TABLE OF CONTENTS Paragraph Page No. SAFETY GUIDELINES.................................................................................................................1 VEHICLE SERVICE MANUALS...................................................................................................2 GENERAL INFORMATION ..........................................................................................................3 ENGINE TIMING AND TUNE-UPS ...................................................................................3 ABOUT THE TIMING LIGHT.............................................................................................3 USING YOUR TIMING LIGHT......................................................................................................4 BEFORE YOU BEGIN.......................................................................................................4 ENGINE PREPARATION BEFORE TIMING ....................................................................4 TIMING LIGHT CONNECTION .........................................................................................5 INITIAL (BASE) TIMING CHECK ......................................................................................5 TIMING ADJUSTMENT.....................................................................................................6 ADVANCE TIMING CONTROL CHECKS.........................................................................6 TROUBLESHOOTING .................................................................................................................8 CARE AND MAINTENANCE .......................................................................................................8 CLEANING THE INDUCTIVE PICKUP .............................................................................8 REPLACING THE INDUCTIVE PICKUP LEADS..............................................................8 WARRANTY AND SERVICE .......................................................................................................9 LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY ...................................................................................9 SERVICE PROCEDURES ................................................................................................9 i SAFETY GUIDELINES SAFETY EQUIPMENT SMOKING AND OPEN FLAMES Fire Extinguisher Never smoke while working on your car. Gasoline vapor is highly flammable, and the Keep a fire extinguisher suitable for gas formed in a charging battery is explosive. gasoline/chemical/electrical fires on hand whenever working on a vehicle. BATTERY Fireproof Container Do not lay tools or equipment on the battery. Accidentally grounding the battery's positive (+) Store rags and flammable liquids only in terminal can shock or burn you and damage fireproof containers. Allow soaked rags to dry wiring, the battery or your tools and testers. Be thoroughly in open air before discarding. careful of contact with battery acid. It can burn Safety Goggles holes in your clothing and burn your skin or eyes. Wear safety goggles when working on a vehicle to protect your eyes from battery acid, gasoline, When operating any test instrument from an and airborne dust and dirt from moving engine external battery, connect a jumper wire parts. between the negative terminal of the external battery and ground on the vehicle under test. LOOSE CLOTHING AND LONG HAIR When working in a garage or other enclosed (MOVING PARTS) area, the external battery should be located at Be very careful not to get your hands, hair or least 18 inches above the floor to minimize the clothes near any moving parts such as fan possibility of igniting gasoline vapors. blades, belts and pulleys or throttle and HIGH VOLTAGE transmission linkages. DO NOT wear loose clothing or jewelry when working on a vehicle. High voltage is present in the ignition coil, distributor cap, ignition wires and spark plugs. VENTILATION When handling ignition wires while the engine ALWAYS operate vehicle in a well-ventilated is running, use insulated pliers to avoid a area. If vehicle is in an enclosed area, exhaust shock. should be routed directly to the outside using a JACK leakproof exhaust hose. The jack supplied with the vehicle should be SETTING THE BRAKE used only for changing wheels. Never crawl Make sure that your car is in Park or Neutral, under car or run engine while vehicle is on a and that the parking brake is firmly set. jack. HOT SURFACES Avoid contact with hot surfaces such as exhaust manifolds, pipes, mufflers, radiator and hoses. Never remove the radiator cap while the engine is hot. Escaping coolant under pressure can cause serious burns. 1 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. IMPORTANT! Timing procedures vary from vehicle to vehicle. ALWAYS refer to the Vehicle Emission Label or service manual for your vehicle to obtain the proper timing procedures, specifications, and location of timing marks. OBSERVE ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHENEVER WORKING ON A VEHICLE. 2 GENERAL INFORMATION ENGINE TIMING AND TUNE-UPS 4. Perform remaining connection and test Proper ignition timing is critical in order to procedures as specified in the achieve peak engine performance and to ensure appropriate sections of this manual. maximum fuel economy. An ignition system timing check is critical during any tune-up Timing Light Controls procedure. Your timing light provides a simple Controls for the timing light are shown in Figure 1. and efficient means of checking your vehicle's ignition timing, and provides the additional ability 1. Xenon Bulb — Used to illuminate timing to check the operation of your vehicle's marks for checking timing. mechanical or vacuum advance timing controls. 2. Swiveling Head — Contains the xenon You may also need tools and equipment to bulb. Rotates over approximately 90° to check breaker point dwell (for conventional allow for easy illumination of timing marks ignition systems) or to apply vacuum to the in hard to reach locations. vacuum advance diaphragm on the distributor 3. Control Panel — Contains the controls during advance checks. Your supplier offers a necessary to operate the timing light. wide range of tools and equipment necessary to perform these tasks. 4. Inductive Pickup Leads — Detachable leads assembly connects timing light to With reference to today's "self-tuning" vehicles, battery and ignition system: the meaning of the term "tune-up" has changed significantly. A tune-up consists essentially of ■ Red Battery Clip — Connects to checking engine operation with Original Equip- battery positive (+) terminal. ment Manufacturer's specifications. Adjustments ■ Black Battery Clip — Connects to are made and parts are replaced ONLY if engine battery negative (-) terminal or bare performance is not within specifications. metal chassis ground. ABOUT THE TIMING LIGHT ■ Inductive Pickup Clip — Clamps Your timing light is designed for use on all 12- around No. 1 spark plug cable. volt negative ground vehicles equipped with 5. LCD Display — Provides a digital display of conventional breaker point and electronic engine operating parameters including ignition systems. engine speed (rpm) and advance (degrees). 6. Advance Increment Switch — For 6-Volt Electrical Systems Increments through degrees of advance. ■ Requires a separate 12-volt auto- 7. Advance Decrement Switch — motive battery. Decrements through degrees of advance. Your timing light may be used on vehicles 8. Zeroing Switch — Returns LCD advance with 6-volt electrical systems by using the display to 0 (zero) degrees. following connection procedure: 9. Flash Switch — Push to turn strobe light 1. Connect the RED battery clip to the on. Push again to turn strobe light off. positive (+) terminal of the 12-volt 10. Ignition Mode Indicator and Symbol battery. 11. RPM Display — Shows current engine 2. Connect the BLACK battery clip to the speed in revolutions-per-minute. negative (-) terminal of the 12-volt battery. 12. Advance Indicator and Symbol 3. Using a length of 18AWG jumper wire, 13. Advance Display — Shows engine timing ground the negative (-) terminal of the advance in degrees. 12-volt battery to a known-good ground 14. Flash Symbol — Blinks when strobe light on the vehicle under test. is operating. 3 Fig. 1 Timing Light Controls - General 3 4 2 1 14 12 10 13 5 11 12 10 6 7 8 9 USING YOUR TIMING LIGHT BEFORE YOU BEGIN ■ Belts ■ Make a thorough check before starting any test Electrical wiring procedure and fix any known mechanical prob- ■ Electrical connectors lems before performing any test. Loose or dam- aged hoses, wiring, or electrical connectors are ENGINE PREPARATION BEFORE often responsible for poor engine performance. TIMING Refer to your vehicle’s service manual for proper connection of vacuum hoses, electrical Always prepare the engine for timing before wiring, and wiring harness connectors. Check performing a timing check. Refer to the Vehicle the following areas: Emission Control Label or service manual for timing procedures and specifications for your ■ All fluid levels vehicle. The Vehicle Emission Control Label is ■ Spark plugs and spark plug wires located under the hood in the engine ■ Air cleaner compartment. The label is typically located on the underside of the hood, on a fender well or ■ Vacuum hoses valve