well i have never set timing before but i read up and thought i knew what i was doing i set the H bal. at 0 btdc and proceded to set the rotor on the number 1 plug wire it advanced a quarter inch but i was told this was normal well i went to crank it up and a little smoke but it did not even TRY to start i gave it some gas no help

how close does it need to be to start it? i thought that it could just be close then fine tuned while it was runing? am i overlooking something?

any advice would be appreciated
and dont assume i know anything LOL
it is a 351w sd efi
it was runin fine before i messed with the dist. while switching icm's

 

wow do i feel like a moron
ok well i see now that top dead center is not when i want the No. 1 plug to fire
sorry about that
this thread should be deleted

 

no wait i set it to ten btc
no go it still smokes some rich fuel mixture but not even tryin to start

 

Dont sweat it, its not a big deal. Did you take the distributor out? If so first thing you need to do is take the distributor out and set the time on 10 degree BTDC (make sure it isnt ATDC). Make sure your timing isnt 180 degrees off, to make sure your on firing stroke of #1 cylinder take the #1 spark plug out and get someone to hold there finger over the hole and you need to just slighty crank the engine until they feel the compression (make sure the coil wire is off) then put it on 10degree BTDC. Once you have that, it should say on the cap #1.....make sure when you put the distributor back in the rotor is pointing were the #1 should be. The easiest way to make sure is put the cap on and then mark on the outside of the distributor with a marker or something were the #1 should be pointing, then you can point the distributor in the direction it needs to be much easier. Once you have all your wires on correctly if it is somewhat close it should fire. But to get the timing right on with a timing light you have to shut off the engine and then take the "in-line spout connector" out. Restart and then check the timing with it out. Once it is right on shut off the engine, reconnect connector then should be good to go.

 

ok well i used a light and got the spark to No.1 at 10 * btc right on... however still wont start it kinda trys a little and backfires

checked fuel pressure its like 32psi at the rail
a little smoke from under the hood i thought antifreeze but none was in the oil atleast on the dip stick

what could be the problem? i keep lookin back to see if i left something unpluged but i cant seem to find anything

any help would be appreciated

 

one little extra bit of info i set it manually at 10 btc then the rotor to No. 1 but when i used the light the h bal showed the No. 1 plug fire at around 5-10 atc so i turned the dist. to align them still no go
y would it be so far off after i carefully adjusted the rotor to contact No. 1 at 10btc? could this be related?

 

could be mabye you turned the dist. the wrong way

 

the timing light shows No. 1 plug wire to be perfectly lined out with 10*btc

but now i have ruled out that it could be a fuel issue by spraying TB fluid in and trying to start and so i started checking things with my voltmeter i found i had 10-12 volts from coil to dist. cap sounds normal i guess but then from dist. cap to No.1 plug i got a reading of negative 3 volts??? -3 that doesnt seem right so what do yall think is the problem i have a brand new icm and to check it i swaped it out with an old one that was working so i dont know what else it could be cap, wires and plugs are new

 

what i did was set it
but then when i tested it the spark was late so then i turned it to correct timing

 

You have to disconnect the in-line spout connector to adjust the timing, that is the only way. And you say it is at 10BTDC, how is that possible when you dont even have the engine running. It has to be running before you can start adjusting.

 

the spark plug still fires and the light still picks up the spark thats how i can tell i adjusted the spark of no. 1 to 10* btdc
i did disconnect the spout when i did this

 

forgot to mention
i had someone turning it over while i used the light

 

You said new plug wires. Go back and check the firing order.

 

i did
a few times and i made sure the wires didnt cross or touch as much as possible

 

Just to be real clear about this, did you turn the engine over with the distributor out? The crank turns twice to TDC, exhaust and compression...and it really sounds like it is 180 out. For a start set the #1 to TDC or 0 on the damper and pointer, TDC with your finger on the #1 plug hole so you feel the air coming out real hard. I use a long piece of stiff wire to feel the piston as it comes up and then goes down, and will rotate the crank by hand until I am absolutly sure the piston is at the top of its travel, with the wire on top of the piston. It is easier with someone rotating the crank for you. Then make sure the rotor is pointing at where #1 wire to the cap is located, it should be at the back, and where the little ridge on the cap is. Clamp down enough to keep the distributor from rotating and then try the starting fluid. With spark and ether it should at least make firing noises. if it does, then put finish timing to 10BTCD. If no fire something else is really wrong.
Pam