Civic EG

not sure if this is the correct place or not. im looking for the ignition timing specs and how to set the ignition timing for a 92 VX

I dont have any pics... but you obviously need to have a timing light...
-Hook up the timing light
-losen the distributor enough to move it left and right
-start your car
-on your timing cover.. there is going to be a little plastic mark that looks like a V ... look down with the timming light and look down at your crank pulley
-you will see a red mark on your pulley... you just need to line that up with the mark on your timing cover... to align the mark up correctly... you can turn the distributor left or right... to move the mark on the crank pulley(as you use the timming light)
-After its all aligned correctly... tighten your distributor down
-then on your throttle body there is a screw that can adjust your idle. I forgot what the idle should be set at...

sorry.. I have no pics again ... I probably said something wrong anyways... so some one will correct me

do I need to jumper any connections first? I know on some vehicles to set the timing you need to jumper 2 wires together first. so theres no actually timing number, I guess I should have known that as I was wondering why I could not find any numbers


gotta pass smog, checking timing, then I think I will pull the intake off and clean out the EGR ports, although it looks like somebody has already done that at some point as the holes where the covers should have been are welded over.

car has 436,000km on it(261,600miles) but runs great and seems to be ok for oil consumption. just has a high NOX issue

might just need a cat then... yeah... the vx motor will keep going on... and on.. as long as its being taken care of... (i guess that could be said about any motor).. for the timing light... Just hook up the power wire to the battery and the other one around cylinder #1 and then ground ... good luck

Yes, you absolutely need to jumper the diagnostic plug to the ECU or else the ECU will correct the timing you're attempting to change. The plug can be found in the passenger kick just below the glove box in a green case. There's two plugs, you want the two-pin. Just stick a spade connector in there.

Then when you're done you have to reset the ECU. Pull the 7.5A "backup" fuse under the hood and wait a few seconds before you put it back in.

You really don't need to know the spec. As long as the right crank pulley is on the engine, you just line up the red mark to the pointer.

If you don't fix the EGR you'll fail on NOx.

I dont have a cover for my fusebox so I have no idea what fuse is for what.

I know there is no adjustment for idle speed but do you know if there is a specific rpm that the timing should be set at?

if its an autmatic i think 750 if its manual its like 65-700. it should say on the sticker in your hood.

The sticker under your hood tells you the base timing and idle speed. For the VX it's 600 +/- 50 and ignition timing is 16 +/-2 (indicated by the red line between the two white lines indicating two degrees in each direction). Your factory tach is no where near accurate enough to give you an indication of your idle RPM. You'll need a tach tool. You can tap into the blue wire at the distributor or at the diagnostic plug on the driver's strut tower for a tach signal.

Idle is in fact adjustable, but you should never have to adjust it manually.

There is only one 7.5A fuse under the hood. It's in the middle in the back row.

my car seems to be missing the underhood emisions stickers.

so I checked the timing today. had to turn the distributer the same direction as engine turns to bring the timing mark to the correct spot.

my brain isnt remembering this stuff anymore. the ignition fires before top dead centre therefore its called advance, so that means I retarded the timing. now if only there was enough marks so I knew how much I retarded it, I think it was a significant amount. my mark on the dizzy housing is now about 3/16 of an inch from the mark it used to line up with on the head.

Well the engine turns counterclockwise which is peculiar to Hondas from this era. The plug wire nearest the crank pulley is your #1 reference. Rotating the distributor toward the front of the vehicle retards the timing, and toward the firewall advances it.

Even a very small change in the base timing causes a big change in performance and fuel economy.

I hope you remembered to jumper the ECU while checking/adjusting the timing. Then check the timing again after you've torqued the distributor bolts down. Then reset the ECU by pulling the fuse for a few seconds.

yup I did all that. im going to double check it one more time before I try aircaring it again. just changed out a fubar alternator(bad regulator, holy yowza for voltage).

I have acces to a timing light now that has the dial on it for finding out how much advance you have on(from back in the day when you played with mechancal advance) so I might turn the dizzy back to what it was at(marks on dizzy to tell me where) and see how much it really was off. im guess 6 degrees or more.