Problem with timing on a 93
 

I'm trying to get my old 93 ready for the new owner and tried to set the timing by jumping TEN and GND. The car was warmed up, no accessories on at all and the timing was way advanced (about 2" to the left of 10*TDC). I adjusted the CAS all the way retarded and was still far too advanced. The stock ecu is a non California ECU, and it is a California harness. I spliced the 2 injectors with the other 2 so its running on all four cylinders. I'm wondering if the California ecu has a different CAS range than the non California ECU. Is there any other way to reduce timing? BTW, i do not have the California ECU anymore so testing it is out of the question.

Confirm actual TDC to TDC on the balancer. I just replaced a slipped one that was wreaking some serious havoc.

I'm 99.9% certain that the CA and non-CA '93s used the same CAS.

I'm with Sav. Pull the #1 spark plug and drop the oil dipstick into the hole. Turn the crank over clockwise by hand while observing the dipstick. It should peak just as the notch on the pulley crosses the TDC mark. If not, your pulley has slipped.

No worries though, a slipped pulley only means a damaged crank which needs to be replaced. No biggie.

Sorry, I'm not following Joe's advice and being a dick.

Timing belt was loose enough to push with fingers, verified that the belt slipped a tooth causing some light detonation. Thanks for the quick replies

It's possible to slip just the balancer, actually. The pulley and everything else still lines up but the actual harmonic balancer slips inside itself and misaligns the timing mark.