Hey guys, so this is the story. 99 Nissan Altima with 49,000 miles, failed the functional part of the smog test in CA because the ignition timing was
12 degree BTDC. The correct timing is 20 degrees.So I decided to fix it my self. The shop manual I have says that the first "mark" from the bottom of the pulley is the 20 degree mark so I set it to that. When I drive the car the engine sounded harsh under acceleration, so I moved the distributor and got the "mark" aligned to the 2nd mark from the bottom which seems fine, but the book claims that the 2nd mark from the bottom in 15 degrees. I really don't know what is wrong. One thing that I did realized later on is that I am suppose to disconnect the throttle Position Sensor before I take a measurement with the strobe light. I didn't do that, do you think that could be my problem? How much of a difference will that make? Please help, I'm getting frustrated by this fairly new car. The bumper to bumper warranty on this car is 3/36, but the powertrain is
4/60, which is still valid. Will this problem fall under the powertrain warranty?Thanks in advance. :)