Hi Everyone,
My distributor is off a tooth and I haven't had time to adjust it. It is currently set about 12 degrees. I have to take the car to the exhaust place this weekend to get my header Y-pipes hooked to my exhaust. The computer seems to be trying to adjust the timing and this causes the car to surge up & down.

Someone told me that I should unplug the wiring harness from the distributor (until I get time to adjust it) so the computer can't adjust the timing.

My question is this: I've never heard of anyone doing that before. Is it a good idea and will it function OK without the harness hooked to the distributor?

Thank you!!!

 

bump

 

dont disconnect the harness from the module disconnect the single connector for computer advance

its a tan and black wire

to me this all sound a little DEE DEE DEE given the simplicity of moving the dist a tooth

 

Thanks for the relpy, jamon8.

I'm not real familiar with distributor timing...

My mechanic friend said to pull the distributor up, move it clockwise about 1 tooth, then set it back in. He said it wouldn't go all the way in, so I'd have to hold it down and have someone bump the ignition. He said the distributor should then fall into place.

Does that sound right?

Thanks again!

 

To start with, why do you think your distributor is "off a tooth"?

 

I tried to time the car and was able to turn the distributor to about 12* advance. I tried to turn the distributor further but it wouldn't turn. My mechanic friend told me that they only turn so far and it is probably off a tooth.

 

You could turn the distributor around forever if the wiring and firewall didn't prevent it.

There's probably nothing wrong with it.

 

Thanks for the reply Apeiron...

I will double-check the distributor and make sure the wires and firewall are not keeping it from turning. It could also be the new intake manifold I bought (TPIS BigMouth). Maybe it is shaped slightly different and hitting the cap?

Last dumb question If it is hitting the firewall or intake manifold, do I have to pull it out and adjust its position? Or is there a better way to adjust it?

Sorry again for the dumb questions, but I don't know alot about timing.

Thanks!

 

Have you ever removed the distributor? If not, then it's not terribly likely that it's installed incorrectly.

Why are you trying to set the timing? Are you disconnecting the EST wire when you do it?

 

Basically, if you can, avoid pulling the distributor to get the timing right. If you do have to pull it out, and move it's relative position to the motor, you'll need to know how to find #1 cylinder Top Dead Center in order to get the initial position of the distributor right. While not difficult, it is a little confusing if you havent done it before.

 

I removed the distributor recently when I rebuilt most of my motor. Almost every part I put back on was new (heads, cam, runner, etc).

However, since I don't know much about timing, I asked my mechanic friend to help me put the distributor back in and he did.

Now I'm just trying to get the car back at about 8* or so.

 

you would have to have a super radical cam to need 12 degrees

have you located the est wire connector- it should be a tan and black wire

 

I am going to the garage tomorrow morning to try and figure out where that brown cable w/ black stripe is at. If I can find it, I will unplug it and see if it idles better.

Does that cable plug into the back of the distributor? From memory, I remember there are two connectors that plug into the distributor base. One is from the coil, the other goes into the wiring harness.

Thanks!

 

ok dumb question but im doing a tune up on my car and replacing spark plugs wires cap rotor etc.... but how do you physically turn the cap to fix teh timing?

 

No, don't do that. Unplug it and set the timing, then plug it back in.
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Loosen the distributor hold down bolt and turn the entire distributor body.

 

ok i must have a different cap then you guys. there arte 4 bolt/screws holding the cap down. i have a 5.0 v8 tpi automatic 305 trans am 1986

 

Forget about the cap. You're turning the entire distributor to set the timing.

 

Apeiron where is the timing connector on formula_novice's car

I have a painless harness and my connector is by the computer

 

It'll be coming out of the distributor base.

 

I was able to find the brown/black wire and disconnected it. Then I found out there were wires that were keeping the distributor from turning. I re-arranged the wires and it now turns. The timing is now set to 8 degrees.

However once I turned the motor off, I hooked the brown wire back up and decided to just look at where the timing was at. The timing jumped from 8 degrees to about 12 - 14 degrees. Why would the computer advance it so much? Is this normal? FYI - I made sure I didn't bump the distributor when I tightened it down.

Thanks!
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Oh, I forgot to mention... I don't have the Y-pipes hooked to the exhaust at the moment. I have an appointment to get that done today. Would the lack of back-pressure cause the timing to be off?

Thanks again!

 

Yes, the ECM will advance the timing when the EST wire is reconnected. That's why it has to be disconnected to set the timing.

 

Thanks for the info Apeiron.

The timing is now exactly 8 degrees and the exhaust is hooked-up. However when I turn the key to start the car, the distributor still 'clicks'. On the 3rd click, the car starts right up. Does the 'clicking' mean 8 degrees is not correct?

Thanks!

 

No, the clicking wouldn't have anything to do with the timing. It's hard to say what would be causing it to click.

 

starter might be clicking? check your battery and starter connections it might be arching.