95.

[Gator67]

The EFI system should be back tomorrow. Unfortunately, FAST couldn't replicate any of the problems I'm having, and they reported that the ECU, throttle body, and harness all checked out fine. They also said they couldn't offer any suggestions other than "something else in the car is causing your problems". I'm tempted to start over with another system, but I'll reinstall and try to work through it one more time. Though not sure how much more I can do without spending money replacing things...plugs, spark plug wires, alternator, distributor, ignition box, coil...could get expensive.

[HWYSTR455]

Strip everything off except the EFI stuff and make sure everything is setup correctly. Remove the tach wire, and any other wire but the bare minimum. Make sure the crank connector, cfg input, fan relay, N2O, CAN, etc are not in use.

Wired correctly, to be clear. 99.999% of all issues are wiring/installation issues. Go over each wire and check how everything is hooked up. Check power & grounds, and don't piggyback on other wires.

Watch the green light on the unit while it's running, if it's blinking or dim, there's a power or ground issue.

You can try hooking the green wire directly to the batt and see if you have an issue with key-on power.

Since it's a tbi setup, maybe try without timing control to start, then add it back.

You can look at the Holley Sniper info maybe to get an idea from an actual diagram, they are very much the same.

If I had to guess, it's either the trigger wire connection, CD box connections, unstable power, or an accessory that's giving feedback. Aside from that, it could be EMI/RFI, but start with the above.

You can explain how everything is hooked up, that too might help others determine possible causes.

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[R 70 Judge]

Originally Posted by Gator67

The EFI system should be back tomorrow. Unfortunately, FAST couldn't replicate any of the problems I'm having, and they reported that the ECU, throttle body, and harness all checked out fine. They also said they couldn't offer any suggestions other than "something else in the car is causing your problems". I'm tempted to start over with another system, but I'll reinstall and try to work through it one more time. Though not sure how much more I can do without spending money replacing things...plugs, spark plug wires, alternator, distributor, ignition box, coil...could get expensive.

If you can't figure it out, switching to Holley Terminator X probably wouldn't be that expensive. My entire system was around $3400 and that included upgrades like coil rear plug and a dual sync distributor. You could probably get the ECU and harness for under $1000 if you delete the handheld tuner from the bundle and tune it with a laptop (handheld is over $300).

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel.../parts/550-936

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

You can explain how everything is hooked up, that too might help others determine possible causes.

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Here you go!

-------------------------------------
Main components
FAST EZ EFI 2.0
FAST E6 ignition box with rev limiter
FAST coil (E92 or 93)
New fully charged Odyssey battery
Powermaster 12si 150amp alternator
radio/amp etc. not connected
Dakota Digital RTX gauges connected and operational
Resistor Plugs 41-629
Resistor spark plug and coil cables
ZL1 fuel module and vaporworx PWM controller (w/second fp sensor located next to the tank)

------------------------------
Here's what I'm using from the EFI ECU--harness has loose wires and connectors
IN USE/CONNECTED
--> loose wire pink 12 volts switched (connected to 12v sw. AAW wire, doesn't drop off)
--> loose wire grey A/C input (not connected yet)
--> loose wire thick red (connected directly to the battery +)
--> loose wire thick black (connected directly to the battery -)
--> loose wire pink distributor power (connected to the distributor)
--> loose wire brown points out (connected to ignition box points in)
--> connector distributor (connected to distributor)
--> connector fuel pressure sensor (connected to FAST sensor in fuel line under car)
--> connector fuel pump green trigger wire (connected to Vaporworx controller connector)
--> connector handheld
--> connector oxygen sensor
--> connector throttle body
--> connector coolant temp

NOT USED/NOT CONNECTED
loose wire gray/black future use
loose wire blue/yellow future use
loose wire blue fan 1
loose wire blue/white Fan 2
loose wire gray/red nitros
loose wire white rpm input (for when ECU is not controlling timing
Connector can Link
Connector crank trigger
Connector fuel pump harness

----------------
Ignition box wiring
USED/CONNECTED
-->loose wire red Battery + connected directly to junction box next to battery
-->loose wire black Battery - connected directly to junction box next to battery
-->loose green wire tach connected to Dakota Digital controller box
-->connector thin red 12v switched connected to switched 12v wire in AAW harness
-->connector white points out connector to brown points out from EFI harness
-->connector black and orange wires to coil

NOT USED/NOT CONNECTED
loose wire blue cylinder select
loose wire brown/white retard
loose wire yellow white stage
connector violet and green Mag +/1 trigger wire