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A timing light is used to set ignition timing by connecting to the car’s battery and No. 1 spark plug wire. The strobe illuminates the harmonic balancer’s numbers, allowing for timing to be adjusted. It is important to disconnect the vacuum advance module and take readings at the correct RPM. Advanced features allow for adjustment of timing based on engine RPM. The typical design is pistol-shaped, but straight housings with wires are also available.
A timing light is a device used to set the ignition timing of a car. The handheld device connects to the vehicle’s battery and the engine’s No. 1 spark plug wire. With the engine running, the timing light has a strobe that comes on whenever the No. 1 spark plug fires. The light is directed at the engine’s harmonic balancer, which has a series of numbers etched on it. The numbers represent the number of degrees before and after the No. 1 cylinder’s top dead center position. A chalk mark is placed in the appropriate location and illuminates when the light flashes, allowing time to be advanced or retarded up to get the desired reading.
On distributor equipped engines, there is often a vacuum advance module in the distributor that must be disconnected before using a timing light. Timing should be set with advance off, although the vacuum hose should be capped to prevent a false timing light reading. It is important that people take the timing light reading while the engine is running at the proper speed. Your vehicle manual will contain information regarding the correct engine revolutions per minute (RPM) to establish engine timing.
On some performance timing light housings, there is an adjustable advance knob feature. This advanced feature allows the timing light to be adjusted to the desired degree of timing based on engine RPM. This feature is used when setting the timing of a race engine; It is capable of representing the amount of time that is set on the distributor for any given engine speed. This feature also makes it possible to determine if a distributor is running and equipped with the correct weights by flashing and signaling the spark plug ignition and matching the flash to the timing marks on the balancer.
The typical timing light design takes the shape of a pistol. This shape makes it easy to aim at the desired area inside the engine compartment to illuminate the timing marks on the underside of the engine. Some non-traditional light designs are simply straight housings with the wires coming out of the end of the light. These lights are often difficult to use in a car’s engine compartment; however, they are useful when used on an exposed engine, such as a tractor. While some of the older lights use a wire spring that is actually positioned inside the spark plug wire terminal, most modern timing light designs use an inductive pickup that is simply clamped onto the spark plug wire to take reading.
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