checking timing on SR20DET engine, which wire???

[junk240sx]

FSM says to clamp the timing light on the wire loop behind the engine by the valve cover...I see two loops though. One shows timing around 13 but the other wire shows way way advanced....car idles funny and feels like timing is off but I'm not sure if it's the 13 degress that needs to be 15 or if it's the other timing when i had it on the other wire loop that shows the timing way way advanced....does anyone else have two loops for clamping the timing wire to on the back of their SR?

[Luke]

I could not, to save my life, get the correct timing reading by the loop on the back of the valve cover. Nor could I get it using any of the coilpack wires.

The only way I was able to get my timing set correctly with my standard light was to take the coil pack out, put a 2/4 gauge wire up in there and tape it (don't shove it in). Then I stripped maybe an inch off the other side, then wrapped a piece of electrical tape loosely around it (this keeps it from arcing inside that spark plug well). I took the back of a pen and made a hole in the middle of the tip of the wire so I could put it over the spark plug.

I attached my timing light to this to get exactly when cyl 1 was firing. If you have an extra spark plug wire around, you don't have be as ghetto as I was. Doing this should save you a lot of headache because standard timing lights can't read the timing correctly on our engines using the coilpack wires.

[UsedToOwn240SX]

I agreed with Luke. He's the man!

[pgt892]

Also, if your timing is 13BTDC it is OK because as the FSM shows on page EC-36 timing should be 15° BTDC ± 2°