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timing light make me mad


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a while back i did timing belts... and did them according to the usrm. a few days ago i decide to fine tune my timing... so I go out there with my timing light... hook it up, follow the directions which say to unhook the disty advance and plug the line, and set the little dial to the desired atdc. 8 deg for carbed... so I set it to that, and it says to turn the disty until the little light flashing thing is seeing 0. is that right? I have a feeling I'm not following the directions correctly cuz when I took it for a drive, it had NO power. idled smoother though. but anywayzz... it's an advance timing light. little dial on the back, 0-60. what do I set it to and what is supposed to show up on the flywheel? 0 right? thanks guys.

 

-Jordan

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Strange- how much did the idle change when you turned the distributor? If you increased the timing, it should have picked up the idle a bit, but if you retarded the timing, the idle would have dropped. You also want to set you idle to spec as you dial in the timing, you'll have to go back and forth between timing and idle adjustment to get both tuned in right, the mechanical advance in the distributor will set the timing further forward at higher speeds, so if you dialed it in at 1200rpm, it will be below spec.

Also, make sure you hit the timing marks straight on, if you come at it at an angle, the shadow from the pointer will be in the wrong spot.

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Your car will be alittle more sluggish, cause those are stock settings

 

well... it could barely move, lol. i can't damage the engine if i run it too advance can i? cuz i tried it a few more times with the gun and just can't get things right... but if i set it by ear, it seems ok. if i retard it anymore, it idles rough... so i'm gonna leave it right there.

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