Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:10 am
I am converting the Rotax 185 ignition from points to CDI.
Reasons:
-No more points fouling or needing adjustment. More reliable, No moving parts, No wear, No changes in timing, once set.
-Smoother running at all speeds, due to built in electronic spark advance curve.
-More powerful, reliable spark, apparently resists plug fouling better.
-More power, less vibration from rough running, via spark advance curve.
-Slightly Better fuel efficiency.
I bought the CDI conversion kit from Wildfire for $299.50 USD.
The kit contains a new flywheel, armatureplate/stator assembly, CDI/coil box and a bag of nuts, bolts and a connector.
The wires coming out of the CDI/coil unit from left to right are Ground(red wire), Ignition Kill(Red connector), Spark plug wire, and the wire going to the Stator/armature.....simple!!!!
(Revision 01/01/05: The flywheel is different in that the key and the 3 holes are aligned to produce about 25 degrees of advance over the original, so I used the kit flywheel after all. You could however advance the armature by that amount instead with a bit of drilling)(note the difference in posiltion of the little hole near the center of the hub...its a reference mark)
There is no geometry change to the flywheel/starter assembly, so NO modifications are required....its a drop it in and run it.....EASY!!!!!
The armature plate is also identical to the existing Rotax armature plate, so the only new parts that are required are the CDI/coil unit which I found for $70 USD and a new stator coil which could probably be had for $20 USD, but I have not looked for a source yet.
Bottom line is that the conversion should only cost about $100 USD per engine, just as I suspected all along.
I will assemble the engine with the conversion and try it out and let everyone know how it runs.
More pictures and details to follow.
If you have any questions let me know. I will sure be nice not to have to worry about the engine as much.
Reasons:
-No more points fouling or needing adjustment. More reliable, No moving parts, No wear, No changes in timing, once set.
-Smoother running at all speeds, due to built in electronic spark advance curve.
-More powerful, reliable spark, apparently resists plug fouling better.
-More power, less vibration from rough running, via spark advance curve.
-Slightly Better fuel efficiency.
I bought the CDI conversion kit from Wildfire for $299.50 USD.
The kit contains a new flywheel, armatureplate/stator assembly, CDI/coil box and a bag of nuts, bolts and a connector.
The wires coming out of the CDI/coil unit from left to right are Ground(red wire), Ignition Kill(Red connector), Spark plug wire, and the wire going to the Stator/armature.....simple!!!!
(Revision 01/01/05: The flywheel is different in that the key and the 3 holes are aligned to produce about 25 degrees of advance over the original, so I used the kit flywheel after all. You could however advance the armature by that amount instead with a bit of drilling)(note the difference in posiltion of the little hole near the center of the hub...its a reference mark)
There is no geometry change to the flywheel/starter assembly, so NO modifications are required....its a drop it in and run it.....EASY!!!!!
The armature plate is also identical to the existing Rotax armature plate, so the only new parts that are required are the CDI/coil unit which I found for $70 USD and a new stator coil which could probably be had for $20 USD, but I have not looked for a source yet.
Bottom line is that the conversion should only cost about $100 USD per engine, just as I suspected all along.
I will assemble the engine with the conversion and try it out and let everyone know how it runs.
More pictures and details to follow.
If you have any questions let me know. I will sure be nice not to have to worry about the engine as much.