Timing light question

[Jim Beam]

1963B Normal. 12 volt. I want to check/set timing using a timing light. Timing light power leads - red and black. Is there a power source in the engine bay to connect the red lead to? Black attached to ground at engine. The leads are not long enough to reach all the way to the battery up front. Thanks.

[Doug McDonnell]

If your car is 12 Volt you have 12V at VR B+ terminal-easy to check.. Or you can use jumper pack, other 12 V battery even a battery charger.

[Neil Bardsley]

I connect my red lead to the left side of the coil

[Jacques Lefriant]

that is B+ on the voltage regulator(VR)

[Doug McDonnell]

Thanks Jacques I should not have assumed that everyone would understand that VR stood for Voltage Regulator since I have minimal electrical know how.

[David Jones]

Timing lights consume a very small amount of power and can be run for hours on a low capacity 12 volt battery. Something like this, https://www.amazon.com/Volt-Amp-Hour-Al ... B0010XNC06
It can easily be recharged with a 12 volt battery maintainer.
6 volts will run most timing lights but the strobe light may not be bright enough for use in daylight.

[Wes Bender]

When connecting to a separate 12 volt source, some timing lights require a jumper from the negative lead on the light to the car's ground. You already accomplish this if you connect to the car's electrical system.

Wes

[Richard Shilling]

When I bought my timing light about 1964, I was convinced that it was 6/12 Volt. I used it professionally for years on both 6 and 12 volt cars. The last time I used it on my '65 C, I read the tag on the light and it said: 12 Volts! It works fine on 6 volts so if you have a 6 volt car, give it a try.

[Timothy Vick]

I use a small motorcycle battery

[Mervyn Hyde]

I have two solutions for the 12v power needed for the timing light on a 6v system. First at home I have an old computer transformer that outputs 12 to the timing light connections. On the road I have a cheap 6-12v converter that I can connect to the voltage regulation and also to the timing light.