Only runs 40 Degrees advanced

mbaird said
I have been trying to sort out a tuning issue lately and doing a lot of dist recurving.

Yesterday I installed a distributor and when I checked the timing it was at 40*. ! But running ! I immediately thought of this thread...
1st thing I did was to flip the rotor 180*....no go.
Next thing was to disconnect/reconnect my timing light. Bingo!
My timing light start displaying the wrong rpms from time to time and I have to pull the plug and reconnect it. Like resetting it.

Time for a new Dial Back Light. Or just use one of my other oldies..

Isn't your damper degreed? I'm not a fan of dial back lights. In any case, pick a timing light, look at the plugs and let them tell you when the timing is correct and use that number for timing that engine. Don't care if the light says 20 or 60 degrees, as long as the plug says it's right, it's right. As long as the light repeats, it's just a number.