I finally dug out my old timing light from the back of the toolbox

Last week I was helping my nephew with his '92 Civic and needed to check the timing. I pulled out this old SunPro light I bought in 2003, and the plastic was all sticky. It still worked, but it made me think about how we just plug in a scanner now and watch the PID for cam/crank correlation. Three years ago at the shop in Tempe, we had a tech who could set timing by ear on an old small block, but he retired. Does anyone still keep an analog light around, or is it all OBD2 for you guys?

4 comments

4 Comments

smith.parker2mo ago

Man, my old Actron light still has that nasty melted plastic feel too.

reesej272mo agoMost Upvoted

Every cheap charger I own does that.

smith.parker1mo ago

I mean yeah they get hot but like, how many people actually had one catch fire? I've got a drawer full of gas station chargers that have been working fine for years.

reese_lee92mo ago

Remember when we all thought it was just how chargers worked? I used to blame my phone for getting hot. Turns out those cheap bricks are basically cooking themselves from the inside out. Once I saw a teardown video showing how bad the parts are, it totally changed my mind. Now I get why they get that melted plastic smell. It's not normal, it's a sign they're built wrong.