Successful 2pg HEI/Coil installation with NeverFry® Technology

[AGH]

Good morning buggy enthusiasts, First time poster, long time lurker!

This project started in response to poor starting performance of my '8#? basket case cart. You could hold down the accelerator all day, and it would either start right up, or maybe sputter and fire after 30 seconds of trying.

I put a spark tester on it, and saw some signs of life (but wasn't sure if I was imagining it because it was SO dim!)

So, after browsing the forums here and having nothing to do over the holiday weekend, I decided to make a trip to VatoZone and get the necessary supplies! I ended up bringing home a Duralast C839 coil, and a DR100 module.

I followed the instructions here: http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-e...3pg-carts.html which turned out to be an invaluable source of information! (kudos Ron Man for the write up)

During the instructions, I did notice a lot of "MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT GOOD CONTACT, HEI GETS HOT" posts. I've worked in the IT field for more years than I have fingers and toes left, and have accumulated some junk.

Enter: GM HEI HEATSINK!


I started looking around my junk pile for a suitable heatsink, and found a dual something or other server motherboard ripe for picking parts from.


I carefully pried the heatsink off of the motherboard using the tact and grace of a skilled surgeon and mocked up the layout on the heatsink

The whole time I was building this, I kept thinking to myself "Ha! All these years my wife has been nagging me to get rid of all this junk, and I can FINALLY use ONE piece of it! HA!"

Anyways, I dug up a handful of self-tappers from another job that I've been hanging on to for about 13 years.

[NOTE: An impact screw gun will break screws off when trying to drill into thick metal, like a heat sink] <- with that being said, after I ruined 2 heat sinks, I drilled an appropriate sized hole and hand-threaded the screws in.

I hit the copper with a little of the old go-blind juice to prepare it for the high quality heatsink paste they include with the HEI module!


A liberal application of grease, and she's off to be mounted!


In this picture below, you can see it mounted.


[SUPER IMPORTANT NOTES]
When I first got this all hooked up, it would fire... sorta. It would load up the muffler and fire maybe every third or fourth revolution, making a helluva racket and setting the bottom of the seat on fire (cracked muffler weld, next project).

The solution, was documented here: http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-e...tml#post476127

BrewCityMusic: it is crucial to ensure that it is fully grounded to get a good consistant spark.

This is not a lie. Without a good ground, it would fire occasionally. The minute I put a good ground on the HEI module, it ran like a dream (like a boring dream, not like a wet dream or anything cool like that)

BrewCityMusic: Lastly, once you have the conversion complete, you've got a 50/50 shot that your cart will start up wonderfully and putt along without the ability to rev over about 1000rpm

This was also the gospel. A quick wire swap and you could tell that the timing had changed for the better. It runs better than it ever has in the past!

SO DOES IT WORK? yep. The heatsink doesn't seem very hot after a couple minutes of running it in 60f temps. If it seems to get hot this summer, I'll plumb the fan to turn on when the pedal is pressed! The spark went from "Kinda blue" to "I wouldn't touch that if I were you "White lightning""

Thanks to Ron Man for the original writeup on the 3gp, and for BrewCityMusic for the helpful tips in another topic!

[Taquache]

Nice project!

I have all the parts for this on my '8#? 2PG cart I'll probably do tomorrow.

Question though, where is your solenoid mounted? Mine is located just about the OEM coil location and to the driver's side of the key.

[BBBHC]

Nice write up, with humor! Good ingenuity!

Every once in a while I find a use for all the spare parts I have laying around. Happens just often enough, that I just can't bring myself to throw any of it away!

[Dabble Inn]

Nice job, every time I see someone do this it makes me want to do it to mine. My problem is 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', and it won't break...

But I'm all about performance too, does it really make a big difference?

[AGH]

Originally Posted by Taquache

Question though, where is your solenoid mounted? Mine is located just about the OEM coil location and to the driver's side of the key.

Ya know, I don't remember exactly. If memory serves me correctly, it's on the passenger side of the unit. I'll verify and reply to this thread in the next month or so

[AGH]

Originally Posted by Dabble Inn

But I'm all about performance too, does it really make a big difference?

Well, for me the performance went from "Don't let off the gas, or she might not start again" to actually running every time the pedal goes down. It's hard to judge from a pure performance standpoint!

I'm actually actively trying to slow this thing down. Lately it's been the rig that pulls my garden wagon, so top speed hasn't really been a priority!