Tried that cheap timing light from Harbor Freight and it lied to me

Picked up their $25 timing light last week to set the distributor on my '87 F-150. It showed 10 degrees BTDC but the engine was pinging like crazy, so I double checked with a borrowed Snap-On unit and it was actually 18 degrees. Has anyone else had a cheap timing light throw off their marks like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

henryf5321d ago

That $25 light probably just has a cheap circuit board that drifts with temperature. Had a similar problem with a multimeter from there, it would show 12 volts on a dead battery. It's the same logic as buying a $20 set of wrenches, you get what you pay for but sometimes you just need something to get by.

bethcarr21d ago

Bought that same timing light for my '79 Trans Am last year and it told me the engine was at 8 degrees when it was actually running 22. Thing was off by almost 15 degrees somehow. Ended up just using a test light and turning the distributor by ear until the pinging stopped. I swear those tools are built with the same quality control as a stolen shopping cart.