Checking Base Timing!

[wrxxy]

Gday guys how do i check base timing On a R34 Neo engine without having to take of rocker covers and or using a normal timing light or is there a special way of doing it or do i need a special timing light???????

Get back to me if anyone out there knows of this as i am not completely happy with the way my car is running............

Thx In advance

Regards

Wrxxy

[R33S2]

I dont know about the Neo but on the R33 there is white wire loop on the coil loom you clip the timing light onto, its up back of the engine.

[mad082]

you will need a timing light, unless you are part cyborg and can read the pulse coming from the ignition and can flash a torch REALLY fast.

[wrxxy]

you will need a timing light, unless you are part cyborg and can read the pulse coming from the ignition and can flash a torch REALLY fast.

Yeah good one! If i wanted a smartarse comment then i would of asked for 1!!!!!!!!!!!

[BHDave]

worst case, remove the coil from cylinder 1 and jam a pluglead in between the plug and the coil. Hook your regular old timing light onto that for a signal.

[GTRgeoff]

I'm with Dave, you can get a poor signal from the loop unless using an expensive timing light. The lead on number one is fool proof.

[djr81]

worst case, remove the coil from cylinder 1 and jam a pluglead in between the plug and the coil. Hook your regular old timing light onto that for a signal.

From memory & on the assumption that an RB26 is the same there are three wires going to each coil. Grab the fattest of the three & clip the induction loop from the timing light around it.

[png godzilla]

or go here & buy one of these for about the same price as a timing light & you can hook into the consult port & check your timing on your Laptop, as well as heaps of other cool stuff.................

http://www.plmsdevelopments.com/consult_if.shtml

[wrxxy]

worst case, remove the coil from cylinder 1 and jam a pluglead in between the plug and the coil. Hook your regular old timing light onto that for a signal.

Have done it this way but it fluctuats alot , so I was just wondering if there was another way or is this just the way it is..........

[GTRgeoff]

The wire loop is the one that is innacurate. Get another lead and check your connections including power and earth.

[32R]

Have done it this way but it fluctuats alot , so I was just wondering if there was another way or is this just the way it is..........

Your reading straight off the plug so it shouldn't.

Is your car fully warmed up and the idle stable?

[Birth]

I relise that this thread is super old; but it saves me starting a new one. I have a question regarding using the information from the Consult port to set the timing.

How does the car know how advanced or retarded the ignition timing is? Is there a sensor on the crank as well as the sensor on the cam?

I guess my question is; can I set the base timing of the car using information from the consult port as opposed to using a timing gun? Why?

Thanks, Ben.

[Birth]

Hi all, I have looked in the Nissan engine manual and the DIY section here.

The most relevant thread from the DIY section was this one.

The engine manual suggests that the timing light should be attached to the No. 1 cylinder primary line; which is accessable with the covers etc. on. I can't tell from the picture what is being referred to. Is anyone able to help me identify the No. 1 cylinder primary line. I have attached the picture from the manual and a picture from my engine bay for reference.

Thanks, Ben.

[mosquitocoils]

Going along the same lines of Consult, the ECUtalk cable/display does it too

[blind_elk]

1. The ECU gets a signal from the CAS, and then calculates when to fire the spark. The calculation uses information from several other sensors to determine the firing point. The ECU expects the signal at a certain degrees BTDC. The correct degrees is when the idle timing is set correctly. So, NO, you can't set idle timing using consult.

2. There should be a black loop of wire on the connector to the ignitor module (power transistor unit), just before the loom disappears inside the valley cover (the one covering the coils).

[JonnoHR31]

should be pin 1 on the drivers side of the ignitor module

[mad082]

1. The ECU gets a signal from the CAS, and then calculates when to fire the spark. The calculation uses information from several other sensors to determine the firing point. The ECU expects the signal at a certain degrees BTDC. The correct degrees is when the idle timing is set correctly. So, NO, you can't set idle timing using consult.

2. There should be a black loop of wire on the connector to the ignitor module (power transistor unit), just before the loom disappears inside the valley cover (the one covering the coils).

correct, however it is advisable to have consult connect at the time of checking the base timing as it can look it into base idle mode which locks the timing at 15 degrees (can be done without consult as well but consult is easier). when not in base idle mode you can't accurately set the timing as it can fluctuate by around 3 degrees at idle

[Birth]

Hi mad082; how do you lock the timing at 15 degrees using a Consult cable? I have a consult cable and have downloaded the various applications around namely EcuTalk, OBD ScanTech Nissan, Calumsult and Conzult Free (all listed on the EcuTalk website). I understand that I should be able to set the revs at idle using Cunzult Free (I understand that 650 rpm equals 15 degrees), though I haven't been able to figure out how this works.

[mad082]

since i don't have the laptop hooked up to the car at the moment i can't give you a step by step walk through, but you need a program that has an option for setting the base idle. i know that one of the programs i use can do it, but can't remember which one (i have ecutalk, datascan and another one). i think it is in datascan. it has an active tests are, and i think in there is has a button that lets you set the base idle. it locks the timing at 15 degrees and locks the IAC so that when you turn the idle screw the ecu doesn't compensate to keep the revs at the ideal level. that is where you want to go to check the timing. then you just get the timing light hooked up and use it as normal.

[Birth]

There is a section in the Conzult software called "Base Idle Adjustment". When I used this it seemed that my timing was retarded to about 50 degrees after Top dead centre which I don't believe is right. I had the car warmed up and idling at about 650 rpm (as this is what the workshop manual suggested).

Does anyone know if Conzult is locking the timing at 15 degrees? Should the car be idling at 650 rpm?

With the consult connected and not in "Base Idle Adjustment" I see that the car thinks that it is idling at 35 degrees (at about 800 rpm). Would it be easier to make sure that the car is at 35 degrees at this point? I assume that if the car thinks it is at 35 degrees and the timing light is showing 35 degrees everything should be ok - any thoughts?