got a Tech-Time 3300-S timing unit for my 7.3 idi, yesterday it worked perfect, today it is being funky, will read RPM for maybe a tenth of a second right at startup, then goes to the scrolling zero, sometimes showing some crazy numbers, even without the probe plugged in

any tips?
its dad setting stuff up, but as far as I can tell it is all how it should be, we have checked injector 1, 4 and 5, yesterday 1 worked good, today none of the 3 are working whatsoever with the unit
all the wires look good, plugs are all good, probe looks brand new (as it should, its 24 hours old) moved ground around, to multiple places and nothing yielded much result


TIA

 

What is "a dbh timing unit" ?
Are you sure you got that right?
I did google searches for 'dbh timing unit' and 'dbh diesel timing unit' and I didn't find anything related to diesel engine timing.

I would suggest, read the manual again very carefully and proceed from the beginning EACH TIME YOU USE IT (start from the beginning each time) performing every step of the set up, every connection etc. IN THE EXACT PROPER ORDER.
Look for FINE PRINT notes*, cautions or warnings in the complete operators/owner's manual, (*small notes marked by asterisks, small letters or numbers (* ** a, b, c, 1., 2., 3.,) etcetera and maybe use a yellow highlighting pen to mark those that Apply, or underline them so as to be reminded of them.
The manufacturer's website may have additional information, tips, troubleshooting tips etc.

There should be members here and/or at "oilburners' forums who are familiar with the unit and can help.
So what is this unit exactly? and model number if there is one?

 

here is the unit I got, dunno where dbh came from

we have done everything in the exact order the manual says to, probably 30 different times, it comes with instructions, but they basically say to watch a youtube video, watched allot of those
sent mfg an email, waiting to hear back

pic circa last time it functioned properly

 

Long story short:
FIRST, make sure that you are logged into this forum. Login is at the upper right.
THEN go to your original 1st post. Find and click on the "EDIT" button which is either at the top or bottom right of your post. Then left click at the very beginning of the title to place a blinking cursor there. Then type: Tech-Time 3300-S so your title now reads, THEN CLICK SAVE This way people will see from the title of your topic what unit you are asking about and if they know about it, more likely to open the topic and have a look. CLEARLY describing your issues makes a big difference in the number and quality of replies you will receive on any forum. That's YOUR part of the work to get your issues resolved.

OK, now go and read this topic at "Oilburners" https://www.oilburners.net/threads/m...k-smoke.77532/

This is a very well built unit. The manufacturer holds the patent on the piezo-electric pickup clamp which is a very good one. The US Military tested this unit for performance and endurance in harsh military environments (for performance and endurance in places like Iraq and Afghanistan during war time. I've read that there were drop tests and dust infiltration tests, to name just 2. It passed the tests and the manufacturer got the contract to supply thousands of these units to the military. The fact that there were so many new units kept in storage facilities in the USA I think may tend to support their performance in the fields of operations.

That being said PAY ATTENTION TO THE NOTES AND CAUTIONS because you can damage the unit or it's components by screwing around trying to make it work and forgetting small details which are in the notes. FOR EXAMPLE: Don't plug the magnetic probe into the unit before the unit is powered up. In other word make sure the magnetic probe IS UNPLUGGED until after the unit is powered up. That would be an easy one to forget while you are screwing around with it trying to make it work, like turning it off to move the piezo-electric sensor clamp to a different fuel line and then not disconnecting the magnetic pick-up before turning it back on.
I saw that warning note in the instructions and that's why I was very emphatic about carefully following instructions and being mindfully aware of the warnings, cautions and notes.

I THINK THIS IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR ISSUE: The magnetic probe is not properly picking up the timing mark on the harmonic balancer because:
1) The balancer isn't clean enough and the timing mark is filled with some rust and crud, oil paint, dirt etc. so the probe is having a difficult time detecting that timing mark which is a v-cut or a u-cut into the surface. CLEAN IT UP GOOD TO REMOVE ALL OLD OIL, DIRT, LOOSE PAINT, RUST ETC. Clean the inside of the tube that the magnetic probe fits into. Since the probe is magnetic it WILL pick up any loose rust including microscopic rust and any iron dust it gets close to and that can screw up your reading and cause such effects as crazy numbers flashing on the screens.
Take a pick or a proper size pointed nail and scrape it through the timing mark to clean it out, then a clean wire brush to finish it off.

2) The magnetic probe (which also must be CLEAN = no iron dust or dirt sticking to it) is too close or two far away from the balancer surface where the timing mark is located. An accepted method of adjusting the distance is, place three paper business cards together on top of the balancer and push the magnetic probe down just to make contact with the three-cards-thick stack of business cards, then pull the cards out.

Now if you've read this and the topic thread I linked above and followed all of the directions in the manual properly, your unit should work fine.

GOOD LUCK!

 

been doing everything exactly like you said, cleaned the balancer, dug out the groove, wiped it clean, sanded and cleaned the fuel line, cleaned out the probe hole, tried many different grounds, and separate fuel lines, still shows a scrolling zero when at idle, and anything above idle shows crazy odd numbers

we have tried low and high trigger point, still a no

emailed the mfg, they said
The transducer is not giving you a good signal, the transducer makes the RPM signal , clean injector line where the transducer is clamped on it. The injector line is the ground side of the transducersignal. Thank You Steve Myers DTI

 

The Ebay ad indicates new unit. Used for Humvees. Pdf shows the standard size transducers are 5mm, 6mm, & 1/4", but the picture in pdf shows 6.35mm transducer. The pdf indicates standard transducers at 5, 6mm, & 1/4 inch but does not specifically say the product includes these sizes of transducers.
What size transducer do we use on Ford's 6.9 & 7.3?

 

fuel lines are 1/4" according to google man

6.35mm = 1/4"

 

here is what im getting, tried many many different ways of setting it up, and probably 40-50 times doing it the exact way the manual says


edit: disregard, wants you do download the video, and I dont like that, dont click