The 8 Best Timing Lights
Editor's Notes
May 21, 2021:
The only changes made were the removal of a couple generic brands that got poor long-term reviews for durability and reliability. Both were relatively poorly constructed pistol-grip types. If you want a fixed, pistol-grip timing light, the Actron CP7527 and PMD Products Xenon Spark Checker are both affordable and effective, but for full-time commercial use, consider the MSD Ignition 8992 instead. MSD has been a top aftermarket manufacturer for decades, and you can trust just about any of their products.
Our top picks for most users remain the Innova 5568 Pro and Innova 3568. They're consistent, precise, and durable, and both have an easy-to-use interface and easy-to-read LCD.
February 19, 2020:
Added the Generic F04823 and the AB Tools SPR01.
In general, the quality of timing lights has suffered in recent years. There are still some good options like the Innova 5568 Pro and the Generic F04823 which both offer advancing and retarding settings with easy-to-read displays, durable leads, and potted electronics. The 5568 is particularly appealing because it has tachometer, dwell, and voltage read-out functions, which just add to the information you have available to make your repairs.
The drop in timing light quality is likely attributable to the decline of distributor-based ignition systems in modern engines in favor of electronically controlled ignitions that use information from crank angle sensors to determine when current should be transmitted to the spark plugs. Distributors are obsolete and have been phased out by ignitions like the popular coil-on-plug system found in many dual overhead-cam engines.
Auto repair and timing changes should only be performed by trained automotive technicians to avoid permanently damaging your engine. Incorrectly setting timing can result in catastrophic engine failure.
Air, Fuel, and Spark
In fact, cars have been scooting down the road for decades now thanks to millions of little, tiny, violent explosions happening in quick succession.
No, they're not a 1970s soul band, but they are on fire. Or, more accurately, you could say that together they cause fire. And if that fire happens under enough pressure, there'll be a violent explosion — and who doesn't love (safe and controlled) explosions?
Cars certainly love them. In fact, cars have been scooting down the road for decades now thanks to millions of little, tiny, violent explosions happening in quick succession. They comprise the most energetic part of the internal combustion engine: the combustion itself.
But cars are big machines. If those little explosions pack enough punch to hurtle a two-ton vehicle down the road at 85 mph, there must be a pretty exact science to making sure that each of these ingredients is applied in the proper volume and at the exactly right time.
Fear not, because engineers have developed an intricate system of air/fuel/spark timing, ensuring that our trusty engine is getting its gasoline and oxygen meals at precisely the right intervals.
Don't Let The Mechanic Get The Best Of You
Sometimes, cars run strangely. Sometimes, they have rough idles or get choppy during a certain range of RPM. Other times, enthusiasts create customized vehicles, complete with specialized, high-performance engines. In all of these cases, it's absolutely worth making sure that your engine's timing is properly set, and a mechanic will charge you a minimum fee simply to offer a diagnosis. And that doesn't include labor. But timing is one test you don't necessarily need to have done at the shop. A simple and readily available tool, the timing light can enable you to check this integral setting on your vehicle from your very own one-car garage.
Other times, enthusiasts create customized vehicles, complete with specialized, high-performance engines.
Let's slow down a bit, though. Opening the hood and inserting strange, flashing gadgets into the engine compartment can seem intimidating at first, especiaally to the non-gearhead. Don't worry; this isn't an involved process. It's worlds easier than, for example, a brake job. And just a couple more steps (again, relatively simple) let you adjust your engine's timing, making sure you don't have to take an extra, expensive trip to the automobile doctor just to address that cylinder that keeps knocking or misfiring at 4,000 RPM. Of course, to understand and adjust timing, it helps to have at least a fundamental knowledge of how an internal combustion engine works. While they look like big, complicated beasts, engines actually aren't so difficult to understand on a basic level.
As mentioned earlier, combustion happens in the presence of three things: oxygen, a fuel source, and a spark. In standard engines, this happens inside cylinders bored into the solid metal of the engine block. To start the process, the crankshaft pulls the piston away from the cylinder head, essentially the base of operations for combustion. Valves in the cylinder head open to allow air into the now voluminous cylinder while the fuel injectors spray a measured amount of gasoline or the mechanical carburation allows air-fed gasoline into the cylinder at a set rate. When the piston is at its peak distance from the cylinder head, the camshaft (a knurled rod, or sometimes two, running parallel to the crankshaft) lets the valves close. The piston then compresses the space, and the spark plug fires after the air/fuel mixture has been increased to as much as eleven times atmospheric pressure. Then, BOOM.
This fire under pressure, also known as an explosion, forces the piston outward. The piston rods propel the crank to rotate, the crank turns the flywheel, and then the motor's job is done and the transmission takes over.
The Miracle's In The Timing
The kicker here is that, because the power plant of a car is made of so many complex moving parts, the camshaft, crankshaft, fuel injectors, and spark aren't permanently connected in a fixed system. In reality, they operate as a series of components that manipulate each other mechanically, and some of these components can independently move slightly out of alignment. This throws the whole system out of whack. For that reason, cars are most often designed with one particular belt (or rarely, a chain) that attaches to every critically-timed part in the system at once, ensuring that every mechanical voice in the engine is at the same tempo for the entire symphony.
Check your car's manual to learn which of the pulleys has the timing marks around it.
Sometimes, the timing belt is prominent in the motor, and in some setups, it must be removed before certain large jobs are done to the car or frame. It's commonly found underneath a few engine components. Because it's such an important part, most manufacturers recommend it be replaced every 60,000-100,000 miles. If a timing belt should break during use, the best-case scenario is that your car simply won't run until it's replaced. If a car uses an interference engine, meaning the pistons and valves occupy the same physical space in the combustion chamber but at different times in the firing process, a popped timing belt could very well destroy an engine beyond repair. Interference motors are very common, so it's important to give timing belts their proper due.
Using a timing light is actually very easy. Check your car's manual to learn which of the pulleys has the timing marks around it. Connect the light to your battery and clamp its signal wire to the number one spark plug. This plug fires when the piston reaches the maximum distance from the crankshaft, a position known as top dead center. When the timing light is aimed correctly, exact degree markings will become visible on the pulley, telling you how far advanced or retarded your engine's timing is relative to TDC. The distributor is easily adjusted to bring this figure in line with your car's specifications.
Remember, any dirty hands or cut knuckles you experience are a small price to pay for not getting fleeced by a mechanic.