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Thread: China CDI Reviews on ATC350X

  1. #16
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    China CDI Reviews on ATC350X

    I might be misunderstanding this so please bear with me, but if the total timing is fixed and the CDI just delays for lower RPM, then anyone who claims more total advance than stock would be lying right?
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  2. #17
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    Based on the ignition results in that video I posted, the blue and orange CDI would work extremely well for the 200ES, or really any of the 200 series that uses the mechanical advancement. Might have to adjust the pickup coil slightly (maybe mod it not sure), but the ignition timing basically doesn't change all that much.

    That Snap-On KV tester seems like the same test as the gap based one, just measures in KV instead of gap. The gap is a rough KV tester, just have to do the math. Gap in mm * 3,000, so 6mm gap should be around 18kv. Math is based on a google result, but the number seems to make sense. Of course air conditions effects the spark etc, so it's only a rough number, guessing the Snap-On tester is more accurate and consistent. Both tools are similar priced though. Guessing the physics behind the KV tester is similar to how the wire wrap tach gauges work.

    Ironically I have an old oscilloscope, but it's pretty old. Never had proper schooling for electroincs, so don't know 100% how to use everything on it. It was an ebay special for like $50 shipped like 10 years ago and I've used a few times to try to look at a PS2 laser signal (to get it adjusted within spec). It's an analog meter, and I think it's refresh rate or whatever it's called is too slow. I just pulled it out and it's a Hitachi V-212 20Mhz Oscilloscope. It has a small CRT tube inside it. Not super sure where my probes are, but would be neat to poke around things a bit.

    I believe all of these Chinese CDI's are more or less analog. I suspect with a digital (micro controller based) CDI it would be possible to advance the timing beyond the physical set point by basing the timing on the last revolution instead of the current one and only above x rpm where that much advancement would ever be needed. It would have a slight advancement delay, but nothing like turbo lag.

    I've seen a few people on youtube that build their own digital (aka programmable) CDI, but nearly all of them does nothing with spark advancement. I did find one that was running a boat engine that showed their spark advancement with a timing light. Clearly that one ran the best, the other's were slow to rev and didn't seem to sound quite right. Kind of like my 200es with the spark advancer stuck at min advancement.

    It's awesome you confirmed the CDI operation (delay for idle, less delay for high rpm). Always love having multi-able sources for things I'm not sure on. Also nice to see that blue china CDI has stood the test of time quote well. Besides being a little dirty, looks like new yet. Mine's a slight reversion, it's LED is red instead of green.

    Also, yea I agree, a rev limiter should be in place as a safety for the engine. That's kind of an interesting point that goes back to my dad's chainsaw building. He desires coils with high or no rev limiter, like the 5100 series he tested and it went to 14.8k rpm, it's stock rev limiter should have been 13.5k. Might have some special coil, or the limiting part failed. He tunes the carb to be the rev limiter with his tach. Just fine for someone experienced with engines and can tune them etc, but end user it's not so safe. Like myself, I don't know the 2 strokes that well, so I scored the cylinder a little using the saw last year even though I knew it felt a little off (goes lean after a few seconds full throttle).

    Pretty neat this "review" thread turned into discussion on electronics, and I love it lol.


    Quote Originally Posted by fabiodriven View Post
    I might be misunderstanding this so please bear with me, but if the total timing is fixed and the CDI just delays for lower RPM, then anyone who claims more total advance than stock would be lying right?
    I kind of addressed this before seeing your post in my reply above, but I think if the CDI is micro-controller based, it could in theory advance more than stock, but I'd guess it would be a bit inaccurate if rpm changes while in that range. It might have to do some averaging and guess work to see if the rpm is steady, increasing, or decreasing and by how much.

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    Thanks! Excellent reviews you are providing us with here bud!!...
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    Very cool and thanks for the info. Years ago I raced gokarts (4 stroke) and ran a 'Digatron' set up as far as a Tachometer. It had tach and head temp. Basic unit. Might be something to look into getting. Test rev limit ETC. Upper units had EGT and water temp. I honestly never have checked timing using a timing light on a small engine.

    Am I correct that all ignition advance/mapping is done in the CDI on the 350X? (Sorry if I missed that)
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    Yes, all of the CDI based Honda 3 wheelers does the spark advancement inside the CDI box, the only exception are the machines with the mechanical spark advancer on the cam end, generally under the CDI cover. Basically that covers the 200 series engines (185/185s/200/200e/es/m/s/x). That mechanical advancer was used on dirt bikes for ages too, the springs I sell are sourced from like a 2002 bike. There still might be some extra advancement logic in the 200 series CDI's, but I believe they are just a dummy box, it sees a trigger signal, and it sparks which is why the China CDI's work pretty well on them.

    I might be wrong, but I think points based engines are all static timing, atleast for the Honda 3 wheelers. If I was able to build a CDI for the machines that normally use a CDI, I suspect similar logic could be used on a points engine, just the circuit to detect the signal would have to be beefed up or take out the condenser and jump the wire so an open/close signal could be read. Not sure if it's faster to read voltage or resistance though, I suspect voltage is faster which is why most sensors are coil based, or on cars, it's a 5v signal + ground + signal (resistance based, but computer uses the return voltage for it's calculations I'd guess).

    There's two ways to adjust the whole timing curve on a CDI engine w\o modifying the CDI, one is to move the pickup/pulse generator side to side to change when it picks up the signal, or the other way is to modify the metal (generally on the flywheel) it uses to pick up. Generally oblonging the mounting holes on the pickup coil/pulse generator is the easier way. With a degree wheel, you can measure how much of a change you're doing. Remember, this is moving the whole spark curve, so if you desire +2 degrees advancement at high rpms, this method would also increase the low rpm by +2 degrees too, aka harder starting generally, but not nearly as bad as like +15 degrees advancement like the guy had in the video lol

    I've attached a screen cap of the graph for easier referencing. I wish every CDI had a graph like this, so someone with a performance/race build could pick and choose which new spark curve fits their needs/wants better.

    Also fun thing to point out, the scooter the guy is using is a Chinese scooter, so the actual OEM CDI could be a good source for other Honda machines, however who knows if you can even buy them anywhere. Here's the first google result looking for a Tao Tao CDI. It says the brand is Tao Tao, so maybe if a Honda CDI matches this curve fairly closely it would be a good *cheap* CDI to use. The Honda service manuals generally states the spark advancement starts at about 3k rpm, the graph shows the stock one started around 2.5k. Also most 4 stroke based Honda engines are max advancement is 28 to 32. Based on the graph tat Tao Tao engine is somewhere around 27 basing off the orange (guessing dummy box). Also most machines have an idle/low rpm advancement of 10 degrees, a couple have 13 like the 250es/sx. Most of the Honda timing specs are + or - 2 degrees, so that puts the stock Tao Tao CDI in a pretty good sweet spot for working fairly well for most of the non-200 series Honda 3 wheelers. The big difference would be the actual middle points that Honda doesn't give which would effect the 3k rpm to max advancement point performance (aka racing, taking off, wheelies, fast cruising etc).

    https://www.amazon.com/Scooter-Moped.../dp/B00GMQ1MTY

    This kind of makes me want to get a quality test light (aka accurate), and modify my 350x flywheel and sync marks/scratches to a degree wheel to measure the ignition advancement of different CDI's. If I built an actual CDI, it would give a good way to measure the exact advancement the end calculations are receiving, the actual math, signal time etc would all delay the timing ever so slightly, not sure if it's enough that it would need the delay accounted for in the code or not.

    Of course I'm far from being able to build a CDI, I need to learn the basics of micro controllers and how to interact with hardware before even trying it. You know, like a simple flashing LED lol.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails cdi timing.jpg  

  6. #21
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    Thanks ps2fixer for working on this. People could just keep taking chances on random CDIs, but you're going to nail down just which ones.

    This thread should relate well to the 350X, since the systems operate similarly.
    https://advrider.com/f/threads/xrl-i...hread.1140612/


    It's a very long thread. The thing to take away is so many people jumped on board spending $$, to only realize they have control over advance only up to the physical max designed by Honda. People were programing in what they though was a higher maximum advance, only just because it shows it during the programing doesn't mean it's really happening. Without doubt, most of the people who bought those $$ ignitions had stock or very mildly built engines, of course, the price of a OEM CDI for those bikes isn't far off of the aftermarket price and the OEM ones are known to have failures. Meh, in that case, buy the fancy one when price is nearly equal.


    Something else worth mentioning, is without more input parameters (manifold pressure, throttle position, intake/engine temp), the timing never changes from what is programed. It won't change with engine load or even engine temp. It's not a dynamic timing curve, and responds to engine speed alone. Two selectable maps is as good as it gets without the capability of more live input data.


    As ps2fixer mentioned somewhere, the CDI simply wears out. That's why having a quality, stock style replacement is so important when Honda doesn't offer them anymore. It doesn't have to be super high tech or expensive, just work as good as the original. I like fancy stuff just as much as the next rider, but at some point it just starts becoming silly wasted money, like a $500 ignition box on a stock Ford 300 I6 in a '79 F150.
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  7. #22
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    I'll have to check over that thread, assuming it's interesting enough I'll probably end up reading the whole thing lol.

    Also, yea I've bought the China CDI boxes from my supplier, so I got them at "whole sale" prices, and was already in orders for my own stock so shipping was free ($200+ orders), so I'm spending as little as possible on them still =). In the scooter CDI vid, the guy mentioned he paid something like $40 for two, I have 5 different models, probably cost me around $20-25. The cheapest of the cheap ones are $3-5, blue one was $10 if I remember right. Of course more hands in the middle, more price markup. For me it's Factory -> whole seller -> me.

    It's probably worth mentioning, Mike/Oscar is paying to have CDI boxes made as well, for $70 if they perform as good or better than stock, it will be well worth the money. I know some people are either too cheap for those prices, or flat out can't afford the much for a beater machine. Knowing what works, even if not perfect, for say $25 shipped would still cover another market point. CDI's are fairly universal in function, it's that timing advancement that makes them all slightly different. He's still having tweaks made to the CDI's, the next batch he's getting is going to be more sensitive to detect the pulse generator pulse. What I'm figuring is the CDI was designed after a modern CDI, and the old machines made less voltage for the pulse generators (less ohms per spec). I think it was something like two people had a bit of an issue with them, one of them swapped the CDI to a friend's machine and it worked great on the other machine, so it's not directly the CDI's fault, but likely an under spec part.

    I wonder if an arduino could be epoxied in a plastic box just like a CDI box and not have issues, or better yet, a aluminum case to mount the heat-sink to for the power supply (12-60v+ AC -> 3.3v or 5v DC). Just a quick google search shows the arduino can have a bluetooth adapter added to it to program it wirelessly, so a programmable "CDI" could be possible. I think that would require my code to be opensource/public though. Good and bad, bad being someone in china could copy my work and do it cheaper with lower quality parts and cheaper labor. Even if I don't make a product out of this, it would be a great learning experience for myself.

    The hurdle that's been keeping me kind of out of these is knowing which one to buy lol. There's so many options. I'm thinking the Arduino Pro Mini which runs on 5v and has a clock speed of 16mhz and has 8 analog inputs. Would be neat to have a LCD output and a few buttons to navigate a menu and "reprogram" though that interface, but everything is ideas at this point, keeping it simple first is ideal. It on it's own is around $10 + shipping. The pin header to add in to the epoxy is like $12 for the Japanese connector most likely used in OEM CDI boxes. Chinese copies of them are like $1-2. Might go for the China knock offs for now since I haven't heard of people having too many problems with the connectors. If this project nets to anything interesting, I'll probably start a new thread on it, but maybe just a thread title change would be enough. Of course my test dummy engine will be the 350x. I also have an 85 250es, 85 250sx, 200es (will run with a little work), trx350d (350x style top end, 250es style bottom end), 81-84 250r, and for a points engine I have a TX500 engine is a blaster frame that I need to build the harness for. Would be cool to make it run with a CDI style box.

    Hopefully the readers of this thread like long posts, I generally make mini-books on subjects of interest lol.

    Also for the input sensors, I think bare minimum one could get away with basing some of the mapping on head temp (sensor is available to bolt on at the spark plug). It wouldn't be quite as responsive ad proper EFI systems with TPS and such, but I think the code could estimate TP based on RPM change, of course it won't know the load so I guess it couldn't take full advantage of the estimates. Would be simple enough to enable/disable features like that. Kind of the same idea of making more advancement than physically set on the pickup, in my mind the coding makes sense, it would just have a 1 or 2 rpm delay (~6-40ms depending on RPM, it shouldn't kick in till probably 5k+ rpm anyway, so that's around 12ms). Clearly estimating things won't be nearly as accurate as a system with all the sensors in place, it would be more or less the equivalent of Limp mode for cars except it wouldn't pull the timing, it would try to add a little timing (or pull in some situations). I'm thinking anything like this would be default disabled since it likely would need tweaking per machine, assuming this ever becomes an actual product. 32KB isn't a whole lot of data for the program, so can't go too crazy on the design, and the ram is only 2KB. If I run out of ram, there's a 2.5KB version, but nothing larger. Wouldn't want to move up to a raspberry pi since it's an OS based mini computer basically, lag etc could be a problem with it running an engine.

    Anyway, I'm open to advice on the circuit designs, I've ordered a few arduino's just encase I burn some up with my little understanding of electronics (I have just the bare basics down) lol. In my mind, there needs to be a trigger circuit for a peak in voltages to trigger it. Service manuals spec the pulse generators as low as 20 ohms and as high as 400 ohms, not sure what that is in voltage though. Maybe just a way to read voltage and check it often enough to see the peak would work, I know my pc can run though millions of lines of code per second, 16mhz would probably be 1000's per sec or so though (for the whole loop).

    I suspect the standard CDI circuit would work for the capacitor to charge and discharge, basically a diode, capacitor, and a gate with a trigger pin (don't know much about these or what they are called exactly, I suspect a transistor is about the same thing?). Not sure if the arduino has enough signal strength to trigger the gate though.

    Clearly over sizing the capacitor is ideal to take in as much extra power as possible, not sure how to make the power supply for the arduino work with both it's power needs and the capacitor needs to fire the coil. Maybe having an extra wire on the box to tap into the lighting circuit for power would be ideal so the maximum energy can be put into making the strongest spark possible, heck with that wire it could power the capacitor from that too and for sure have more energy stored than any stock CDI, wonder if it would make much of a difference though, I'd guess the coil would output more or less the same spark voltage but maybe more current, or a longer duration.

    My first project will be something simple like a flashing led (good way to signal data to the user like error codes). I guess the second project would be to add a button and detect the button presses and light up the LED, then add a small delay on it if the "rpm" is fast enough (for human button press speeds), and move up from there. I legit have a shed full of electric boards, so I have probably anything and everything I'd need to play around with this.

    Oh, I just noticed, high clock speeds are available too, it was in another section. Highest one appears to be 180mhz with 256KB of ram and 25 analog inputs. I'd guess that's enough to run most/all sensors on a car lol. The one I ordered is probably plenty good enough I'd think. Maybe I can hook up the pulse generator to a chain saw and see what the peak RPM I can get out of it is. One of my dad's saws is a 14.5k rpm saw, and I have a bunch that are 13.5k rpm. If it can handle max rpm on them, it should be fine with pretty much any atv engine I'd think. Not sure what the rev limit on the 250r would be, guessing around 12k rpm?

    Another fun side project of this would be to get accurate timing numbers for the pulse generator location per engine model so the timing curve would be accurate for them, or base it on what the CDI actually does and make it delay/retarded degrees vs advanced degrees (if my idea/code works right) as the CDI sees it.

    Anyway, I think the book is done for now lol.

    TLDR;
    Anyway to sum this post up, I'd like to see if I can build a CDI off an Ardunio to get it to atleast stock level performance, then add in extra features after that to toy around with and learn from.

  8. #23
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    I do know that last year, I tried 3 different CDI's, and one of them seemed to work the best. And it was also the most expensive model at 100$.

    This is not the time of year for me to test things, Oscar did send me one to try out, but, it will be awhile here in the Massachusetts.

    You'll probably see me building a pole barn this spring before I can test these things out fully...

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    Haha, yea bitcoin was a fun pass time at my midnight job, made a bit playing the market. Job was boring as hell, ended up getting to the point I had to do something to stay awake, the job was for 24/7 IT coverage at a factory, and our team got things so relaible it was dead overnight.

    Did you get a 200x or 350x CDI from Oscar? I'd be interested in hearing feed back from others as well.

  10. #25
    fabiodriven's Avatar
    fabiodriven is offline Aspiring romance novel cover model, and the Official 3WW slayer of thieves and swindlers. Catch me if you can
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    Lmfao my $750 in bitcoin turned into like $200.
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    Lol, that's the nature of bitcoin, when it drops, you target increasing btc holdings (sell and buy when it drops more) timing is everything though, I haven't had time to focus on it so I'm just holding though the dip. Ironically I was thinking about selling when the price was around $18k per coin, but ended up being greedy and holding, missed out on selling my collection for a sizable chunk of money and good profit. History repeats itself, it's very likely it will recover to atleast 10k, and probably beyond, might take 6-9 months though :-/.

    This kind of reminds me when I had the bright idea of buying silver when it was increasing in value, bought right around $50, aka the highest it's ever been. It's now around $14/oz, not going to see profits on that investment for a long time I suspect. Not a huge deal, I made the investments when I had a good paying job and was "money to burn", I basically treat it as a CD or bond, can't really touch them till they mature aka make a profit.

    Basically the rule of thumb is, if everyone is going crazy buying something, it's time to sell, and when it looks like all hope is lost, that's why you buy.

  12. #27
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    Did some more reading about the arduino project, and it sounds like this is a very doable project with a 16mhz arduino. To do the extra calculations and fancy stuff, I'll probably need the higher speed units since the math involved and such might take the arduino too long to process. Basically, attempt to mimic the OEM CDI's function more or less exactly is about the perfect goal for the project. I believe the code can port over to the other boards with no issues, maybe slight config changes. I'm clearly not the first one to want to do this, I've seen a couple threads now with people with old motorcycles with out of production and very hard to find CDI boxes that have failed and they need a replacement.

    I'm kind of excited to get to poke around with micro controllers and such. Might have to disassemble a cheap used CDI to check what components were used OEM so I don't have to fully reinvent the wheel.

    Sounds like I get to dive into C programming, never done normal C programming, I had classes on C++ and C# though. From my understanding, C++ is just an extended version of C. There's also the arduino IDE that gives a higher level type of programming language that compiles likely to C code then assembly/binary. Not sure if I'd want to use C (better control, lower to dev), or the free IDE.

    Once basic CDI function is working right, in theory I could build a dash (like LCD display for example), and display RPM, Temp (if sensor hooked up), vehicle speed (based on rpm, so would have to be based on highest gear ratio, stock chain sprockets and stock tire size). Could probably be fancy have add in timers like run time (current time since engine started), total run time (since the unit's been installed), hour meter, etc. The timers would be simple code triggers at the startup process and shut down (say under 100 rpm it expects the engine to die, and loose power, write updated times etc). MPH and RPM would be a little extra math, but I think it's simple enough it wouldn't be too much. Not sure how much processing is needed for an LCD display though. Thinking of what's possible is kind of neat with my limited knowledge.

  13. #28
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    Well, I was wondering what exactly made up the China CDI's and if there was anything special about them. Looks like this one with the teal connector (known good working one for a 200es) is legit a dummy CDI. I don't know electronics well enough to say what exactly is going on, but there's no micro controller clearly, so it's analog based. Capacitor is nice and large, but I don't have an OEM CDI cut apart to compare either. It was a rear bear to get into the CDI, had to cut the 4 corners of the plastic out and use vice grips to break it free from the epoxy. The black top layer is slightly rubberish while the clear is very glass like (brittle), and the white type on the bottom is similar to the clear but a lot stronger, guessing it's just sand mixed in to make it stronger like normal cement has sand and gravel added in.

    The capacitor is a 105J which based on google is a 1uF 400V capacitor.

    The big black box which I was guessing was some sort of transister might be the "gate" that dumps the capacitor to the coil. Here's a spec sheet on it, it's commonly used in motor controllers so it seem to make sense.

    http://www.cldkj.com/pdf/THYRISTORS-...2P4M-TO126.pdf

    The small black boxes with 3 numbers are resisters, nothing to special there. The gray box with nothing on it is a small capacitor. Not sure what the M7 black boxes are, but based on some multi-meter probing, they seem to be some sort of diode. Based on some more googling, seems my guess is accurate.

    Based on my understanding of the parts and the basics of how a "simple" CDI box works, this one is truly a dummy box that fires as soon as the pulse generator sends the signal. There's no electrolitic capacitors to fail, so even though it's a very simple design, I suspect it would likely last as long as OEM assuming the solder work and parts used are within spec for the application. I suspect if I pulled apart a 200es CDI, I'd see a similar circuit with 1980's era components (though hole instead of surface mounted). The connector was the first thing to break free from the epoxy, so if that happens and it vibrates enough, it could break the solder connection and cause issues over time.

    This was fun to check into, but a real pain to open lol. I did loose one resister from beating this thing up trying to get that epoxy off. Anyway, enjoy the pics =).

    For those with the China engines that use this CDI or similar, I suspect you could gain respectable performance gains by running a Honda OEM like CDI on it. Might have to adjust the pickup coil/pulse generator mounting location to match the Honda OEM placement. Reason I say this is because the CDI doesn't do advancement (static timing), and most/all China clone engines I've seen are modernized with a basic pickup coil, no mechanical advancement, like the 200 series Honda engines. I could be wrong with what I'm thinking, but might be a fun project for someone to try out. I have a couple tiny China engines I got cheap (like $50 for 3 that need work), never poked around them though.

    I might have to follow the pin out and traces to see if I can understand that CDI's circuit better. Seems like in theory I could use the same components, or very similar for the digital CDI idea. I also thought of a way to power the Arduino with out loosing effectiveness of the spark power. Unless I'm misunderstanding it, CDIs only use a half wave rectifier (just a single diode) to charge the capacitor, so the opposite AC wave isn't used at all. Should be able to have the reversed half wave rectifier be used to power up the Arduino with some voltage stabilizing parts (capacitor and such) and be good to go.





    Also I don't think I posted about this publicly, but since the CDI idea seems to be possible, it should be possible to build a CDI tester and have it trigger a spoofed pulse generator signal and read the output to the coil to test if it's working and what the timing is. With some data logging, could test every 50 or 100 rpm to plot out the advancement curve quite accurately assuming the CDI is in good working order. I'm not sure how the analog ones delay the timing, but the capacitor in them could get weak over time, still could read a weak signal though. Assuming this works out like I hope, it should be possible for me to have people send me CDI's and I can show them the spark advancement curve. I think it would be nice to know just how different the spark curves really are model to model. Also could compare China and other 3rd party CDI's to see how accurate they are compared to OEM.

    Another side project/idea I have with the Arduino is an automated wire cutter/stripper. Could make my life a bit easier assuming I can figure out the psychical controls for the wire (which sensors needed to detect wire placement, stepper motor for measured movements, etc).

    I also heat with a wood stove, sometimes the house is already warm/hot, so might use an Arduino to control the fan on it. Could get all fancy and control the air dampener and such too. Right now it's fan kicks on when the fire box gets hot enough (I have an adjustable temp switch on it, OEM one failed). I suspect a basic thermostat would work good too, just my main one is hooked to my backup furnace. Maybe control both wood stove and backup heat from the same controller would be a nice project though =). So many possibilities.

    Oh yea, there was a little bit of talk about Li-Ion batteries, in theory the Arduino could be used as a "smart" charge controller too with the right supporting circuits.
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  14. #29
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    Ps2fixer, Pretty sure you’ve seen these on your searches, figured I’d post so others could see too. China 4-stroke cdi - two different ones- clear epoxy used to encapsulate it/ kinda interesting to see what’s involved in there- just eBay pics-
    Click image for larger version. 

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    The little blue box comes through the epoxy for manual timing adjustment “they claim”
    That’s all I got- just passing it on....
    Shep
    Last edited by Shep1970; 12-17-2018 at 09:01 AM.

  15. #30
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    Awesome stuff. I never seen it, never searched to see if others have taken the CDI's apart lol.

    The CDI in that photo has some sort of micro controller it looks like, so very possible it truly does have an adjustable timing curve, question is, how does it adjust it exactly. I'd assume the micro controller reads the pot (blue adjustable resister) and adjusts it's programming based on that. I could see it doing the adjustment across the whole rpm range, like delay everything 1 degree, or maybe it does some sort of percentage thing where the lower rpms are adjusted more, and the higher rpm stays fairly close to the same due to our understanding of how CDIs work now (pulse generator is psychically mounted as max spark advancement and the CDI does the least delay for high rpm).

    Interesting thing on those two CDIs, it clearly looks like the exact same board is used. Nothing super major changes that I can see except the pot moves a little (second set of pins?), the transistor looking part has a heat sink on one of them, and "ZD9" componet is populated on one but not the other. Assuming that's a zener diode. Can't really say what the difference would be exactly, but I'd guess the micro controller programming is the main difference. Seems almost silly to have a heat sink embedded in epoxy, there's no air movement, so if it's really needed, it just delays the part from overheating. My guess it's more of a looks/marketing design.

    That would be a fun CDI to play around with though, can you post or pm me a link where its for sale? If I get my CDI tester made I'll have to buy one and see what it does exactly.

    Also looks like they stole my idea lol, one diode from the power supply pin appears to charge the capacitor, while a diode in reverse powers the rest of the circuit (micro controller and such would be my guess). I'm not aware of any AC to DC power supplies that only uses two diodes, it's 1 or 4 generally. Nice to see things I'm thinking of seems to be good solution to problems, maybe I'm learning electronics more than I thought lol.

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