Having issues with my timing. Some times it will idle fine then others it wont idle at all unless i turn up the timing. Then a few days later I have to turn it back down cause it wont start hot. It is a 89 firebird formula with a 350. Bought it with a blown head gasket and since then put on RHS heads, edelbrock shorties with a heated o2 sensor, new distributor, initial rebuild was with stock tpi setup and now has a holley stealthram, 255lph fuel pump, msd blaster coil, 30lb ford redtop injectors, using a ebl flash so it is converted over to a MAP setup. Plugs and wires are good. Have tried 2 different engine wiring harnesses, 2 different distributors, 2 different throttle bodies with different IAC and TPS, and this is the one issue i cant get nailed down. Any help would be appreciated......

Thanks
Bill

 

wow sounds nice but it needs a tune mine did the same thing use to drive fine and when id come to a stop it would die and would idle up and down no mater how far u turend up or down the dizzy... you have 2 choices send ur stock chip out cost about 400 by the time ur done and even then there just guessing at wat u need or do it ur self or upgrade to a fast or accel ecu and to get all the stuff from moats is about 350
and a plug and play fast is wat i am swaping too because i have sent out for 2 tunes and still not the best is like 2000 but well worth it if u need any more info let me know

 

I have the EBL flash which is completely tuneable and no matter the tune the timing seems to go in and out. On the same tune it could be running fine one day then the next like crap which is when i have to turn the distributor counter clockwise. Then a few days later it wont start cause the timing is too far advanced so i set it back to 8 degrees which is what it is set at in the tune.

 

mmm sounds like mine i played with the dizzy for months finaly got it to just run 99.999% of the time but gas milage sux and powers ok i never could get it set a 8 degrees my timming marker isnt stock therefor not in the rite spot.. unless u have vac leak its still a tuneing timming issue these cars are picky my ex boss worked on vettes for 30 years told me and i quote anyone who puts more than a k&n filter on a TPI is an idiot lol have you unpluged the est wire and see if it acts any better

 

also can u data log it and see what its doing?

 

How do you data log?

 

What is the base timing set at in your ebl programming, stock is 6deg before.
Also don't forget to disconnect the est wire when setting timing.

 

Just a suggestion, but your spark plug cables are separated by guides, right? they're not crisscrossing each other... I had a problem with cheap wires and it was doing what you have mentioned... doubt it will be the problem, but hey if it helps your situation, it's a cheap fix... ...

 

timing is set at 8 degrees in the EBL and the wires are MSD street fires i believe with wire looms and no crossing....

 

have you taken the dizzy out and inspected for possible damage during installation?

 

you need a data loggin program and a laptop goto moates.net if ur intrested

 

also if the dizzy is lose as in you can still turn it by hand w/o loosening the hold down clamp it will cause this problem i did the so if i turned really hard i could adj in a parking lot or something to get it to run and get home and one day i just said F*** it tightened it up and car starts every time no idle up or down or stalling believe im at like 6 adv

 

6 degrees before??

 

I had a very similar issue. I ended up having to replace the ignition module on the distributor, and then the coil. Once those two were swapped out, it ran like a champ. If the coil is going out the ecm will continue to adjust for the difference in spark strength which will make the car run like poop.

 

I hope your not using one of those cheap chrome dizzy hold downs aswell.you can tighten that thing for days untill you realise that they collaspe.thats what caused me days and long hrs of checking everything under the sun for this same issue

 

I had a similar problem with my IROC. Turns out the distributor clamp was coming loose. So I put a lock washer under the bolt, and so far so good.