Re: Holley Terminator X
Reply #55 –
I'm sorry for the delay in giving updates on my Terminator X install. The kit I used is the Holley, 550-937F. What should of taken a week ended up being 3 weeks. Ended up making a few repairs.
Checked the old engine harness and it would not of lasted much longer. Even had one burnt spot where a bunch of grounds were tied together. Be careful removing the old harness. You will need #10, pk/lb and #54, o/lg from the old computer plug to control the A/C.
First off if you decide to go this route there are a few things you'll need that are not in the kit. One is a "Y" CAN connector and the other is a CAN to USB cable. Both available from Holley. They will run about $90. Using these will allow you to plug in your laptop and use your monitor while tuning. The other are the oil pressure and fuel pressure sensors. Holley has them but they cost $135 each. They are proud of their stuff. I found them on ebay for $65 each. The ones from Holley are 100lb and the ones I found were 150lb. You can change the setting in the programing. They are considered "optional". They will give an "error code" on the monitor if not used. You will also need an upper intake gasket. If you have MAF installed you will need to fab a pipe to replace it. In my case I have a BBK cold air system through the fender. BBK does make an adapter for this and it costs around $80. I have about $1500 invested without tuning.
I decided to mount the monitor where the clock goes. Made a plate, used Velcro to attach the monitor. If I decide I don't like it easy to reinstall the clock. I mounted the computer in the bottom slot where the system sentry went. Almost a perfect fit width wise and just made a blank plate to fill the void under it.
The install is pretty easy and pretty much follows Holley's instructions. The cable they have for the oil pressure sensor is too short to reach the sensor mounted by the oil filter. Just cut and extend it by a foot. Make sure and follow their instructions and connect the power wires to the battery.
Start up and tuning is where I get lost. I had Andrew Borodin do the start up and tuning. He was recommended through the Holley Terminator X Forum. My cost was $475. Worth every penny. He is excellent and easy to work with. I know it says "self learning" but that is not entirely true. First we ran into a problem starting the car. It wouldn't. Found out it was because I was using a vacuum canister. (You need a manifold vacuum signal). Disconnected it and spliced the hose. With my laptop plugged into the car Andrew took it over to set up the computer. Several settings are only accessible through the computer before you start it. Andrew had me install a fixed orifice PCV and move the MAT sensor from the intake manifold to my cold air pipe about 3in before the throttle body. (The wire is long enough to do this). This is not in the Holley manual.
The rest, to me, was magic. Andrew had it running about 2hrs later. After several driving sessions he had the fuel mapping set up. If you have A/C you will need to connect the old #10, pk/lb, to the white/blue stripe in the passenger foot-well. This will allow you to come to a stop with the A/C on and not kill the motor. This will have to be set up in the programming. There is also a A/C Shutdown output to kill the A/C in WOT. I did not connect it because, in my case, did not need it.
I have had 2 problems since. One was caused by a new Ford TPS, replaced it and the other was the TFI module, replaced it with one from MSD.
The car runs great. Way better than with the A9L. In my case it was well worth installing the Terminator X. You can spin the tires in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Idle is 870-900. Timing is controlled by the computer, initial is 14*. AFR is 14.6. IAC is controlled by the computer. Gas millage is around 12mpg on premium. Plug and play? Not quite. I have about 400 miles on it with no problems.
Topic: Holley Terminator X (Read 12643 times)
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