Review on 🔦 Innova 3568 Timing Light with Digital Functionality by Tom Goodlow

Purchased in this time frame (Innova 3568a) almost 4 years ago. It worked fine for the first year (2014), although I only used it 3-4 times on my machine. The next year I switched to the MSD ignition, couldn't use that timer but no big deal. I used it once on a friend's car in 2015 to make sure its timing was where it should be at 2500rpm and working as intended again. Then came 2017, I removed the MSD ignition from my car and now use FiTech EFI for timing. I was expecting this device to work, but now it's blinking intermittently. It always reads the correct RPMs, although this winter I took their advice on the website and bought a #3595 spare strap. We had good weather here in Ohio today and I was finally able to test the spare belt. 3595. The new wiring harness did not solve the intermittent blinking problem. Again, while the RPM readings are accurate, it's just that the blinking is intermittent. To fix the spark plug problem, as their website suggests, I used my old 1993 Actron timing gauge (has no timing grades or RPMs) which works like a champ for spark timing advance and on my ignition it works fine too. I found out that the Harbor Freight Time Indicator uses the same harmless 4 pin connection. To fix the harness issue I tried the RF sync indicator with the 3595 harness and in fact it works fine. I then tried the Harbor Freight harness with a 3568 time indicator and it worked for about 15 seconds but then the blinking became erratic. I'll try this 3568 on a mate's car when the weather improves before throwing it in the bin and after that I'll change my rating to 1 star. I will probably replace it with the next model up to 5568. Although I will never need the delay option, the backlight would be a nice addition, although I didn't want to pay $40 for the backlight feature at the time, I will pay another $40 if the sync backlight lasts more than 5 years. I'll also be testing the digital Actron, although the Craftsman version seems to get bad reviews. Hit or miss other brands' timers, some brands appear to be just rebranded versions of Innova or Actron models. For example, the Craftsman digital timer controller and wiring harness is a replica of the Actron digital timers, while the Matco timer looks like a replica of the Innova 5568.