Holley EFI

MPS Racing - Holley EFI

Holley is basically a start of the art ECU. It's very configurable and very expandable.
The main wiring harness can be used with any ECU but some ECU's have more harnesses than others.

If you need transmission controls for an automatic you will need to use either the Terminator X Max or the Dominator. Otherwise you can run any ECU you want

A full breakdown of all of the capabilities is listed at the bottom of this page.
https://3800wiki.com/tuning_resources/aftermarket_ecu/holley_efi#ecu_options_breakdown

The Terminator X and Terminator X Max are the entry level Holley systems. The HP EFI and Dominator are the more high end systems that have even more capabilities. Most people are going to find the Terminator X is going to do everything they want it to for a lot of use cases. If you have a drag car with a lot of sensors and need tons of advanced tables or traction control though you will likely want to step up to the Dominator system.

Terminator XTerminator X MaxHP EFIDominator
cost$1,249.95$1,799.95$2,649.95$3,149.95
waterproofnonoyesyes
trans controlnoyesnoyes
Drive By Wire supportnoyesnoyes
internal loggingnonoyesyes
custom inputs44440
custom outputs44440
injectors supported881624
peak and hold injector supportnonoyesyes
NTK wideband support (needed for Methanol)nonoyesyes
# of 1D custom advanced tables551616
# of 2D custom advanced tables551616

If for whatever reason you don't have enough inputs or outputs you can always expand your ECU using a CAN module.
You can also upgrade your ECU without having to buy a new wiring harness; each shares the same main harness connector and pinout for it.

The Terminator X comes with a 3.5“ LCD touch screen and the wiring harness if you buy the kit. You're almost paying for the harnesses and LCD and receiving a free ECU with it. Then if you want to upgrade down the road you could always buy a different ECU or add a CAN module.

Still not sure?

Go ahead and download the software and play around with it to see if it can do what you're looking for. Terminator and HP/Dominator have their own software

Terminator software:
https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_injection/terminator_x/terminator_x_software/parts/TERMINATORXSOFTWARE

Dominator/HP EFI software:
https://www.holley.com/support/fuel_injection/hp_and_dominator_efi/


Generally most turbo stickshift 3800's or turbo 3800's with an old school 350/400/powerglide transmission can step to a Holley for ~$1,600 in today's prices by going with a Terminator X system and modifying the LS1/LS6 harness to use the 3800's crank/cam sensor along with a few other modifications to make it work.

Drivetrain manual trans, cable throttle electronic trans, cable throttle electronic trans, drive by wire full on race car needing tons of inputs and outputs
Which ECU Terminator X Terminator X Max Terminator X Max Dominator
ECU/Harness part # 550-903 550-934 550-926 550-650
Holley system $ 1,249.95 $ 1,799.95 $ 1,799.95 $ 3,149.95
Holley 3 bar MAP $ 111.95 $ 111.95 $ 111.95 $ 111.95 https://www.amazon.com/Holley-554-107-MAP-Sensor/dp/B004BA7L0W
Fuel pressure sensor $ 41.98 $ 41.98 $ 41.98 $ 41.98 https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Transducer-Sender-Sensor-Stainless/dp/B00NIK9E10
flex fuel sensor (not needed) $ 57.03 $ 57.03 $ 57.03 $ 57.03 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZQ1G2P
MAC valve for boost control $ 23.51 $ 23.51 $ 23.51 $ 23.51 https://www.amazon.com/Valve-Control-Solenoid-Controller-35A-AAA-DDBA-1BA/dp/B07SSSBBZ2</font>
USB cable for Holley $ 65.67 $ 65.67 $ 65.67 $ - https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_injection/terminator_x/terminator_x_service_parts/parts/558-443
ls coil pack $ 100.00 $ 100.00 $ 100.00 $ 100.00 https://www.ebay.com/itm/325052552558?epid=1264133034&hash=item4baea4556e:g:MtcAAOSw3xViDFNF
Typical Cost $ 1,650.09 $ 2,200.09 $ 2,200.09 $ 3,484.42

You could swap out the MAP sensor for an ACDelco 12643955 for about $30, skip the flex fuel sensor, buy some junkyard coils, and you'd probably be able to cut the price down by about $200 for a cheaper alternative. You could also skip the USB cable and just read and write tunes from the touch screen, but that will probably get a little frustrating in the long term.


Holley has no harnesses built into it for a 3800 as a kit, but can be configured to work with a 3800 and will just need some wiring harness modifications.
The simplest route seems to be to use the LS1 harness and modify it for the 3800. This allows you to use the LS style coil pack and retire the waste spark ignition system on the 3800.

Here is a breakdown of the sensors and harnesses that you might use:

Harness lengthening what harness what sensor to use
Crank Sensor Needs to be lengthened replace with stock 3800 connector stock sensor, 3x signal only
Cam Sensor Needs to be lengthened same as LS1 or stock 3800 stock 3800 sensor
oil pressure sensor Needs to be lengthened same as LS1 or stock 3800 3 pin sensor: 2000+ H-body sensor (12677837)
coolant temp sensor no modification needed same as LS1 or stock 3800 2 pin sensor
IAC Needs to be lengthened same as LS1 or stock 3800 stock 3800
IAT no modification needed same as LS1 or stock 3800 stock 3800
TPS Needs to be lengthened replace with stock 3800 connector stock 3800
fuel injectors no modification needed same as LS1 or stock 3800 any EV1 or EV6 depending on what injector harness you bought
coils no modification needed LS1/truck coils need to replace with LS style coils
knock sensors Needs to be lengthened replace with stock 3800 connector stock 3800
MAP sensor no modification needed same as LS1 or stock 3800 stock 3800 or 2 bar MAP. Otherwise replace connector
Oxygen sensor no modification needed Holley harness Holley wideband (included with kit)
low oil switch Not used Not used Not used
VSS Not used Not used Not used
A/C pressure Not used Not used Not used
A/C clutch Not used Not used Not used

The Holley Terminator X and HP EFI do not have a way that I've seen of accepting a speed sensor signal. To workaround this and still send a speed signal to your speedometer without upgrading to a Terminator X Max or Dominator there are two options most people have done:
You could keep your stock ECU wired into power, ground, ignition voltage, and the speed sensor and use the stock PCM just to convert the VSS sensor signal into a signal for your speedometer. Extend those wires and hide the PCM anywhere you want to.
You could also use a VR to Hall sensor converter box according to some posts on the internet.

The 3800 was equipped with different sensors depending on what car the engine went into. Because of this you may want to make sure you have the right sensors that will make the Holley happy.
The coolant temp and oil pressure sensors in particular are the ones to look out for. In general you want to look for sensors with the round 3 pin connector since these are actually sensors that output a voltage based on what they're seeing rather than a sensor that only changes the resistance across the terminals.

The recommended sensors I've found so far are:

Oil PressureACDelco 12677837 or similarFound on 00+ H-bodies
Coolant TemperatureDelphi TS10032 or similar use 2000+ sensor insteadFound on pre-2000 cars

The MAP sensor may also need to be examined to make sure you have the right terminal for the sensor you're using. I would just go recommend going with a Holley 3 bar map.

I would avoid the GM 3 bar MAP that snaps into the L36 manifold though. That MAP sensor was made for Duramax engines and doesn't have the resolution other sensors have. Would not rely on that for a car tuned in speed density.


I created a base tune as a starting point for a turbo 3800. You should go through it and make sure your sensors and injector are all correct though.
Base Tune Download

This forum thread contains a lot of pretty good information about how to make the Holley HP EFI and Dominator run on a 3800:
https://forums.holley.com/showthread.php?16249-HP-EFI-On-3800-V6-Engine/page4

One of the biggest issues in getting started that was noted there was how to send the ECU a crank signal.
The solution presented on that page was as follows:

So in review, the GM Series II & Series III 3800 engines will run just fine on the Holley system, with LS coils and using the factory crank & cam sensors.
You will need to set the Firing Order to 5,4,3,2,1,6
Use the Custom Ignition Type:
Crank - 1 Pulse/Fire - Digital Rising
Ignition Reference Angle 75° and using the 3x reluctor on balancer.
Cam - Single Pulse - Digital Falling
Inductive Delay - 100

A later post on that page mentioned it would also be a good idea to synchronize timing in Holley as well.

https://forums.holley.com/showthread.php?2577-Synchronizing-Ignition-Timing-Holley-EFI


Pulled from the bottom of this page: https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/fuel_injection/terminator_x/

HARDWARE HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Connectors2264-
Injector Drivers881288
Low Impedance Injector DriversYESNOYESNONO
Communication via USB PortYESNOYESNONO
Communication via CAN adapterNOYESNOYESYES
Diagnostic LEDsNOYESNOYESNO
Knock Sensors2222-
EnclosureALUMINUMCOMPOSITEALUMINUMCOMPOSITE-
PottedYESNOYESNOYES
DATA LOGGING HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
INTERNAL & EXTERNALEXTERNAL ONLYINTERNAL & EXTERNALEXTERNAL ONLYEXTERNAL ONLY
MAP SENSOR HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
EXTERNAL ONLYINTERNAL 1 BAR, OR EXTERNALEXTERNAL ONLYINTERNAL 1 BAR, OR EXTERNALINTERNAL 2.5 BAR
WIDEBAND SENSORS HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Count11211
Bosch 4.2YESNOYESNONO
NTKYESNOYESNONO
Bosch 4.9NOYESNOYESYES
TOTAL INPUTS (+12V, GND, 5V, FREQ) HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Count44504VARIES
+12vYESYESYESYESNO
GroundYESYESYESYES2
+5v SensorYESYESYESYES3* - SS ONLY
FrequencyYESYESYESYESNO
ThermistorYESNOYESNONO
+20vYESNOYESNONO
Digital SpeedNONOYESNONO
Customizable Software Inputs80208020NO
A/C ShutdownYESYESYESYESNO
TOTAL OUTPUTS (GND, PWM-) HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Count44364VARIES
+12vYESNOYESNONO
PWM+YESNOYESNONO
GroundYESYESYESYESYES
PWM-YESYESYESYESYES
Customizable Software Outputs62206220NO
Dual FansYESYESYESYESYES
Secondary Fuel PumpYESYESYESYESYES
IAC KickYESYESYESYESYES
Non-Electronic Trans TCC ControlYESYESYESYESNO
LOAD SENSING HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
VEYESYESYESYESYES
Speed DensityYESYESYESYESYES
Alpha-NYESYESYESYESNO
ComboYESYESYESYESNO
BOOST CONTROL HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
MAP and Dome ControlYESNOYESNONO
Dome ControlYESYESYESYESYES
Boost vs TimeYESYESYESYESYES
Boost vs RPMYESYESYESYESYES
Boost vs SpeedYESYESYESYESNO
Boost vs GearYESYESYESYESNO
Boost BuilderYESNOYESNONO
Boost SafetiesYESYESYESYESYES
NITROUS STAGES HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Wet Non-Progressive81811
Wet Progressive81811
Dry Non Progressive81811
Dry Progressive81811
GPOs8181NO
Rich/Lean SafetiesYESYESYESYESYES
Closed Loop to New TargetYESYESYESYESYES
Advanced Input StrategiesYESNOYESNONO
ADVANCED TABLES HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
1D84844
1D Per Gear8181NO
2D84842
2D Per Gear8181NO
TRACTION CONTROL HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
YESNOYESNONO
WATER/METH HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
YESNOYESNONO
STAGING ASSIST HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
YESYESYESYESNO
DRIVE BY WIRE HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
Single Throttle BodyNONOYESYESNO
Dual Throttle BodyNONOYESNONO
TRANSMISSION CONTROL HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
GM 4L60/4L70/4L80NONOYESYESNO
Ford AODE/4R70WNONOYESYESNO
ACCESSORIES HP TERMINATOR X DOMINATOR TERMINATOR X MAX SNIPER TBI
7” Digital DashYESYESYESYESYES
Pro-DashYESYESYESYESYES
CAN Modules (VVT, etc)YESYESYESYESNO
Analog GaugesYESYESYESYESYES