Table of Contents Paragraph Page No. SAFETY GUIDELINES............................................................................................................ 1 VEHICLE SERVICE MANUALS.............................................................................................. 2 GENERAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... 3 ENGINE TIMING AND TUNE-UPS...........................................................................
Safety Guidelines SAFETY EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguisher Keep a fire extinguisher suitable for gasoline/chemical/electrical fires on hand whenever working on a vehicle. Fireproof Container Store rags and flammable liquids only in fireproof containers. Allow soaked rags to dry thoroughly in open air before discarding. Safety Goggles Wear safety goggles when working on a vehicle to protect your eyes from battery acid, gasoline, and airborne dust and dirt from moving engine parts.
Vehicle Service Manuals Contact your local car dealership, auto parts store, bookstore or public library for availability of service manuals for your vehicle. The following companies publish valuable repair manuals. Write to them for availability and prices. Be sure to include the make, model and year of your vehicle. FACTORY SOURCES Ford/General Motors Service Manuals Helm Inc. 14310 Hamilton Ave.
General Information ENGINE TIMING AND TUNE-UPS Proper ignition timing is critical in order to achieve peak engine performance and to ensure maximum fuel economy. An ignition system timing check is critical during any tune-up procedure. Your timing light provides a simple and efficient means of checking your vehicle's ignition timing, and provides the additional ability to check the operation of your vehicle's mechanical or vacuum advance timing controls.
General Information Fig. 1 Timing Light Controls - General 3 4 2 1 14 12 10 13 5 12 6 7 8 9 6. Advance Increment Switch — Increments through degrees of advance. 7. Advance Decrement Switch — Decrements through degrees of advance. 8. Zeroing Switch — Returns LCD advance display to 0 (zero) degrees. 9. Flash Switch — Push to turn strobe light on. Push again to turn strobe light off. 10. Ignition Mode Indicator and Symbol 11. RPM Display — Shows current engine speed in revolutions-per-minute.
Using Your Timing Light BEFORE YOU BEGIN Make a thorough check before starting any test procedure and fix any known mechanical prob-lems before performing any test. Loose or dam-aged hoses, wiring, or electrical connectors are often responsible for poor engine performance. Refer to your vehicle’s service manual for proper connection of vacuum hoses, electrical wiring, and wiring harness connectors.
Using Your Timing Light TIMING LIGHT CONNECTION To ensure personal safety and reliable operation of the timing light, use the following procedure to connect the timing light: WARNING! Always keep hands, timing light, lead wires and clips away from moving engine parts and hot surfaces. DO NOT SMOKE. 1. Turn the ignition off. DO NOT CONNECT THE TIMING LIGHT WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING OR WITH THE IGNITION ON. 2. Clamp the inductive pickup clip around the No. 1 spark plug wire. See Figure 3.
Using Your Timing Light 6. Adjust the timing light barrel, as needed, to adequately light the timing marks. 7. Note the position of the rotating timing mark in relation to the reference pointer. See Figure 4. ■ Compare the readings obtained in step 7 with the manufacturer's specifications for timing. If the readings are within the specified tolerance (typically ±2°), ignition timing is correct.
Using Your Timing Light Checking Mechanical/Centrifugal Timing Advance 1. MAKE SURE the timing light Advance Display shows 0 (zero) degrees. Press the Zeroing Switch if necessary to obtain 0 degree indication. 2. While performing an INITIAL (BASE) TIMING CHECK as previously described, slowly increase engine speed to the manufacturer's specified rpm for mechanical/centrifugal advance, and observe the rotating timing mark for change.
Using Your Timing Light 5. Aim the timing light at the timing marks and press the Advance Increment and Advance Decrement switches, as necessary, until the timing marks are realigned to the initial (base) timing mark as recorded in step 3. 6. The difference between the reading obtained in step 3 {initial (base) timing} and the value obtained in step 5 is the vehicle's vacuum advance. Compare this value with the manufacturer's specifications for vacuum advance. 7.
Troubleshooting If the timing light fails to operate or operates erratically, make the following checks: 1. Make sure the battery clips are firmly connected to the battery terminals. 2. Make sure the battery clip polarity is correct (red battery clip is connected to the positive (+) battery terminal, black battery clip is connected to the negative (–) battery terminal). 3. Make sure the upper and lower ferrite cores of the inductive pickup clip are clean.
Care and Maintenance CLEANING THE INDUCTIVE PICKUP CLIP Dirt or grease on the inside surfaces of the inductive pickup clip can result in erratic flashing or poor operation of the timing light. Periodically clean the contact surfaces inside the inductive pickup clip by wiping with a soft cloth. See Figure 6. Fig. 6.
Notes 12
Warranty and Service LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY The Manufacturer warrants to the original purchaser that this unit is free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and maintenance for a period of one (1) year from the date of original purchase. If the unit fails within the one (1) year period, it will be repaired or replaced, at the Manufacturer's option, at no charge, when returned prepaid to the Service Center with Proof of Purchase. The sales receipt may be used for this purpose.
