Installed high performance CDI module and coil

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:33 am

Some of you may have seen the so-called high performance CDI modules for scooters advertised on the internet, including eBay. For those unfamiliar with these things, it is the electronic control unit, or "brains" for our scooter's ignition system and takes the place of mechanical contact points and condensers. Ignition timing is also controlled by this module. The high performance modules do not have a rev limiter (some stock units limit an engines RPM, which can be good or bad) and has a more aggressive automatic timing advance. I went ahead and ordered one along with an high output ignition coil. I installed the CDI module first to see what difference it would make, if any. Installation was very easy and took maybe two minutes. On the Blur, the stock CDI module is under the seat next to the battery. Sorry, I don't know where it is in the Buddy. Just remove the stock CDI module, unplug two connectors and do the reverse with the new CDI module.

Was it worth it? For me it was. Before, with the stock CDI, my engine was very cold blooded when first started after sitting for a while, especially in the morning. It usually took one or two re-starts before the engine would idle on it's own. Even then, it took several seconds before the choke kicked-in and brought the idle up for warm-up. With the new CDI module, the engine starts on the first try and immediately goes to a fast idle. When riding, the engine seems to respond a little more crisply to the throttle. There are several hills on my route to work that my Blur would climb OK, but acceleration was very soft and it took awhile to gain speed. With the new module, that's all changed. I wouldn't say it's a rocket, but said hills are no problem at all and I can definitely feel an improvement in acceleration, probably due to an increase in torque with the advanced ignition timing.

I've installed the high output coil, but haven't had a chance to ride the scoot yet. My transmission has been making some worrysome noises (even before I changed my variator) so I want to look into that before riding the scoot any more. But, the coil was pretty much painless to install. The pet carrier has to be removed to gain access to the stock coil. Just follow the sparkplug connector wire to the coil and remove the one screw (phillips head) that holds it in place (hint: you can gain access to that screw by lifting up the rubber water shield behind it). Transfer the two wires from the stock coil to the new, paying attention to which connector goes to which terminal. I'll report on the coil performance once I get my transmission sorted out.

Picture showing where the CDI Module in a Blur is located. I carry the old module with me just in case the new one fails. The blue connector that is disconnected goes to the underseat light module which has been draining my battery whenever the bike is parked.

Picture showing the location of the ignition coil.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:16 am

Completely removed the variator, belt and clutch and the rattling noise is still there - the problem is not in the transmission. Sounds like it's coming from the right side of the engine - might be the starter clutch. Looks like I'll have to disassemble the entire right half of the engine to get to it. Ack!, I'm getting deeper into this thing than I really want to...

AxeYrCat · Post by **AxeYrCat** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:39 am

Your bravery is commendable!

Great write-up, BTW.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:59 pm

Did you change the plug?
An, what type of gas are you running, do you need to run high test with the advanced timing?

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:35 pm

rajron wrote:Did you change the plug?
An, what type of gas are you running, do you need to run high test with the advanced timing?

I appreciate your input. The engine has been making this noise before I did any modifications to the scoot. Don't know if this make any difference, but it does have 10K Blur miles on it.

I may not have answered your question correctly. No, I did not change the spark plug, still running my stock plug.
I usually use regular, but with the advanced timing, I'm using mid-grade, just in case.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:42 pm

AxeYrCat wrote:Your bravery is commendable!

Great write-up, BTW.

Ha! Thanks for the compliment, but it is just a single cylinder engine. Pretty tame compared to other engines I've worked on.

The only hassle is that I can't just walk into any NAPA's or Autozone to buy parts...

bicyclerider · Post by **bicyclerider** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:41 pm

babble,
where did you buy that unit?
really on ebay?

SCOOTERSOLDIER · Post by **SCOOTERSOLDIER** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:46 pm

IN reference to the rattling noise and this may sound silly, but on my previous scooter I had a rattling noise and it would only rattle when I started riding so I thought it was an engine noise, took me a few days and then one day while the scooter was on the side stand and running I bumped the center stand and the rattle noise started, one of the rubber grommets had come off and the center stand was mettle on mettle and ended up being an easy fix, I am sure you may have researched closely but just wanted all to be aware that just because your scoot might be making a noise dont assume its from the engine or transmission, it could be something very simple.....Play Doctor!

Have Fun.

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:45 pm

Did you just get the generic gy6 parts? I was thinking about getting the coil

beelzebubbles · Post by **beelzebubbles** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:54 pm

babblefish wrote:Some of you may have seen the so-called high performance CDI modules for scooters advertised on the internet, including eBay.

Thanks for the cool upgrade report!

What brand/model did you get for your CDI module?

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:53 am

bicyclerider wrote:babble,
where did you buy that unit?
really on ebay?

ScooterTrash wrote:Did you just get the generic gy6 parts? I was thinking about getting the coil

Yep, eBay. Here's the seller that I got it from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Racing-C ... 0252201367

There are a lot of CDI units around. Some are just stock replacements, some just remove the upper rev limit, and some like this one removes the rev limit and advances the timing. Though the seller doesn't say specifically that I will fit my Blur, the size was correct and the connectors are the same, so...

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:05 am

SCOOTERSOLDIER wrote:IN reference to the rattling noise and this may sound silly, but on my previous scooter I had a rattling noise and it would only rattle when I started riding so I thought it was an engine noise, took me a few days and then one day while the scooter was on the side stand and running I bumped the center stand and the rattle noise started, one of the rubber grommets had come off and the center stand was mettle on mettle and ended up being an easy fix, I am sure you may have researched closely but just wanted all to be aware that just because your scoot might be making a noise dont assume its from the engine or transmission, it could be something very simple.....Play Doctor!

Have Fun.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I've already checked everything else and it's definitely coming from the right side of the engine. Talking to someone from Taiwan, I found out that this noise is a common thing with a lot of GY6 based engines, and that he's seen scooters in the shop with the right side of their engines disassembled, but he couldn't tell me specifically what it was that was causing it. The starter gear/clutch is on this side of the engine and I've noticed the starter making odd noises occasionally when I first start the engine, so this is the first thing I'm going to look into. Besides, other than the magneto and oil pump, there's not much else in there.

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:20 am

I was looking at the ncy coil from scooterworks as I can get it at cost without shipping but I dont know if it comes with the plug end

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:22 am

ScooterTrash wrote:I was looking at the ncy coil from scooterworks as I can get it at cost without shipping but I dont know if it comes with the plug end

Yeah, make sure because I've seen some coils without the spark plug connector.

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:31 am

babblefish wrote:
ScooterTrash wrote:I was looking at the ncy coil from scooterworks as I can get it at cost without shipping but I dont know if it comes with the plug end
Yeah, make sure because I've seen some coils without the spark plug connector.

The stock plug end will work anyway but its more of a convenience factor

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:12 am

ScooterTrash wrote:
babblefish wrote:
ScooterTrash wrote:I was looking at the ncy coil from scooterworks as I can get it at cost without shipping but I dont know if it comes with the plug end
Yeah, make sure because I've seen some coils without the spark plug connector.
The stock plug end will work anyway but its more of a convenience factor

Yeah, but the stock one isn't orange and the oranges' gotta add at least 1 horsepower.

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:37 am

babblefish wrote:
ScooterTrash wrote:
babblefish wrote: Yeah, make sure because I've seen some coils without the spark plug connector.
The stock plug end will work anyway but its more of a convenience factor
Yeah, but the stock one isn't orange and the oranges' gotta add at least 1 horsepower.

more like .001

Modern Buddy

Installed high performance CDI module and coil

Installed high performance CDI module and coil

Re: Installed high performance CDI module and coil