Hello, hopefully someone can help me here. I picked up an early 2000s Jianshe Wilderness 250 2wd that "just stopped running." Dug through electrical and found CDI wasn't producing the signal for the ignition coil to fire. Spent hours trying to find a test for this exact CDI but found nothing. Found a generic CDI test video where he explained "if the pick up coil terminal has continuity with the ground terminal your CDI is bad, there should be some resistance in this circuit" Tested my CDI and sure enough had continuity between the pick up coil and ground on the CDI unit. Ordered one from eBay and when the new one arrived it's even worse, pick up coil AND another red wire both grounded out. And of course it doesn't spark.
Has anyone tested these 7 wire CDI boxes before? Am I on the right track here? I'm not the best with electrical so I could be messing up and not knowing it. This CDI box is the older style with One 3-wire connection and Two 2-wire connectors and most I find are unbranded, not official Jianshe or Jantel. Can I use the newer version CDI with the triangle 3 wire and square 4 wire connections and just replace the ends to fit my plugs? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you! (Pictured is the NEW CDI) (Wiring pairings are, Black-Black/White-Orange for the 3, Blue-Black for the pick up coil, and Red-Green for ???)

 

Never heard of any tests to the CDI. Manufacturers like Honda and Yamaha never give any. What you do test is all the wires going to the CDI and, if they test out OK but it doesn't spark, the CDI must be faulty. Do the tests in the help diagnose stator sticky at the top of the engines section in this forum, don't assume resistance readings are gospel, as different coils will have different resistances, but open circuits, or no resistance when there should be some, indicates a fault.

 

I'll read through and test my stator to make sure I don't have anything grounded out on there. Will update when new CDI arrives and can run through tests.

 

You don't need a CDI to test out all the parts that are connected to it. As I wrote above, you don't test the CDI itself. The only exception is a voltage test from CDI to coil, but this only indicates if CDI is working and coil not, but the coil is one part I do use substitution on anyway, as coils, like plugs, are cheap and easy to get at.

 

Yeah I don't subscribe to the ways of testing Jap bikes to these Chinese bikes. Can't find any accurate electrical information to compare my results to, just vague volt ranges and even more vague ohm readings that don't give me any real information. Basically if things don't short to ground, it's good enough for government work.
I've already tested the coil and plug and both are good.

The basic CDI test, that works for ALL CDI units, is measure continuity from the ground pin against all pins on the CDI. All pins should have zero continuity with the ground pin. If you have continuity from the ground pin to any other pin there is a direct short and that CDI is dead. This isn't an end all be all but it's quick and you don't have to buy or build a test machine or take your CDI into an overpriced dealer to have them "test" it.
My original question was specifically about these Jianshe / Jantel CDI boxes and if anyone has had success swapping tails on them. It's an older very specific CDI that ONLY these Jianshe, Loncin, and couple others use so finding a working part itself is already a hassle. Still waiting on the ebay seller to even ship the CDI too. At this point I'm convinced it's easier to Jerry rig a newer 6pin CDI into the loom than to keep trying to get this specific part.

If / When I get the new CDI and it tests okay, and the rest of the bike tests okay I'll update if using these newer CDI would work for the older models. Maybe it'll help like one person down the line.

 

This thread is a couple years old now, but what happened with the new 7 pin cdi box? Did it work, or did you have to Mickey Mouse a newer 6 pin cdi box? I’m in a similar situation with a 2005 Loncin.