| slowpoke |
06-09-2011 11:33 AM |
Troubleshooting from the manual
In my 90-91 Honda Manual, there are four pages on troubleshooting. Under the headline: Poor Performance at Low and Idle Speeds, the first thing it lists is to check ignition timing. Under the headline: Poor Performance at High Speed, the first thing it lists is to check ignition timing. Has anyone ever done this?
I grew up with early 70's cars and motorcycles. Checking ignition timing was common then. Ignition points would wear down quickly, changing the dwell and the timing. Cars had one set of points for a V8. I had a 75 Suzuki GT550 with three sets of points. One for each coil and cylinder. You think synchronizing four carbs is hard. Piece of cake compared to points. You would set the gap with a feeler gauge when new, but after a couple hundred miles, you had to use a dwell meter, and then do the timing. For each cylinder. Maddening.
Anyway, I still have my expensive (at the time) Craftsman timing light, and use it. I have replaced the pulse generator ($50) twice in 20 years. The heat from the engine must fry it after a while. How did I know it was bad? The timing didn't move. In fact, it reverted back to T (TDC) instead of the F (?) mark at idle and stayed there as the engine was reved. I could have messed with the carbs until the world ends and still never have the engine run right. The bad thing is, I replaced the pulse generator in 2004, so it could burn up again soon.
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