The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Timing lights

Has anyone used the Innova 5568 timing light on a 6V system? Did it work? Is there any secret to make it function?

INNOVA seem to say no

It will be interesting to see if anyone has successfully used it on a 6v system?

Here is a “yes on 6v” (other INNOVA unit) posting.

This old thread seems to state that the 5568 works with 6v.

The inductive pickup will definitely work. Spark plug wire voltage is essentially the same on 6V and 12V systems, around 20,000V.
The issue is the display, which Innova says needs between 10 and 12V. The solution is to use a separate 12V battery to power the light.
From Innova's site:
Does my timing light work on 6V systems?

Your timing light may be used on vehicles with 6-volt electrical systems by using the following connection procedure: 12-volt automotive battery required.
1. Connect the RED battery clip to the positive (+) terminal of a 12-volt battery.
2. Connect the BLACK battery clip to the negative (-) terminal of a 12-volt battery.
3. Using a length of 18AWG jumper wire, ground the negative (-) terminal of the 12-volt battery to a known-good ground on the vehicle under test.

I won't buy an Innova product. I have an Innova OBD II reader. It doesn't read all the codes on newer cars as the software has changed. I tried to update the software but they don't support it. They want me to buy a new reader. The rep on the phone gave me a lot of BS.

I hooked it up to a 12v battery and the display for the volt meter worked fine and I even had a reading for dwell. But no tach or timing light flash.

The question I have is did the volt meter read the voltage of the 12v battery or the 6v? The inductive pickup should work when clipped around a plug wire to make the timing light flash. Have you tried it on a 12V vehicle? If it doesn't work there, maybe it's just pooched.

It showed 12.5 volts. I think that was the voltage going into the gun. I had the pickup on #1 plug, the dwell lead on the distributor side of the coil and the extra ground wire as directed by the company website. I will give it a try on a 12V vehicle.

Just to close the loop on this, I solved my problem with the innova timing light. I just sent it back. Amazingly easy with amazon. So the new search for a timing light and tach officially begins now!

I guess you know but.... if you got dwell, you then had to switch to timing, using a mode switch on the unit. You also needed to be in 4 cycle mode. You also can't have solid copper plug wire on no. 1. Don't look too long, most people just hook a 12V car, truck, lawn mower, battery charger..... to the light for the few times they check timing. Not a big deal and if a 6V light can't be used on 12V, that's no good.

I went through all the modes and nothing. Not sure about the dwell either. I had it set for 6 cylinders and 4 stroke too