Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I am desirous of checking the timing on my 1700 series. In looking in the service manual, it says to set the fuel compensator at zero. What is a fuel compensator?
And where do I find one?

Frank

Underneath the distributor on the shaft, there is a knurled knob and a dial with a pointer. By loosening the knurled knob, you can adjust the timing to compensate for poor fuel. The centered position is zero. Good luck!

Here is an illustration showing what to look for.

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You can also just ignore the fuel compensator and simply set the timing as if it weren't there.

Setting the compensator to zero and then adjusting the timing will give you a known place to advance or retard the compensator setting. Returning the compensator to zero will restore the timing to its normal setting.

This was a way for owners to easily adjust the timing to accomodate varying quality of gas back in the day when these Packards were new. It is unnecessary now; hence, O_D's suggestion to ignore where the compensator is set and adjust the timing as if it were not there.

(o[]o)