Setting Crank Gear Timing

This crank trigger is a single sensor and some form of crank gear like 60-2, 36-1, 12-1 etc. the more teeth on the gear, the more accurate timing is during blip conditions. This setup requires 2 settings which will indicate TDC accurately to the ECU. One is a course gear teeth number and the other is a degree setting between the teeth.

Gear not visible

If you can’t see the gear you can enter speculative values in Gear Teeth. Best is to disconnect the fuel pump and use a timing light. Start with a teeth value of 1 and timing sensor value of 0.

Set the Maximum Timing on zero.

Put the timing light on zero degrees. Crank the engine and look at the timing. Adjust the Gear Teeth till the mark is just past TDC. Then adjust the Timing Sensor till it is on TDC. Put the Maximum Timing back to its value. Save the settings and connect the fuel pump. Start the engine. Once the engine is stabilized and idle fueling is adjusted, repeat the above process to fine tune timing.

Gear Visible.

If you can see the gear, put the engine on TDC. Count the number of teeth from the slot to the sensor in an anti-clockwise direction. Enter this number of teeth plus one in the software under Gear Teeth. Enter 0 in Timing Sensor °BTDC field. The car should start unless it is a low teeth count. If it is a 12 tooth gear then you could still be out 30 degrees. Rather make an estimate by following the visual sample below.

To determine what degrees is between the teeth compare the center of the pickup to the 2 teeth it falls between. Use the last edge of the tooth as the reference. The sample below is a 36-1 gear which means it has 10 degrees between the teeth. This one seems like it is close to 6 degrees from the last tooth that will pass the sensor. Enter 6 in Timing Sensor.

This engine should start and idle if the fuel is correctly set. Check with the timing light to see if the software timing correlates with the engine timing. If the difference is less than the tooth pitch degrees, adjustments can be made on the Timing Sensor °BTDC field. Otherwise add or subtract one tooth and try again.

If a magnetic pickup is used, ensure that the positive and negative of the magnetic sensor are correct. If they are connected wrong way round, the timing will retard instead of advance and the fazing will be wrong. Sometimes the engine will start but it may not rev up. Look for errors indicating pickup problems.

Was this article helpful?

Related Articles

Leave A Comment?

You must be logged in to post a comment.