> The reason I'm writing this is because a friend came over a while
> back with a timing light that simply snapped onto the spark plug, and then
> you snapped the spark plug wire back on. Simple, and it worked. Am I
> missing something here? Or do the inductive pickups not work on older cars?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep, your missing something :-) The inductive type of timming light, in my
opinion is the only type of timing light to use. It works by the voltage in
the spark wire inducing a 'trigger' pulse in the pickup coil ( the 'clamp'
). The age of the car, type of triggering i.e. electronic, points, etc.
dosn't matter. If your not getting a timming signal that is indicating some
other problem. Either a bad plug wire, distributor cap, misfire, etc. Do
you have it on the correct wire (closest to the fan)? Must be on the number
one cylinder-sounds like a stupid question, but it matters. The guy at the
smog station, when he clips on the induction clamp is looking at RPM not
timming, so wire choice is not critical, it is for timming-
Barry Schwartz
Bschwartz@encad.com (work)
Bschwart@pacbell.net (home)
(San Diego)
70' Spitfire (under-going major surgery) , 72'-V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70'GT6+
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