The distributor in your 1999 Honda Civic, equipped with the 1.6-liter engine, is attached to the back of the cylinder head and driven by the camshaft. Over time the timing belt can stretch slightly and allow ignition timing to be off a little. Making an adjustment to the timing will restore much of the lost performance due to timing belt stretch. Most average home car enthusiasts can perform this adjustment in a few minutes with the proper tools.
Start the engine and allow it to warm up until the operating temperature is reached on the gauge in the instrument cluster. Turn the engine off.
Locate the blue timing adjustment connector under the passenger's side of the dash. There are two blue connectors. The one for the timing adjustment is the two-pin connector. Insert a jumper wire into the connector to connect the two terminals.
Attach the timing light's power cords to the battery terminals. Clip the magnetic pick-up from the timing light to the number one spark plug wire. Start the engine and check the timing by shining the light at the crankshaft pulley. The red notch in the pulley should line up with the pointer on the front of the timing cover above the pulley. This will set the timing at 18 degrees before top dead center.
Loosen the three 12-mm nuts that attach the distributor to the cylinder head. Rotate the distributor until the timing marks line up. Tighten the distributor nuts.
Turn off the engine and remove the jumper wire from the timing connector. Test drive the Honda to verify that it runs properly.
