6V Timing Light?

BillCNC

BillCNC

Well-known member
Hey All,

Do they even make them anymore, or a combo 6V-12V?

I want to dial in my NuRex auto timing gizmo to my timing indicator.

I have a 6V +grnd Tudor

Regards
Bill
 
Last edited:
I solved this problem by purchasing two small 6V batteries, which you can buy in any Walmart, and wiring them in series and taping them together.

One thing I have not yet tried but I want to: I tested my digital 12V timing light on a variable power supply and discovered that it will operate on as little as 9V. The strobe is dimmer but the read-out works fine. So you might could rig up a 9V battery to run it.

Edit: You can also buy very small 12V batteries, which would be simpler, but I happened to want small 6V batteries for other purposes.
 
Last edited:
My old Sears timing light will fire on 6 or 12 volts. Have you tried yours on 6? Just keep the polarity correct (positive to ground).

I have not tried a new-fangled modern timing light on 6 volts.

If you use a separate 12 volt battery off to the side, I recommend you connect a ground jumper between the positive post of the 12 volt battery and any convenient ground spot on the car (assuming car is pos. ground).
 
Years back I bought a 6 / 12 volt timing light off of Amazon. Now I don’t see it.

On EBay there are several new and used ones typically less than $30…
 
BillCNC said:
Hey All,

Do they even make them anymore, or a combo 6V-12V?

I want to dial in my NuRex auto timing gizmo to my timing indicator.

I have a 6V neg Tudor

Regards
Bill
Click to expand...

Bill, the 6 or 12 volt power source does not need to from the vehicle itself. Any method to power one is satisfactory.

The bigger question for me is how do you plan to use the timing light? Unless you (-or a machinist) has used a positive stop to locate TDC, then anything you will see with the strobe light is just a random location. Additionally, you would need to have a fixed pointer mounted onto either the flywheel or the timing cover with a corresponding mark on the flywheel or crankshaft pulley to know what is true TDC. We use a Innova timing light for our race car that has a degreed crank pulley and a pinned timing cover that we verify TDC during assembly. For that it works perfectly even with dial back, but I have never figured out an accurate method to use it on a customer's Model-A.

FWIW, I have a small Allen distributor machine and a larger Sun 680. On both of those machines, I have the ability to clamp the distributor into the machine and then spin to know how much total advance the cap will allow the distributor to produce. These machines will also check dwell on each individual cam lobe which also affects the timing for that cylinder, and I can check the degree variances to know if each spark is produced at 90° apart. Again, the lobe height of the cam and the point gap can affect this.
 
There's definitely a spectrum of escalating precision as far as finding TDC. At the low end is locating it with the timing gear pin. At the upper end is using a solid stop or dial indicator with the head off. The question is, how much precision is required for the particular goal you have?

Last time I did this, I used a dial indicator to find TDC, installed a degree indicator, and then eyeballed the location for a paint dot against the 0° marker. I think the next time I do it, I'll switch to a pointer. I want to try to rig up something like iron sights, with two points of fixed reference.
 
alexiskai said:
There's definitely a spectrum of escalating precision as far as finding TDC. At the low end is locating it with the timing gear pin. At the upper end is using a solid stop or dial indicator with the head off. The question is, how much precision is required for the particular goal you have?

Last time I did this, I used a dial indicator to find TDC, installed a degree indicator, and then eyeballed the location for a paint dot against the 0° marker. I think the next time I do it, I'll switch to a pointer. I want to try to rig up something like iron sights, with two points of fixed reference.
Click to expand...

"A spectrum of escalating precision" I love that! This is all good advice. :)
 
Thanks a bunch guy's, ....

I bought the NuRex auto timing gizmo and I bought the NuRex timing kit. I have installed the indicator and I'd like to see what's actual going on. I had a nice couple of talks with Bob at NuRex and explained how to set in some retard timing while having the auto timing gizmo installed. The distributor cam wrenches suck at fitting the cam and with the cam locked, there is still play between the cam and wrench. With that situation, Who knows exactly were I am to start with. I have TDC using a dial indicator in hole #1.

I have some hills around here and I often get 30+ winds which is hard to push the car through so I need to add some retard capabilities.

I first need to see where I am and then were I want to be. Using the timing light eliminates all guess work.

Regards
Bill
 
BillCNC said:
The distributor cam wrenches suck at fitting the cam and with the cam locked, there is still play between the cam and wrench.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing and had the same problem. I found the "Nu-Wrench" to have the least play. I worked out a method to retard the timing more precisely.

To use the Nu-Wrench to make arbitrary changes in the initial timing, you need a timing light, a crankshaft degree indicator, and one more thing, which is a set of tick marks to use as a "ruler" for reference. Since the wrench uses the #4 stud on the distributor body as a marker, you can use a spare spark plug connector for this purpose.

To make your ruler, straighten out the connector and crimp the "fork" slightly so that it grips the stud. Place the connector firmly on the stud and score a line on the connector with a razor to mark the "edge" of the stud where the Nu-Wrench would touch. This will be your baseline or zero point. Using a set of calipers and the razor, score the connector with evenly-spaced lines. The exact distance between each line isn't that important, they just have to be evenly spaced and easily visible so that you can pick a line to aim for. I suggest measuring from the baseline each time in round increments, e.g., 0.05" or 0.1".

Now, some amount of trial and error will still be needed. But you should be able to increment your timing steadily in the right direction, as opposed to shooting in the dark.

  1. Rotate the crank to TDC
  2. Remove the distributor cap and plug connectors
  3. Ensure the upper plate is fully retarded
  4. Loosen the cam screw
  5. Follow the directions on the Nu-Wrench until you get rotated around close to the #4 stud. At this point it's a good idea to tighten the screw down most of the way.
  6. Wiggle the marked connector onto the #4 stud, perpendicular to the line of the engine and pointing away from you
  7. Choose a line to aim for. My suggestion is to start with just 0.10" of retard.
  8. Rotate the Nu-Wrench as described in the directions – but instead of stopping when you touch the #4 stud, pass over the stud and match up to the line you're aiming for.
  9. Tighten the screw fully.
  10. Reassemble the distributor
  11. Start the engine and check your initial timing with the timing light/degree indicator
  12. If necessary, go back to step 1 and repeat the process, choosing a different line in step 7, until you get the initial timing you want.
 

Attachments

  • image_61251.jpg
    image_61251.jpg
    47.2 KB · Views: 11
So for example, if you were shooting for 7° of retard on initial timing, you would follow the steps above, line up with that first line, and then check your timing. Let's say your light shows 3° retard. So then you'd repeat the process, but line up with the second or third line. Maybe you'd get 5° or 8°. Then you'd repeat it, adjusting your aim each time until you hit 7°.

Having said all that... Brent's not wrong, there are a lot of sources of imprecision here. Don't kid yourself that 7° of retard measured in this fashion is likely to match with 7° of retard measured on a distributor machine. And if your method for hitting TDC is off, that error will carry over here too.

But it is useful as a relative measure of timing, i.e., you can be fairly certain that you're introducing x° of retard or advance relative to where you started. Ultimately, your engine's performance should be the fixed reference you adjust to, not an arbitrary number.
 
alexiskai said:
I made a video about how to use a timing light on a Model A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho57aBaMvNE

In the video I use the Actron CP7529, but you can get the Bosch FIX 7529 for $55 and it's the same product.
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-FIX-7529-Digital-Timing/dp/B084DC45Z6/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Click to expand...

Thank You,

That's an excellent video for me as I have the same setup.

You did hit upon a few of my concerns with your warning section. I decided on going with the HF one simply because they are a couple of miles with me so If it goes out in 30 day's I'll return it, and if it last 30 day's, I'll buy the extended warranty for an additional $12.50.

Regards
Bill
 
Questions about a separate battery.

I'm pos ground.

3-leads other than the inductive pickup. Red, Black and Green

So for the timing light battery attachment, I attach Red to Pos Batt terminal, and Black to Neg Batt terminal? :confused:

The instructions say to put to the Green clip to the neg side of the coil for reading the dwell. Does that stay like that, or does that one need reversing as well? :confused:

Regards
Bill
 
I think you'd want to clip it to whichever side has the red wire that leads to the ignition (and thence to the distributor). But to be honest, dwell is not something that's a big factor on the Model A and you can't really affect it much, so you might should just leave that wire off.
 
Summit Racing
#SUM-G1069-13
Uses 2 D-cell batteries
$49.99
Still have to positively locate top dead center, and make some kind of pointer.

KK
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top