Thread: 12 Volt Conversion

So I wired up my 12 volt wire harness in my 78 ct70. Rear brake light worked, I didn't set up the turn signals or headlight. I took the spark plug out and touched it to the cylinder and kicked to test for spark. Not sure if there was a spark from the spark plug or not, but there was in the CDI, that's for sure. It started shooting smoke everywhere and has a melted hole in it. Looks like my power strip after a 30 second surge.

What could the problem be? I have another CDI right here, but I don't wanna just blow another one. Insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

Thanks

EDIT: So I have no patience and hooked up the other CDI. No flames from hell but still no spark. There is continuity from the CDI to the actual spark plug. Something isn't getting the signal... I guess it must be one of the connections from the stator to the harness is wrong? I connected the 5 wires, solder and shrink tube so they arent going anywhere. The colors on the harness matched the stator wires so I just connected them. Green/Red, White, Yellow, Green, Blue/White.

Hey Nat i sent you an email, but if smoke is coming out of stuff, i tend to think something is not wired correctly. I never saw no smoke! What wires are going into your CDI, going from my memory you should have a black 12+, a blue/white - pickup, a green- ground, a black/yellow - coil feed, and you may have a fifth kill wire in the middle. I can send you pics of mine but mine is different than lifan, mine is exactly like a stock 94 CT70, so my CDI is fired off the ignitor coil on the stator, and my lights run off the regulator feed, and stator feed.

Coil and CDI came off a working bike (was actually attached to engine that is now in my ct70). I know they are not the issue here. Also, I checked for continuity everywhere I could think of, and all seems well. Lights work, everything seems in order, but no spark. I think at this point I have to take it somewhere or have someone more experienced come look at it (I'm in Oakland, CA if anyone wants to share their expertise). It's just frustrating because I am so close, and this bike has not seen a mechanic its entire life. Definitely something to be proud of. I know it is something stupid and small, that's the worst part.


Also, on a side note, I broke the little tab that keeps the ignition switch from spinning. It's on tight enough, so now it is just a 2 hand operation (one to hold the whole ignition, and one to turn the key). I can't even get the darn thing off to weld on another little tab. If anyone has any suggestions for this either, that would be cool. But again, not to important since it is still functional.

Nat you can pull the tank and reach into the frame to hold the back of the switch if you cant get it loose. Don't leave it sloppy as you dont want connections coming loose later. You arent too far from me, but far enough to be a pain. I guess I am in shock you can actualy find a shop that would work on it! I know how pickey bike techs can be...
If that doesn't pan out im sure you have other options, but I don't know the Lifan stator well enough to throw out any guesses. I would think if you can not get the CDI to work correctly having it powered off the key, how hard would it be to run a wire from the energizer coil to the CDI? - This is what I did, and I used the "pink" wire that was for what I think was a starter circuit, so I just ran that from the CDI, then down to the stator plug. The wire off the energizer coil is black with a red stripe, this needs to run to the CDI plug where the black wire would go. Then you just need to wire up a kill switch, which you can use the other two terminals on the key switch to use, or since the pink wire runs up to the headlight bucket, you can run that to a kill switch, but the key is best so you don't forget to kill the lights. Wiring these little bikes is fairly simple (IMO), im a bit surprised more people havn't chimed in with ideas. I thought 12V CDI conversions were rather common, but apparently not so much??
Good luck on getting that spark!
Derek

Originally Posted by 530SLXL

(IMO), im a bit surprised more people havn't chimed in with ideas. I thought 12V CDI conversions were rather common, but apparently not so much??
Good luck on getting that spark!
Derek

Troubleshooting electrical problems over the internet can be a real bitch. For one thing most people dont own a DMM, and don't even know what a DMM is. Even though they cost around $5, for some reason people fear electrical issues and only ponder them when things dont work right. Its frustrating to try and convey to someone what their reading is of a simple continuity check when knowing that middle school students preform this task in their electronics class everyday.
Bottom line is; When you dont know the background of an individual, trying to direct someone on troubleshooting electronic components via internet can be daunting.

While some, more complicated, electrical tasks daunt me, I am above middle school level with electricity (no offense taken, by the way). It is true that a lot of people are unnecessarily scared at simple electric projects, but I get the basics. I have done a lot of audio (especially car) and get the basic concepts. I know how to check for continuity, and have a MM (not digital, but still checks for continuity). It helped a lot to figure out which wire did what, since there was no diagram for this harness. I feel that I have hooked up everything I need to, and in the correct way. Just still no spark. I know a lot of people have done this, my mistake must be simple.

I've been trying myself to get a good handle on some of these Chinese wiring harnesses but its like no two are alike. They differ from each other even from the same vendor! My Lifan harness had a major wiring error in that a wire went in --- black on one side and came out yellow on the other, after finding that problem everything worked from there.

What bothers me about your prob is that you fried the CDI with out having the engine running! That means its seeing +12V from the battery straight to it and, w/o blowing the inline battery fuse. I would try and get the other electrical stuff up and running and see if those items work. Bulbs are cheaper than another cdi unit. By the way I use to live in the bay area, Fairfield. I dont miss it.
Good luck. With my later comment, I wasn't meaning to impune your electrical expertise.

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