Answer by JohnP for jQuery does not show content with setTimeout

You need to wrap your jQuery call in a function

$.ajax({    url: 'content.php',    data: '&go='+ tab,    success: function (data) {        setTimeout(pencil, 3250); //pass in a function reference preferably.         setTimeout(function(){$("#content").html(data).fadeIn()}, 5000); //wrap it in a function    }});