Failed Smog due to Timing Being Off (1 Viewer)

[BayArea80]

I recently picked up my first 80 and for once in my life, did so without having the previous owner smog it. It's a single owner, 94, with 80k miles and had passed smog every 2 years as expected. I took it in and it passed with flying colors except for the timing. For some reason, when we jumpered the terminals to check the timing (yes, the CEL turned on. Two flashes, pause, repeat), the timing did not change. It was at 10* without the jumper in and 10* after. I tried searching and didn't find anyone that seemed to have this same problem. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[inkpot]

Dont know why it would trigger a CEL, but normal timing is 3.

 

[BayArea80]

The blinking CEL is supposed to indicate that the car is in timing check mode.

 

[gummycarbs]

Thanks in advance.

Nice one.

For what it's worth, I tried to check mine (also 1994) and... uh... couldn't figure out WTF I was looking at. What I thought was the timing marker kept jumping around and it was all annoyingly low contrast. I really need to take another stab at it.

 

[Tools R Us]

The jumper puts it in timing set mode, holds it steady. Without the jumper, the ECU controls it, changes as needed. Set the timing with the jumper and don't worry what it is without the jumper, could be the same, or not, doesn't matter.

 

[BayArea80]

The jumper puts it in timing set mode, holds it steady. Without the jumper, the ECU controls it, changes as needed. Set the timing with the jumper and don't worry what it is without the jumper, could be the same, or not, doesn't matter.

I'll give this a try. Perhaps the previous owner adjusted the timing intentionally

 

[ajax1]

It's been a 2 years since I did mine which is a 94 but I believe it should just keep flashing and not have a pause once you turn the truck on