Kouta

I have a vehicle-powered timing light, and I hook it up to L1. Shoot, and I don't see any kind of markings. So I turn off the car and remark the red and yellow lines (as indents on the main pulley). Then when I go back to try and time it, I dont see the marks I made at all. They are really bright, I put some on a belt by accident and I can see it under the timing light just fine, and when the car is stopped I can see the line, but not under the timing light. Thoughts? Questions?

Project84

Is the engine idling at 750? The timing advances at higher RPM and the marks won't be in the same place as it is at idle.

HAILERS

Try it with a fully hot engine. The ECU advances/retards timing at startup on a cold engine.

If that does not work, try Trai number 1.

Also make sure the rpm are under 1000 rpm, preferably around 750. The ECU advances the timing over 1000/1100 rpm range and you won't see the marks.

As a last guess, try jumpering the initial set coupler and try a lead wire again. Try each one seperatly.

There's the slim chance the pulley was put on wrong. The bolt holes are staggered and it should only go on one way......unless you wallow the holes out to fit another way.

Is this a timing light where you put a clamp on the positive battery post......a clamp on the negative battery post....and an inductive clamp over one of the lead wires with one side of that clamp with an arrow saying it should be towards the sparkplug?

Kouta

Yeah its fully warmed up and idleing at 750, and the timing light is just as you stated.

HAILERS

Then I don't know what the problem is unless it's one of the things I suggested. The only time I've seen or rather not seen the timing marks was when I did a stone cold engine and the ECU advanved the timing outta sight.

Try Trail Number one and see if you can see the marks. If that does not work, heck, try Trail number 2 and see if you can even glimpse the marks. Either one.

Is this a stock pulley or an aftermarket one???????? Maybe a Racing Beat one???? Mazdatrix one?????

If you mark where the cas is right now, then loosen the hold down bolt/nut for the cas, and turn the light on with the engine running.........and while the light is on reach down and turn the cas one way then the other and see if you glimpse the timing marks. You can always return the cas to where it was since you made a mark prior to loosening it.

Mystickat

We've tried adjusting the cas to see if by adjusting things then the lines would come into view... but the really weird thing is is that Kouta thought he remembered seeing the trailing "line" before we reinforced the lines, but ever since then we haven't been able to see either one of the lines either when the engine's off nor running and using our timing light.

The pulleys are all stock. When Kouta was trying to time it originally and was using the lines he thought he saw.. he realized afterwards that the line he was using to time the leading he thinks might have been the trailing line..

WAYNE88N/A

Are the marks clean? If you can actually see the indentions on the pulley, clean 'em up a bit-there's actually colors on there, lol...

I've also found that pulling the clamp for the timing light off of the battery post and putting it back on will "magically" make the marks come back into view. Don't ask me...

Mystickat

Yeap marks are clean.. When we first saw the marks we cleaned as much dirt off as we could to see them and then reinforced them really brightly and even got a bit of the stuff on one of the belts (which we do actually see with the timing light very brightly when it comes into view when the light's on).

Reinforced the marks early this morning, tried to time it.. couldn't find them, stopped the engine. completely unhooked the timing light . looked (didn't stop so we could see the lines), started the engine back up tried to time it again, still couldn't find the lights... went for a bit of a drive for a mile or two, came back tried to time it again and still nothing as far as marks.

WAYNE88N/A

And you're sure all of the plug wires are going to the right plugs?

And you're sure the CAS is stabbed by the book?

And the timing light is strobing as it should (or seems to be, anyway)?

Bob_The_Normal

Can you adjust the timing on the light? Just keep advancing the timing light while looking for them.... I think when I was doing mine the timing was so advanced once that it was over on the passenger side of the pulley with the normal light pulses... kept advancing the timing light... and it eventually rolled around, which showed me that it had been on the other side (which meant restabbing the CAS... and it's hard to do that just right.. I had to do it at least twice before I got it close enough to adjust by turning it)

--Gary

HAILERS

I'd bet money the pulley was put on wrong at one time or the other. The holes only match correctly in one pattern. But if you have the pattern matched up wrong and FORCE the bolts in by elongating the pulley holes, you can get the pulley on wrong. If the pulley is put on wrong, then the marks will be wrong.

I'd get out a socket and remove the four bolts from the pulley and take it off and take a gander at the holes. Maybe I'm right, maybe wrong. The timing light does not sound like the one suggested in a post above. Your light sounds like mine. No adjustment need to be made. It just flashes when connected up and the trigger is pulled. That's all you should need on a RX for basic tuneup.

By the way, did you try TRAIL NUMBER TWO?????? And see if you could see a mark using that wire?????? I know it's not a normal thing to do, but this is an unusual case.

Kouta

I just rechecked everything... and my duncematic dunce hat, had the L1 and L2 mixxed up. Checked T1 again and saw the lines (way easier to see it now that its dark) and then replugged in the spark plug wires the right way, and timed it just fine. Thanks for all the help and stuff, looks like the most obvious things always get overlooked. Now my car is more responsive, but the 0-60 is still the same. It pulls all the time now, not just accellerate and until it hits 3000ish rpm then picks up (still picks up a bit when the 5/6 ports open at 3800ish).