How to Set Ignition Timing on Honda and Acura Distributors

[@Camo-Dan]

Thanks for taking the time to explain this! I’m setting my ignition timing soon on my 90 crx si and the part about the connector under the dash I wouldn’t have known. Awesome video!

[@Camo-Dan]

I’m setting my ignition timing tomorrow on my 90 crx si (d16a6) and this is extremely helpful thank you so much for taking the time to explain this. I would not have known to short out that connector under the dash iether. I just finished my engine swap putting in a new used d16a6 and I’m so happy to be driving my crx again these cars are so much fun!

[@robertrlkatz6890]

Dear Vincent, I could see that you did it perfect and did mention it briefly but I thought maybe some could use a little more detail about the V-notch, I am always impressed with people that are willing to take their time off a busy life to try and help people to be able to do their own maintenance and not pay the big bucks to someone else to do the job. I notice that most people that are showing how to do this timing on the Honda, have most of the instructions spot on but I have yet seen any to get one detail exactly right, they are always very close but are not spot on. When I am doing something I want it to be perfect. Here is where most people do not get it quite right. If just looking to line up with only the v-notch with the red mark then it depends on what angle you are looking through that notch to make it accurate, this is the reason they put also a pointer below that v-notch. So, the way to do timing accurately, we align the v-notch with the pointer then the pointer at the red mark. I hope this will help the perfectionist. I think I will put this information on the other KZbin video that I see, to help other perfectionist.

[@midwestjeff]

I only see the 3 red notches on a cold start. Once the car warms up I can only see the white notch through the hole

[@Robertrlkatz]

​@@midwestjeff You do understand that for proper engine timing you must put in the jumper wire first. Then you only use the white mark to do the timing if you can set your tiiming light to 16 degrees or else you use the red mark, this is a setting for civics that are close 1999. It sounds to me that someone painted the extra red marks because you should only have one and the other yellow. I am sure you do know that when lining up with these marks you sight the pointer directly in the center of the V notch and then line up with the white mark again if you can set you timing light to the 16 degree mark. Your engine should not be over 900 rpm when setting the timing. If you go much higher you will get a false reading on the timing.

[@midwestjeff]

@@Robertrlkatz know if you check the Honda Accord manual there are two sets of lines. There was one white line which is 0° and then there are three red lines. Check the manual yourself

[@Robertrlkatz]

@@midwestjeff My apologies for giving miss information, I had forgotten that my timing light can change the degrees manually. I corrected my mistake in my other reply. Thank you for letting me know. I am sure that the 99 civic had only one red mark that I used and just don't remember another one but it has been awhile since I had worked on my sisters car, plus my brain is giving out, I am 74.

[@Rob-md6ml]

Great video but you should mention the cat needs to be at operation temperature and all auxiliaries like heater, ac, radio need to be off

[@manuelmadrid4416]

Best teaching video I've seen so far super easy to understand.

[@ALYEN513]

I did not have to hook any connector,install the distributor.then adjust the timing old school.start,adjust start adjust till smooth

[@Killian665]

@@user-ok9oj9wd5s don’t do this. Just do it right it’s not hard. Anyone doing it by here is always wrong.

[@christopher4692]

Yeah well some people want to do it the PROPER way.. your way will never be 100%

[@CondorrK]

The reason you jump it is so the ECU stops adjusting stuff to smooth idle. You timed it with adjustments, jumping it stops that and runs closed loop so you can set timing without other parameters interfering.

[@MrKarlfebel]

I keep missing the lines you're referring to. I'm sure it's right in front of my face

[@jessephilippi2615]

Thanks!

[@danturismo]

That is so helpful for getting my prelude running, thanks man!

[@sinnieleeonUtube]

Does it have to be number 1 spark plug? If the timing cycle is the same every time, then any plug can be used? So to adjust the timing, you just move the distributor to left/right a tiny bit before you tighten it? thanks

[@dannycar25]

has to be number 1 spark plug on any engine, you don't necessarily have to tighten it everytime you adjust. Just loosen, adjust till its right, and then tighten

[@sinnieleeonUtube]

​@@dannycar25 I cannot see the marking, on the pulley wheel. The car is 30 year old and I think they probably worn out. Is there another way to adjust the timing? Without taking the timing belt cover off ? I was thinking if I hook the timing gun up on all four plugs and if they flash at the same rate, then the timing is probably correct since the whole thing is cyclical. Right now, they are not flashing at the same rate and same number of flashes.

[@dannycar25]

the timing marks are engraved, it cannot possibly wear out. You do not need to take off any kind of cover to adjust timing. As for the spark wires, an engine does not fire all spark plugs at the same time. That would be disastrous and a very rough on the engine.

[@sinnieleeonUtube]

@@dannycar25 I ordered a rechargeable flashlight, which is extremely bright and zoomed in on the wheel and still could not tell/see the markings. Unless I was looking at the wrong wheel but doubt that. Since the 1994 Integra has the pointer on the timing belt cover, I would assume the markings are on the wheel closest to it? Anway, I gave up on that. I just adjusted the distr. until I can hear the engine sound is quiet and smooth. Took it for a ride and put my hand on the center of the steering wheel and didn't feel any vibration. Didn't hear any major sputtering either. Thought the engine sounded a little louder than usual, not sure because it is new. What frustrated me is the next day when I started up the car. I hear sputtering again?

[@dannycar25]

@@sinnieleeonUtube oh sorry I forgot to mention, you might have to slightly crank your engine over until the engine spins the crank to wear the markers are at. it might help with two people. one bumping the starter and one looking for the mark

[@johnriehernandez3418]

What will be the possible after effect if you forgot to short the pins and got the timing guide right to the middle. Will you experience something from your car?

[@ianagawa9795]

My mechanic said that the ECU will automatically adjust the timing ignition so the effort on adjusting the timing ignition using the timing light will be useless.

[@miclomusic805]

I can’t find the blue plug used to short anywhere ! I noticed it comes out of the blue wire and mine has nothing there any ideas ?

[@userfr95333]

same starting to think these videos are trash , for one the blue connector is nowhere to be found then you need the pistol its not that expensive but other comments are mentioning there arent white lines seems like a specific OEM belt you also need to have.

[@miclomusic805]

@@userfr95333 figured out these cars with the plug are Obd 1-3, my CRX is Obd 0 therefore I don’t have the plug

[@miclomusic805]

@@userfr95333 there aren’t any white lines for me either but there’s grooves you have to line up

[@sinnieleeonUtube]

What happens if the timing is not correct? Can I change the distributor and drive to the mechanic shop to do the timing? Does it have to be number 1 spark plug? If the timing cycle is the same every time, then can any plug be used?

[@jameshunt5316]

The marks on the crankshaft pulley are made so you can time cylinder one, you should always start with cylinder 1 on every vehicle you time.

[@johnlivingston9217]

Hi Vincent, thanks for the video, can you or anyone else explain this to me plz? This is the first time I did the timing belt on my '93 Accord. The last time the timing belt water pump was done by a mechanic about 5 years ago, who has been since retired. The car was running smooth, however when I opened up the timing cover, I found the crank pulley was 1 tooth off to the left of the mark where it is supposed to be, the left balancer pulley was about 2 teeth off to the left, and the right balancer pulley was about 6 teeth off to the right. I marked all the belts and pulley locations as where they were. I then set the pulleys and belts to tdc and lined up as per service manual. Put everything back together, and now the car doesn't run like it was before I set the timing belt and pulleys back according the manual, what gives? Was the old mechanic correct to off set the pulleys in the first place? Should I go with the manual and keep it as is and then adjust it with the "ray" gun and the distributor? I've everything marked so I can always go back and set as the mechanic did but would prefer to do it as the manufacture intended it so I can learn along the way too. Thanks

[@XTheJenovaProjectX]

Did you ever figure this out? Dealing with a similar issue.

[@yawarriaz4127]

sorry i didnt get it. can you share a picture where 3 lines were aligned with the arrow? hard to identify in this video.

[@dannycar25]

it should be on the lip of the pulley. look for the pointers

[@BMathiesen]

I'm really confused at what the timing light does besides just shine light in spurts with the ignition sparking. Otherwise I just get that I need to short the plug and then line the arrow in the middle of the lines. I don't see what the timing light did. If anyone cares to explain please do because I never understood what this does.

[@isaiahramirez1864]

Me as well I'm trying to properly set my 97 civic coupe D16y8 Engine to the correct timing & I'm having a hard time understanding what the Gun is for Can I just do everything without it and hear the engine not be as loud as it was?

[@BlakeGibbons]

2:21... You use the light so you can see the position of the 3 tick marks on your pulley every time that cylinder number 1 is firing. Then you adjust the distributor according to which way you need the marks to go to be within spec. That's just how you do it.. You don't want to just guess. That's why there's a tool.. & mechanics that make a living using those tools on cars that people played with by guessing.. Use the light.. There's also many other better videos that actually show the timing marks on the pulley that you are trying to line up.

[@BMathiesen]

@@BlakeGibbons I just didn't know how it worked but I have since figured it out. It's just super hard to see on this video but I get it

[@joshreed2110]

Without the aid of the timing gun light you will be unable to see the lines with the motor running to line them up

[@johnlivingston9217]

@@BlakeGibbons Is it possible for the after market pulley that doesn't have those marks? And in that case is there a work around without having to order a new pulley with the marks?

[@ericcazun4426]

You explained everything really well. Thank you

[@vqgav7680]

on my blue plug the wires are brown and black 99’ is it the same one?

[@userfr95333]

I don't have the blue connector to short how can i go about doing this without the shorting?

[@elliewilliams1137]

Hi when your car was just starting up it was cranking over fine and then it sounded like it was skipping or missing the teeth or something, do you know why that happens? My 99 accord sounds like that when starting and it takes forever to start. Thanks !

[@prometheus7413]

I just bought a replacement ignition distributor because the one I have now is badly corroded, would I have to do this that was shown on the video ?

[@TTHECULLL]

No as long as timing isn’t messed with

[@JohnnyFrickinRico]

nice CRX I love these cars so much I have 3 of them.

[@morgancollins233]

So after do you just remove the pin while its running or do you turn off the engine then take it out? Thank you for this though my distributor slipped while I was leaning in the bay hopefully this works! ❤️

[@VincentStevenson]

You remove the paperclip after you've set the timing as we no longer need to short the ECU pins.

[@kadendowd]

thanks man, i’m having trouble finding the wire that needs to be shorted on my 1988 acura integra do you know where it could be?

[@Killian665]

You don’t have it.

[@Madassfab]

Nice explanation 🎉

[@ertatic]

I have to do this on my y49 whats a good timing light to do this on

[@mikekenyon3322]

I didn't see where you removed the shorting paper clip, turned the engine off, pull the hazard fuse to reset the ECU.

[@XTheJenovaProjectX]

Can you explain what you mean in more detail. After you set the timing manually, you pull the paper clip while running? Then turn the car off? And where is this fuse you’re talking about. Do you pull the fuse while it’s running or off? How long do you wait for the ECU to reset? I feel like all the 90s Honda timing videos don’t explain all the steps

[@isaiahramirez1864]

Can this be Done without the gun? I have my civic I just replaced the water pump with recently and when I start car up it had loud idle like the timing may be advanced. I would appreciate any help just want this thing to be able to run smoothly.

[@wokevroz]

I believe if it runs right you can just take off the bottom distributor bolts and either move the distributor left or right more to find a lower idle with the engine running but you must short the ecu connection

[@salimthabit540]

My car starts exactly like yours what could be the problem?

[@rcarioca]

what do people do about ignition timing on modern cars without a distributor ?

[@chasethompson7392]

On my Miata with megasquirt ecu I can just type in a number and hit burn😂

[@samtac1574]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge... appreciate it

[@240Tony]

I thought your supposed to set the knob to 12 degrees? according to many other videos

[@VincentStevenson]

The 3 lines should be centered at the mark when the timing gun has 0 degrees of advance or retard if you want the car to have the factory timing, which is required for smog in California.

[@240Tony]

@@VincentStevenson thank you. I was very confused at first cause so many videos. Thank you! Got it figured out.

[@odevious8081]

What 3 white lines

[@Neo.Ibarra9281]

Following .. also whats the point of the timing light? I didnt understand what its for

[@stevenmisic8769]

After I connected the wires to the service plug to make the short, I started the car and it ran for 10 seconds and shut off. Now it won't start anymore.

[@kingjay3301]

Ever end up fixing it ??

[@deadlyshadows9697]

What does it do when you try to start it

[@fernandoramalho3644]

You need to warm the engine at least to 85 90degrees... to adjust the timing.... cold engine has to much timing like 22 24 degrees....warm is 16

[@The_M-An-M]

Great video. Much appreciated

[@Ricky07070909]

I saw it at the end! 6:38 Nice!

[@gelfeatherweight5335]

Where's the strobe warning tho..?

[@CarloscarTovar]

Do you really need this gun to do this?

[@dannycar25]

yes

[@austinthomas3124]

Where is that wire at

[@xelaarim]

Wait so you leave the light at 0

[@VincentStevenson]

yes

[@bikerjon8934]

might want to mention the IMPORTANCE of having the engine at operating temperature

[@jking3892]

Excellent Video

[@DavidRamirez-kv9xc]

To all these cheapos talking about Oh do i need the gun, can i do it without wawawa Yes you need it and Yes they are cheap and affordable to anyone. Just buy one!!!

[@undrwrldsk8fred]

You don’t need it

[@jamesbeaty1400]

I don't have that

[@stangy904]

great vid

[@andrewkapaldo5131]

Thanks man

[@frankrodriguez5202]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@lenchonegro5567]

That car sounds like it has a manifold crack