CDI Ignition for a G230PUM

[Lee Whiteley]

Hello All,

Has anyone tried CDI ignition for their Zenoa powered boats? I have a hydroplane with a brand new engine that won't start. I've tested and looked to see if I have a spark with no joy. I ran down and ordered a couple of new plugs and give this a try. Checking prices on coils and they are pretty expensive. Hence my interest in CDI.

Thanks for any input!!

Lee

 

[Daniel's Racing]

They are a capacitor discharge ignition already.

 

[Rick Sowell]

stock g230pum is magneto, I have an airplane version of the g26 and with the RCexl kit it starts really easy and the throttle response through out the power curve is much better than stock magneto. you just have to run a battery for the ignition.

 

[Lee Whiteley]

Thanks for your input guys. I'm very ignorant when it comes to this engine. I need to get up to speed as I have another boat that'll be Zenoa powered also.

Okay as you can see I don't know much about this engine!! The price of the coils is so high is why I'm considering this option. The other thing is I'm struggling getting the engine started now that my arthritis is getting so bad.

I'm considering getting a belt style pulley and using my electric starter to start this boat as well.

Think I need to try another post and see what other folks are doing for starting their Zenoa engines.

Regards,

Lee

 

[Dennis Somers]

Lee I don't know what your experience is with starting these small gas 2 strokes. But you started asking about ignition. Remove the plug and attach the plug wire back onto the plug. Ground the threaded portion of the plug to the case or cylinder. Pull the starter cord quickly and look for a spark at the plug. You may have to do this in a darkened space to see well. If there is no spark, something (including the plug) has to be fixed/replaced. If you have spark, install the plug and cover the air inlet of the carb with your thumb. S L O W L Y pull the starter rope out about 2 times. If your fuel system is good, your thumb will be wet with gas. Remove your thumb and open your throttle about half, and pull briskly on the starter. If all is well with the motor, it will fire up. Over choking/flooding is very easy to do. And a lot of "no starts" and endless pulling, are the result of poor starting procedures.

These 2 stroke gas engines require compression, fuel/air, and ignition. If any of those parameters are weak or not adjusted correctly, the engine won't run well if at all. We can help you sort out problems with any of the systems you find aren't right. It just takes a little time and patience ... one thing at a time.

 

[Lee Whiteley]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for your response. I picked up a new plug this morning and still no spark. I went ahead and pulled the engine out of the boat so I could examine the flywheel and check the clearance for the magneto. All looks just fine with a proper gap also. At this point I'm guessing the coil is bad. Boy those things are expensive but bite the bullet will be to happen if I want this engine to fire up. Any suggestions on where to buy this item?

Also should I go ahead and buy the coil and mag both?

Thanks for your expertise Dennis.

Lee

 

[Dennis Somers]

Before you open your wallet, lets check a couple of things. Make sure that the source and secondary coils are grounding properly to the case. A cheap multi meter will show if you have continuity (zero resistance) between the source coil's laminated iron poles, and the crankcase. Check the same between the brass secondary coil's mounting tab, and the case. Sometimes, Loctite (or similar) is used to ensure vibration doesn't loosen the coil bolts. But it can also insulate. Locking washers are a better option for electricals. Also, some Zenoah secondary coils come with the spark plug wire and red boot, fully assembled. The copper wire inside the black spark plug cable is attached to a spring wire under the boot, that simply pushes through into the center of the small copper wire. The plug end of that spring wire is wound, and grips the plug terminal. I have seen WAY TOO MANY cases of bad connections with the spring wire missing the copper wire at assembly. It's easily done, and it results in poor or no spark, even though the coil itself is fine. A resistance check between inside the plug boot (wound spring wire) and the coil's ground tab should show about 2100 ohms. I have had to re-set those connections too many times!!

In the interest of saving money, you can replace the grey secondary coil first if need be. They go bad generally before the source coil.

Most of your Zenoah spares can be purchased from Al, @ BH Hanson ( Pennsylvania ). Great guy and dealer.

 

[Lee Whiteley]

Hi Dennis,

Well still no joy. I thought for sure the plug wasn't making good contact so I took it apart and redid it. Tried two different plugs and your other ideas with nothing to really address so all out of ideas for sure now.

So will go ahead and order both coils for the sake of making sure I have what I need.

Thanks for your help Dennis, it's appreciated.

Lee

 

[RobertDoak]

Lee...
So did you find the issue with your ignition..

 

[rhomodel]

I would have invested in a small multimeter to check if the coils indeed are bad. You can measure their resistance and by doing so you can see if they are still ok or not. Don't know by heart the exact values, but I thinkthey are mentioned in teh zenoah manual.

 

[Daniel's Racing]

stock g230pum is magneto, I have an airplane version of the g26 and with the RCexl kit it starts really easy and the throttle response through out the power curve is much better than stock magneto. you just have to run a battery for the ignition.

The stock coil setup on Zenoah and RCMK's are AC-CDI Ignitions. The source coil contains the electronics. They are still a capacitor discharge ignition. Since self powered often they are referred to as magneto's.

You are thinking because there is no power source it isn't a CDI. Battery powered ignitions are DC-CDI

The Power Spark ignitions I have used but all said and done the gains are not really worth going after. It is a great dependable ignition system nonetheless. They allow programable maps for ignition advance curves. You can electronically set the initial advance and at every 100 rpm if you make your own maps. You can set spark intensity. It has failsafes built in. Neat well designed but the magnet used for programming pretty much sucks.

I would not change a standard setup for a RXexl battery ignition. No gains so best to stick with simple. The RXexl flywheels are too light so you have to make a custom flywheel or have no crank inertia.