HOW DO I CHOOSE THE CORRECT STARFIRE CDI FOR MY BIKE?
There are several MODEL CDI systems, and is confusing for many.
KAWASAKI
KH400
IF you have a faulty magneto coil, the bike will be hard to start, and likely will run rough at low speeds.
The fix here is to :
A) rewind the magneto coil. This has been done with mixed results. It is also expensive.
B) Fit the STARFIRE HVU. This device electronically replaces the faulty low speed coil by generating the high voltage from the battery charging circuit, and retaining the original factory CDI.
If the factory CDI is faulty, STARFIRE can supply the ZK unit that will directly replace the OEM unit, with improved performance
If both the magneto coil AND the CDI have failed, the STARFIRE ZX2/3 unit is the way to go, but be aware of the small modification required to the ignition coils.
KH500/ H1E/F
IF you have a faulty magneto coil, the bike will be hard to start, and likely will run rough at low speeds.
The fix here is to :
A) rewind the magneto coil. This has been done with mixed results.
B) Fit the STARFIRE HVU. This device electronically replaces the faulty low speed coil by generating the high voltage from the battery charging circuit, retaining the original factory CDI.
If just the factory CDI is faulty, STARFIRE can supply a variant of the ZK unit that will directly replace the OEM unit, with improved performance
If both the magneto coil, AND the CDI have failed, the STARFIRE battery powered ZX2/1 unit is the way to go.
H1/A/C
These models are unique in having a battery powered CDI system with no magneto coils, and a high voltage distributor . STARFIRE can supply a very cost effective replacement for the original unit, the ZX2/1, or a very high quality rebuild of the original OEM unit using the factory boxes for that perfect restoration.
H1D, H2
If the factory CDI units are faulty, the STARFIRE ZK unit will replace the three factory CDI units, plus the factory ignition rectifier unit, with the one small and compact unit, the size of a pack of cigarettes. This uses the high voltage magneto coils.
The standard H2 ignition coils are incompatible with the STARFIRE ZX2/3 unit, but, if the H2 ignition coils are changed to ungrounded types, the battery powered ZX2/3 option will then work, converting the ignition system to battery powered only. This is a good option if the Magneto coil is faulty, and a replacement/rewind is unavailable.
What is this battery powered stuff?
Part of the kawasaki magneto, or charging system is devoted to generating several hundred volts in a special coil, to supply the CDI unit. These coils are very highly stressed, and were never intended to last 40 years. Now, many of these coils have leaking insulation, shorted turns, corrosion etc and are not developing the power they should. This causes intermittent running, missing, hard starting and a reduction in spark intensity. Normally, if the bike starts and runs well, there is not a problem. Once the bike has adequate spark, a further increase in spark power will make no difference. Once these coils begin to die completely, there is little that can be done without replacing or rewinding the coil.
By fitting a battery powered CDI from the Starfire ZX range, or the HVU, these coils are no longer fully used. Instead, the high voltage required is synthesised from the 12 volt battery circuit. This has several advantages. Starting is made easier as a full spark is available at the relatively slow kicking speeds.... the bike can fire at a much slower kicking speeds, relieving stress on the kickstarter and mechanism, and the riders leg. The bike will also idle smoother, and pull away at lower rpms.