Hey guys,

got a question for the ignition wizards. I've been helping a kid put a car together, and we have it running pretty well despite our best efforts. The tune-up procedure went smoothly and per FSM, with one difference.

Car is a '90 NA with all the stock fuel and emissions stuff.

I was able to set the idle to 750 without any vac leaks/jumping. Went pretty easy. Throttle position sensor was set easily too. The problem I had was setting the ignition timing. I started with the leading coil, and with the engine very retarded (as they get sometimes) the timing marks showed up for the leading coil firing. As I approached the timing mark, within about 2 or 3 degrees, the timing marks went away, and I had a hard time finding them. After about 15 minutes of frustration, I hooked onto the trailing lead, and was able to get it to line up with the appropriate timing mark without issue. After rechecking, the leading coil was still not lining up with the leading mark. Car runs fine, sounds ok.

I am still trying to study on the specifics of the ignition, with only a general knowledge right now. I'm not sure where to start on this one. The tuneup procedure in the manual does not specify this, as there is no code being thrown. I might try and gap the CAS pickups for consistency, but I doubt that is the cause of the problem. If you guys have any ideas, please let me know.