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Dual Fire
Capacitor Discharge
Ignition
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Dual Fire CDI Instruction Manual

VERSION 1.0



Warning

Please ensure all power supplies are disconnected before
commencing work.

This product produces high voltages. Careless use of this
product can cause harmful and fatal injury to humans.

DO NOT handle the red/white or red/yellow wires if the unit is
connected to power.

Incorrect set-up of this product can also lead to engine and
product damage. Any damage caused due to incorrect set-up
will not be regarded as repairable under warranty.

Any unused wires must be insulated to prevent them from
short-circuiting.

The power supply to this CDI must be fused with a fuse rated
not more than 20 amp.

Failure to follow all the warnings and instructions in this
manual may lead to product and engine damage and will also
void your warranty.


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LIMITED WARRANTY

EMS Computers Pty Ltd warrants the Dual Fire Capacitor Discharge system to be
free from defects in material or workmanship for a period of 90 days from the date of
purchase. Proof of purchase must be provided indicating that the product is within the
warranty period in order to receive warranty service. Removing the serial number
affixed to the product will void any warranty.

If the Dual Fire Capacitor Discharge system is found to be defective within the rules
mentioned above it will be replaced or repaired at no extra charge this constitutes the
sole liability of EMS Computers.

To the extent permitted by law, the foregoing is exclusive and in lieu of all other
warranties or representations, either expressed or implied, including any implied
warranty of merchantability or fitness. In no event shall EMS Computers, be liable for
special or consequential damages.
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CONTENTS

Installation________________________________________________________________ 5
Connecting to Power _____________________________________________________ 5
Mounting_______________________________________________________________ 5
Ignition Leads and Sparkplugs _____________________________________________ 5
How to wire the input channels _______________________________________________ 6
How to wire the output channels ______________________________________________ 6
How to fire 2 channels together _______________________________________________ 7
How to wire the output channels for a rotary_____________________________________ 7
How to discharge 2 capacitors into one coil ______________________________________ 7
Overheat protection _________________________________________________________ 7
Tacho output (brown/blue wire) _______________________________________________ 7
Operation modes ___________________________________________________________ 8
Rotary Mode (brown/yellow wire) __________________________________________ 8
Trigger Edge (brown/white wire) ___________________________________________ 8
Power Select (brown/pink wire) ____________________________________________ 8
Mode Select (brown wire) _________________________________________________ 8
Specifications______________________________________________________________ 9
Power Specifications Table ________________________________________________ 9
EMS Computers Dual Fire Pin Description_____________________________________ 10
Drawings ________________________________________________________________ 11
Socket view ____________________________________________________________ 11
4 cylinder example ______________________________________________________ 12
6 cylinder example ______________________________________________________ 13
8 cylinder example ______________________________________________________ 14
Rotary 3 coil example____________________________________________________ 15
Rotary 4 coil example____________________________________________________ 16

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Installation

Connecting to Power

The Dual Fire CDI has 2 red power wires and 2 black ground wires. These wires are
joined together internally and should also be joined together at termination. The
reason for using dual wires is to ensure maximum current flow. However, the amount
of current draw is proportional to the number of cylinders and maximum RPM.
Therefore, it may not be necessary to use dual wires if you have a 4 cylinder and not
running the CDI in drag racing mode.

As a safety feature the Dual Fire CDI does not keep power onto the positive side of
the coils if the engine is not running. The system will charge the capacitors on initial
power-up. If the engine is not started immediately the capacitors are discharged
again. Once the system detects a trigger signal on any input channel it will
immediately charge the capacitors and fire the next output channel in sequence.

Mounting

Do not mount the unit where it will be exposed to water or excessive moisture.
Select a location away from excessive heat and in a location that does not obstruct
air flow around the CDI.
Use soft rubber mounts if the CDI will be subjected to strong vibration or the vehicle
is has stiff suspension.

Ignition Leads and Sparkplugs

Do not use metal wire ignition leads because these will cause electrical interference
that may effect the operation of the CDI or other electronic devices in the vehicle.

Do not use carbon suppressed ignition leads because the carbon core is NOT
capable of conducting the high energy levels of the CDI. Try to use ignition leads with
a spiral wound inductively suppressed metal core.

Not all brands of carbon resistor spark plugs are able to stand the high-energy output
of a CDI system. NGK Q series and Champion Z series sparkplugs are specifically
made for high-energy applications.

IGNITION COILS AND THE CDI SYSTEM MAY BE DAMAGED INTERNALLY IF
FIRED WITHOUT A HIGH VOLTAGE RETURN PATH. YOU MUST ENSURE THAT
THE SPARKPLUGS ARE GROUNDED BEFORE FIRING.

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How to wire the input channels

The EMS Dual Fire CDI is essentially 2 CDI systems in one. The odd numbered
channels use one discharge capacitor and the even numbered channels use another.
In order to get the maximum benefit from the EMS Dual fire system you must wire the
input and output channels in an odd-even sequence. To achieve this, connect the
first cylinder to fire to channel 1, the second cylinder to fire to channel 2, the third to
fire to channel 3 and so on.

EG: If the firing order is 1,5,3,6,2,4 then connect the ECU ignition outputs to the CDI
input channels according to the table below.
Cylinder Firing
Order from ECU
CDI Input Channel Wire Colour
1 1 Pink
5 2 Orange
3 3 Grey
6 4 Yellow
2 5 White
4 6 Blue


How to wire the output channels

This also applies to the CDI output channels. The CDI channel outputs must be
connected to the negative side of each coil. The positive side of the coils share two
common voltage output banks, one for odd channels and one for even channels. The
red/white wires must be connected to the positive side of the coils for all odd
numbered channel outputs and the red/yellow wires must be connected to the
positive side of the coils for each even numbered channel outputs. The red/white
wires are connected together internally and the red/yellow wires are also connected
together internally.

EG: If the CDI input channels are connected as per the example above then connect
the CDI output channels according to the table below.

Cylinder Number CDI Output Channel
for negative side of
coil.
CDI Output for Positive side of coil.

1 1 Pink/Black Red/White
5 2 Orange/Black Red/Yellow
3 3 Grey/Black Red/White
6 4 Yellow/Black Red/Yellow
2 5 White/Black Red/White
4 6 Blue/Black Red/Yellow



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How to fire 2 channels together

When you need to fire 2 channels at once then it is important to fire an odd and even
channel together. In this way the CDI will discharge one capacitor for each coil being
fired ensuring maximum energy to each coil.

How to wire the output channels for a rotary

A rotary engine fires a leading sparkplug and a trailing sparkplug very close together,
its almost like firing 2 channels together. The leading coils of a rotary engine must be
connected to an odd numbered channel and the trailing coils to an even numbered
channel. This ensures that the leading plug uses one capacitor bank and the trailing
plug uses the other. It is also important to use the odd numbered channels for the
leading sparkplug because of the way the capacitors are charged in rotary mode.

How to discharge 2 capacitors into one coil

The EMS Dual Fire CDI system uses 2 charge capacitors, one for the odd numbered
outputs and one for the even numbered outputs. Bridging one of the red/white wires
with one of the red/yellow wires will cause the system to discharge both capacitors
into one coil. This will give a longer lasting, hotter spark but at a reduced voltage.


Overheat protection

CDI systems provide high levels of electrical energy to the sparkplug coils. This
means that high levels of current are drawn by the system, and like all high current
devices, they can get hot.

Although the Dual Fire CDI systems are able to deliver high energy levels for long
periods of time, they can still overheat. If the system becomes too hot it will reduce
the power output to a level where the system will start to cool down. Once a safer
temperature is reached the system will resume full power again.

Tacho output (brown/blue wire)

This wire provides a 13.8 volt square wave output compatible with most tachos.
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Operation modes

The Dual Fire CDI system can be programmed to operate in different modes by
either connecting the relevant wire to ground or leaving it unconnected.

Rotary Mode (brown/yellow wire)

Leaving this wire unconnected will put the CDI into piston engine mode. Connecting it
to ground will put the CDI into rotary engine mode.

Rotary engines have a leading and trailing sparkplug for each rotor. These can be
fired simultaneously or the trailing just after the leading plug. For this reason you
must connect the trailing plugs to an even numbered channel and the leading to an
odd numbered channel. The system must also charge the discharge capacitors in a
different manner to piston engines.

Trigger Edge (brown/white wire)

Leaving this wire unconnected will cause the CDI to fire each output on a falling input
signal. Connecting it to ground will cause the CDI to fire each output channel on a
rising input signal. All CDI systems have a delay time between the input channel
signal and the output channel signal. This is mainly caused by the noise filtering
circuit for each input. The Dual Fire CDI has a 28 microsecond delay for rising edge
triggering and a 68 microsecond delay for falling edge trigger inputs. Most high-end
after market ECUs such as EMS Motorsport ECUs have an ignition delay
compensation adjustment that can be set to cancel this delay.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SET THE TRIGGER EDGE ON THE CDI SYSTEM TO
MATCH THE ECU SETTING. FAILING TO DO THIS MAY DAMAGE THE ENGINE.

Power Select (brown/pink wire)

Leaving this wire unconnected will cause the CDI to operate in low power mode.
Connecting it to ground will cause the CDI to switch to high power. By connecting this
wire to the auxiliary output of an ECU you can program it to switch the CDI between
high and low power automatically in real time as needed.
IE: Switch to high power mode when the engine is under heavy load.
The power specifications table shows the power output for different mode and power
settings

Mode Select (brown wire)

Leaving this wire unconnected will cause the CDI to operate in circuit racing mode.
Connecting it to ground will cause the CDI it to operate in drag racing mode.

In drag racing mode the CDI will deliver up to 570 volts to the coil. This can only be
sustained continuously for about 3 minutes at 714 hertz before the CDI starts to cut
back power to prevent over heating. This gives plenty of time to finish the race.
In circuit racing where the engine is running at high RPM for extended periods of time
this wire must be left unconnected. In this configuration the CDI is able do deliver up
to 470 volts for very long periods of time at 714 hertz before its temperature becomes
too high.
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Specifications

Maximum operating frequency: 714 hertz.
Delay on rising trigger edge: 28 microseconds.
Delay on falling trigger edge: 68 microseconds.


Power Specifications Table

Separated Banks Bridged Banks
Circuit Mode Voltage Current Mili Joules Voltage Current Mili Joules
Low Power 370 5.1 68 280 5.8 78
High Power 470 8.7 110 370 10.6 136
Drag Mode

Low Power 470 8.7 110 370 10.6 136
High Power 570 11.3 162 400 15.6 160

The following output power and voltages are achieved with the battery voltage held at
13.8 Volts
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EMS Computers Dual Fire Pin Description

1 Ground Black Ground
2 Ground Black Ground
3 Input 8 (8 Channel only) Violet Trigger signal
4 Input 6 (6 & 8 Channel only) Blue Trigger signal
5 Input 4 Yellow Trigger signal
6 Input 2 Orange Trigger signal
7 Input 7 (8 Channel only) Green Trigger signal
8 Input 5 (6 & 8 Channel only) White Trigger signal
9 Input 3 Grey Trigger signal
10 Input 1 Pink Trigger signal
11 12 V Power Red Ignition 12 Volts
12 12 V Power Red Ignition 12 Volts
13 Coil Output 1 Pink/Black Neg. Coil
14
15
16 Rotary Mode Brown/Yellow Ground this wire for
Rotary mode
17 Trigg Edge Select (Rise/Fall) Brown/White Ground this wire for rising
trigger. edge.
18 Power Select (High/Low) Brown/Pink Ground this wire for high
power. Can be connected
to ECU Aux output
19 Tacho Output Brown/Blue Square wave output
20
21 Mode Select (Drag/Circuit) Brown Ground this wire for drag
mode
22
23
24 Output 8 (8 Channel only) Violet/Black Neg. Coil
25 Output 3 Grey/Black Neg. Coil
26 Output 5 (6 & 8 Channel only) White/Black Neg. Coil
27 Output 7 (8 Channel only) Green/Black Neg. Coil
28 Coil + for odd outputs Red/White Pos. coil for channels
1,3,5,7
29 Coil + for odd outputs Red/White Pos. coil for channels
1,3,5,7
30
31
32 Coil + for even outputs Red/Yellow Pos. coil for channels
2,4,6,8
33 Coil + for even outputs Red/Yellow Pos. coil for channels
2,4,6,8
34 Output 2 Orange/Black Neg. Coil
35 Output 4 Yellow/Black Neg. Coil
36 Output 6 (6 & 8 Channel only) Blue/Black Neg. Coil

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Drawings

Socket view


Socket is viewed from the back.
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4 cylinder example


Page 13

6 cylinder example


Page 14

8 cylinder example


Page 15

Rotary 3 coil example


Page 16

Rotary 4 coil example