timing gun
04-09-2010 | 09:48 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 135
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From: United States
Car: 1989 firebird
Engine: 350 tpi
Transmission: 700r4
timing gun
my dad just gave me a timing gun he had for his formula and it didnt have instructions on how to use it. how do i hook this up to adjust my horrible timing.
04-09-2010 | 09:59 PM
#2
Supreme Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 17
From: Cary, North Carolina
Car: 1992 RS
Engine: Carbed 350
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.42 posi
Re: timing gun
3 wires - a positive to the positive battery terminal, a negative for the negative battery terminal, and the last one will have a clamp that clamps over the #1 spark plug wire. Start car, light will flash each time juice is sent through #1 spark plug wire. Shoot light at timing tab - should see the hash mark on the harmonic balancer kinda flash in the light somewhere within the timing tab - read the tab and that's where your timing is at. Loosen the distributor lockdown bolt (get a distributor wrench at any auto parts store), and slowly twist the distributor to adjust timing - just turn it tiny bits at a time. Be carefull with the distributor top - there's 50,000 volts going through each wire - make sure there's no shorts in them or cracks in the dist cap, otherwise the 50,000 volts will surge through your hand and bite you.
BEFORE you check or adjust timing, you need to unplug the EST wire (before starting car) - it's a single wire close to the pass side strut tower with a connector in the middle - it comes out of the large harness, has the connector, then goes back into the harness about 4 inches down - it's a tan wire - disconnect the connector.
The EST is the Electronic Spark Timing wire - with it connected, the ECM controls timing, and advances and retards it all the time, to numbers well above and/or below the timing tab marks, so you'd never see the mark when the light flashes. By disconnecting it, you are taking out the computer control, thus just seeing the BASE TIMING - which is what you are trying to adjust. Make sense?
Good Luck!
BEFORE you check or adjust timing, you need to unplug the EST wire (before starting car) - it's a single wire close to the pass side strut tower with a connector in the middle - it comes out of the large harness, has the connector, then goes back into the harness about 4 inches down - it's a tan wire - disconnect the connector.
The EST is the Electronic Spark Timing wire - with it connected, the ECM controls timing, and advances and retards it all the time, to numbers well above and/or below the timing tab marks, so you'd never see the mark when the light flashes. By disconnecting it, you are taking out the computer control, thus just seeing the BASE TIMING - which is what you are trying to adjust. Make sense?
Good Luck!
04-09-2010 | 10:30 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 135
Likes: 0
From: United States
Car: 1989 firebird
Engine: 350 tpi
Transmission: 700r4
Re: timing gun
3 wires - a positive to the positive battery terminal, a negative for the negative battery terminal, and the last one will have a clamp that clamps over the #1 spark plug wire. Start car, light will flash each time juice is sent through #1 spark plug wire. Shoot light at timing tab - should see the hash mark on the harmonic balancer kinda flash in the light somewhere within the timing tab - read the tab and that's where your timing is at. Loosen the distributor lockdown bolt (get a distributor wrench at any auto parts store), and slowly twist the distributor to adjust timing - just turn it tiny bits at a time. Be carefull with the distributor top - there's 50,000 volts going through each wire - make sure there's no shorts in them or cracks in the dist cap, otherwise the 50,000 volts will surge through your hand and bite you.
BEFORE you check or adjust timing, you need to unplug the EST wire (before starting car) - it's a single wire close to the pass side strut tower with a connector in the middle - it comes out of the large harness, has the connector, then goes back into the harness about 4 inches down - it's a tan wire - disconnect the connector.
The EST is the Electronic Spark Timing wire - with it connected, the ECM controls timing, and advances and retards it all the time, to numbers well above and/or below the timing tab marks, so you'd never see the mark when the light flashes. By disconnecting it, you are taking out the computer control, thus just seeing the BASE TIMING - which is what you are trying to adjust. Make sense?
Good Luck!
BEFORE you check or adjust timing, you need to unplug the EST wire (before starting car) - it's a single wire close to the pass side strut tower with a connector in the middle - it comes out of the large harness, has the connector, then goes back into the harness about 4 inches down - it's a tan wire - disconnect the connector.
The EST is the Electronic Spark Timing wire - with it connected, the ECM controls timing, and advances and retards it all the time, to numbers well above and/or below the timing tab marks, so you'd never see the mark when the light flashes. By disconnecting it, you are taking out the computer control, thus just seeing the BASE TIMING - which is what you are trying to adjust. Make sense?
Good Luck!
04-14-2010 | 03:52 PM
#4
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
From: Everett, Washington
Car: 2006 GTO
Engine: LS2
Transmission: M6
Axle/Gears: 3.46 LSD
Re: timing gun
My chilton's says you just need to connect terminal A and B on the ALDL connector for 1988-90 vehicles. Does this work, or does the EST have to be disconnected? I tried it with jumping the wires and it appeared to work (I had about 8* ATDC). Just curious.
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