Have a helper get in the car and throttle up the motor while you have the timing gun pointed at the timing marks take note at the highest reading. Rotating the distributor will change that number, take note of where your timing is currently set.įor now we will leave the initial timing (your timing at idle) at 10 degrees. The timing pointer will line up with a corresponding number on the harmonic balancer that is your initial timing setting. Point the timing gun at the timing pointer above the harmonic balancer and press the trigger, the strobe will begin flashing and illuminating the corresponding degree number. Avoid doing this in direct sunlight as it will be almost impossible to see the strobe light against the harmonic balancer. If you have a dial back timing gun, make sure that the dial is set to zero. In our case, rotating the distributor clockwise will advance the timing (Give it more timing) and rotating it counter clockwise will retard the timing (Take out timing).Ĭlamp the red and black leads onto your battery and route all the wires away from spinning objects and your exhaust, get in the car and start it. Rotating the distributor clockwise or counter clockwise is how you adjust the amount of timing! Do not rotate the distributor too much as even the slightest turn will change the timing. Do not loosen this clamp too much or else your distributor will be turning by itself as the motor is running. Next, locate the distributor hold down clamp and loosen it just enough so that you can rotate the distributor. In the case of our Ford 302, the number 1 cylinder would be the front passenger side piston. Try to isolate the spark plug wire from the adjacent wires to avoid mixing signals. You will need to clip the pick-up from the timing light to this wire. From here you can identify the number 1 piston and its corresponding spark plug wire. The vacuum advance will skew your timing readings when trying to set a baseline. To start checking ignition timing, unplug the vacuum advance and plug the port off on your carburetor. The zero indicates top dead center on the number 1 piston, the numbers below it are how many degrees before top dead center the number 1 piston is. ![]() ![]() There is also a timing pointer currently pointing at the 40 mark on the balancer. Notice how there are a series of numbers stamped onto it, they range from 0-40 these represent the amount of timing in degrees. This particular timing gun has what’s called a “dial back”, mainly meant for harmonic balancers that do not have multiple timing marks or that only have top dead center marked on them. The strobe light will be emitted from this end of the gun.ģ. (Some guns actually have a button instead of a trigger)Ģ. It’s a very simple tool, now let’s move to the timing gun itself and some of its features:ġ: When pressed and held, this trigger will activate the gun and begin emitting the strobe light. This will provide power to the timing light. The red clamp goes onto the positive end of your car battery and the black clamp goes onto the negative end. It picks up the spark signal through the wire.Ģ. Let’s start with some general identification:ġ: This red clamp is an inductive pick-up that gets clipped onto the number 1 cylinder spark plug wire. Stop, whip out your timing light, take some timing out and go for a test drive. ![]() If you hear anything that sounds remotely close to pinging, do not attempt to go to wide open throttle or beat on the car. Listen for any signs of pinging, it tends to sound like marbles rattling around in a tin can. If you do plan on adding more timing (IE more advance), then start small and go for a test drive. The best thing to do when wondering what to set your timing is to be conservative and stick to the factory settings. It’s always in one’s best interest to be cautious when adjusting timing and to go in small increments. This can lead to melted pistons, cracked pistons, breaking piston rings or even catastrophic engine failure. Too much can lead to pinging or detonation which is extremely harmful to your motor. Having too much advance in your timing is much worse than having too little. Too little timing and you lose performance, too much timing and you start breaking things (and the obvious loss of performance that comes with that). Incorrect ignition timing can lead to poor fuel economy, low power or even a blown motor. Having your ignition timing set correctly could mean the difference between having good day and a very, very bad day.
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