Research / Ignition: it's TI, not CDI
Ignition: it's TI, not CDI
The finding
My 1982 CX500E Sports has transistorised ignition (TI), engine prefix PC02E, the GL500 family. The Standard, Deluxe and Custom CX500s have CDI. Every 650, GL or CX, is TI too.
The build manual said to replace “the CDI” with an Ignitech DCCDIP2. That unit is a replacement for CDI CX500s and needs the CDI pickups. Wrong part for this bike.
It also said the new ignition “removes the stator’s high-voltage windings”. Only the CDI bikes’ stator has ignition windings. The E already has the charge-only 252 W stator.
Options
- Keep the stock TI. It’s what the 650 runs anyway.
- Rae-San TAI Hall-effect kit. Made for TI CX/GL engines, and well reviewed by MotoFaction.
Either way, buy TI parts. CDI kits and TI parts aren’t interchangeable.
A trap for refitting
The pulse generators (pickups, pulsers) sit behind the rear engine cover and are marked R and L as seen from the front of the bike. With the cover off and in your hand, they look swapped. Refit them “as they look” and the bike won’t run, or runs badly. Murray Feldman’s note on the cx500forum wiki is where I learned this.
What would change it
The engine. Once the 650 engine is chosen and the shop has looked at it, I’ll decide whether the stock TI units are worth keeping or the Rae-San goes in.
History
- Caught the same 'CDI' wording in the claude.ai chat and in the weekly engine search's instructions. All three candidate engines are TI.
- Added the TI/CDI trap and the reversed pulser-coil marks to the glossary.
- The research library found the CX500E is TI, not CDI, so the Ignitech DCCDIP2 in the build manual is the wrong part. The E also already has the charge-only stator.
Sources
Spotted something wrong? Tell me. Jeff Sutton is building this, not an expert writing it up.