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I have an'84 with cross-fire engine. I accidentally rotated by distributor a little when working around the throttle body and need to reset my timing. From two people on another forum that had 1979-1982 Vettes and/or Camaros, I understand a single tan wire with black stripe from the distributor must be disconnected to stop the computer from controlling timing in order to set timing with a timing light. One said it was behind the passenger valve cover with a single wire connector. Another said on driver side of distributor into single connector. The only single connector I have is a short white wire with single connector hanging from distributor on driver side. Can somebody help me locate where I am to disconnect on an '84 cross-fire? The timing mark isn't even close to the scale and is out-of-site, so I cannot set timing with light.
I have an'84 with cross-fire engine. I accidentally rotated by distributor a little when working around the throttle body and need to reset my timing. From two people on another forum that had 1979-1982 Vettes and/or Camaros, I understand a single tan wire with black stripe from the distributor must be disconnected to stop the computer from controlling timing in order to set timing with a timing light. One said it was behind the passenger valve cover with a single wire connector. Another said on driver side of distributor into single connector. The only single connector I have is a short white wire with single connector hanging from distributor on driver side. Can somebody help me locate where I am to disconnect on an '84 cross-fire? The timing mark isn't even close to the scale and is out-of-site, so I cannot set timing with light.
I found the tan/black wire, disconnected it, set timing to 6 degrees BTDC and reconnected the wire. As told by someone else the Check Engine light will come on after reconnecting wire, so I disconnected negative battery cable for 10 seconds and reconnected. Engine started fine but Check Engine light comes on at same time engine RPM increases idle speed. It is not too high but high enough it would jerk the transmission when put in gear. Any recommendations how to get Check Engine light off and advanced idle to stop?
I found the tan/black wire, disconnected it, set timing to 6 degrees BTDC and reconnected the wire. As told by someone else the Check Engine light will come on after reconnecting wire, so I disconnected negative battery cable for 10 seconds and reconnected. Engine started fine but Check Engine light comes on at same time engine RPM increases idle speed. It is not too high but high enough it would jerk the transmission when put in gear. Any recommendations how to get Check Engine light off and advanced idle to stop?
Was I supposed to remove a vacuum line somewhere when setting the timing as we did in the old days?
Was I supposed to remove a vacuum line somewhere when setting the timing as we did in the old days?
No you don't need to disconnect the vacuum line. You might want to check the timing again, did you check it when the wire was connected? You could bump the timing up a bit. Make sure you are 6 degrees and not - 6 degrees. Did you find the 0 mark.
If the 84 is like the 82 I had with crossfire then the advice you were given is correct. Buy the GM Shop manual if you can. It is a wealth of information and will tell you exactly how to do this. You can find the manuals on Ebay
Thanks 84cfi. I found my problem. It was a vacuum line that blew off when backfiring when setting timing. I reconnected it and set timing with the gray/black wire disconnected at connector by brake booster. After re-checking timing, I left the gray/black wire and battery cable disconnected overnight. Next day I plugged gray/black wire and reconnected battery and Check Engine light is now off and engine does not idle high. Again, thanks.
If the 84 is like the 82 I had with crossfire then the advice you were given is correct. Buy the GM Shop manual if you can. It is a wealth of information and will tell you exactly how to do this. You can find the manuals on Ebay
I have an opportunity to purchase a 1972 C3 Vette in good condition. I remember years ago, someone told me not to buy a C3 prior to 1976 because they had some front suspension problems and would not stay together. What do you know about this?
I hate to add to an old thread, but I have the service manual and am not a total idiot, but I STILL can't get the timing correct and find the correct wire to disconnect.
I am adding some pictures, will someone please take this Vette noob by the hand and point out the correct wire to disconnect?
If you have trouble rotating your distributor enough to set it to 8* BTDC, your distributor may be one tooth off! The terminal block on the side of the distributor is normally just about parallel with the firewall (perpendicular to the centerline of the engine). If you can set the timing okay, don't worry about it.
You can generally get away with 10-12* as long as your motor doesn't ping under load. If it does, back it off one degree at a time until it goes away. A lot of times the EST wire is buried deep under the bundle and can be a PITA to find. To ensure you found the right wire, you can look at the timing with the wire disconnected and then reconnected. The timing will move if you changed it when the ECM takes over again. A GM Service Manual is pretty much a MUST with a car that is 30+ years old and maintain it. Good Luck.
08-18-2011, 12:51 PM
Setting timing on a cross-fire
