Congratulation on your purchase of E3’s DiamondFIRE 6CDI Digital Capacitive Discharge Ignition Box. Contained in this package you should find the following contents: One (1) 6CDI ignition control box One (1) Main harness One (1) Magnetic pickup harness One (1) GM HEI harness One (1) Hardware and mounting kit One (1) Set of anti-vibration mounts WARNING: During any electrical system installation, always disconnect both battery cables, removing the negative cable first. DIGITAL OPERTATION The E3 6CDI uses a high speed microprocessor to control the functionality of the box. This microprocessor constantly analyzes the input signals and makes extremely fast calculation for voltage, multi-spark and RPM limit. The control box has been designed with protection from EMI/RFI (static noise and interference). Important Note: Do not use solid core spark plug wires. We recommend E3 DiamondFIRE Spark Plug Wires only. Important Note: Do not use digital or dial back timing lights. HOW CAPACITIVE DISCHARGE WORKS With a factory stock inductive ignition system, the coil must store and step up the voltage in between each firing event. At higher RPM levels there is less time to fully charge the coil. The voltage then falls short of reaching maximum energy which results in a loss of power or top end miss. The 6CDI is a capacitive discharge design that features a capacitor which is quickly charged with 500 - 550 volts and stores it until the appropriate time. With a CD ignition system, the input voltage to the coil is always at full power no matter what RPM level. MULTIPLE SPARKS The 6CDI produces multi-sparks for each firing of the spark plug at lower RPM levels for easier starting, improved throttle response and efficiency. The number of multi-sparks that occurs decrease as RPM increases. The series of multi- sparks always occurs for 20° of crankshaft rotation. Above 3,000 RPM there is simply not enough time to fully recharge the capacitor to fire the spark plug more than once. PROTECTION The 6CDI has built-in reverse polarity protection. This helps to protect the control box in the event of wrong power supply connection at the battery. REV LIMITER The 6CDI features a built-in rev limiting control that provides a smooth and accurate rev limit by dropping the spark to individual cylinders. The RPM limit is adjustable in 100 rpm increments via rotary switches on the end plate of the control box. CYLINDER SELECT The 6CDI features a cylinder select via a rotary switch on the end plate of the control box . P a g e | 1 GENERAL INFORMATION BATTERY The E3 DiamondFIRE 6CDI is designed for a negative ground, 12 volt electrical system and an engine equipped with a distributor. The 6CDI can be used with 16 volt batteries in a total lost charging system (no alternator). The digital circuitry will automatically compensate for voltage supplies of 9 - 18 volts while maintaining full output. Do NOT run the engine while the charger is hooked up to the 16 volt battery. The control box can be damage if more than 18 volts is applied to the heavy gauge Red lead. Be very careful when jump starting the vehicle as attaching the jumper cable incorrectly can result in a 24 voltage system. Make sure the voltage electronic regulator is working correctly. Do NOT use this ignition control box on a vehicle with a mechanical voltage regulator. If you are not running an alternator, allow at least 15 amp/hour for every half hour of operation. The 6CDI uses about 0.8 Amps for every 1,000 RPM. If the 6 Series Digital Ignition is using the same battery as the starter or other electrical system loads such as an electric fuel or electric water pump, the amp/hour rating of the battery should be higher. COILS The 6CDI can be used with most stock and aftermarket electronic ignition coils with a primary resistance of less than 0.7 Ohms. It cannot be used with a points style ignition coil nor can it be used with a ballast resistor. For maximum performance, you must use the DiamondFIRE High Output CD Coil part #E3.1451 in conjunction with the 6CDI. Do not use an ignition coil that had been designed for a drag race 7 Series ignition system . Make sure that the primary inductance of the CD ignition coil is 3 to 7 milli Herny’s – check with the coil manufacture if necessary. No wires other than the Black (coil -) and Orange (coil +) leads can be connected to the CD coils terminals. TACHOMETERS The 6CDI has a gray colored Tach Output wire that provides a trigger signal for tachometers, a shift light or other add- on rpm activated devices. The Tach Output wire produces a 12 volt square wave signal with a 22.5° duty cycle. Some vehicles with factory tachometers may require a Tach Adapter to operate with the 6 Series Digital Ignition. If your GM vehicle has an in-line filter it may cause the tachometer to drop to zero on acceleration. If this occurs, bypass the filter. SPARK PLUGS AND WIRES Spark plug wires are very important to the overall operation of your ignition system. A high quality, spiral wound spark plug wire and proper routing are required to get the best performance from your ignition. Spiral core wires, such as E3’s DiamondFIRE Spark Plug Wires, provide a good path for the spark to follow while minimizing Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI). Solid Core spark plug wires cannot be used with the 6CDI. Routing: Correct routing of the spark plug wires is also very important. Spark plug wires should be routed away from sharp edges and engine heat sources. If there are two spark plug wires that are next to each other on the engine and in the engine’s firing order, those spark plug wires must be routed away from each other to avoid inducing a spark into the other wire. For example, in a Chevy V8, the firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. The #5 and #7 cylinders are next to each other in the engine and in the firing order. The voltage from the #5 wire can induce a spark into #7 which will result in detonation and cause engine damage. Spark Plugs: The correct spark plug type, reach and heat range is important when maximizing the performance of your engine. Visit www.e3sparkplugs.com to find the right plug for your application. Welding: To avoid damaging the 6CDI, always disconnect both battery positive and negative wires as well as the tachometer ground wire when welding on the vehicle. Distributor Cap and Rotor: You should install a new distributor cap and rotor when installing the 6 Series Digital Ignition. The distributor cap and rotor should be clean inside and out especially the terminals and rotor tip. A vented style distributor cap is best when using the 6CDI. This reduces the possibility of the air inside the cap from being electrically charged resulting in misfire due to crossfire. E3 manufactures a complete line of racing distributors. Visit www.e3sparkplugs.com for more information. P a g e | 2 MOUNTING The 6CDI can be mounted in the engine compartment as long as it is away from direct engine heat sources. It is not recommended that the control box be mounted it in an enclosed area such as the glove box. Once a suitable location is found, make sure the harness lead wires can reach their connections. Also be sure that the rev limiter rotary program dials can be accessed. Hold the control box in place and mark the location of the mounting holes. Use a 3/16" drill bit to drill holes, install the vibration mounts and mount the control box. WIRING The 6CDI uses a plug-in main wiring harness that connects to the ignition through a locking sealed Delphi header connector. Power Leads: These are the two heavy 12 gauge wires used to connect directly to the battery. The ignition is load protected from reverse battery connections Heavy Red: Connector directly to the battery positive (+) terminal or a positive battery junction such as the starter solenoid. Do not connect to the alternator. Heavy Black: Connects to a good ground, either at the battery negative (-) terminal or to the engine block. Make sure that an engine ground strap is in place. Red: Connect to a switched 12 volt source such as the ignition key or switch. This turns the 6CDI control box on and off. Maximum current draw is 0.25 mA. Orange: Connects to the ignition coil positive (+) terminal. This is the ONLY wire that makes contact with the positive coil terminal. Black: Connects to the ignition coil positive (-) terminal. This is the ONLY wire that makes contact with the negative coil terminal. TRIGGER WIRES: Two different circuits can be used to trigger the 6CDI, the points circuit (the white wire) or the Magnetic Pickup circuit (the Green and Purple wires). Only one circuit can be used at a time. White: Connect to the break points or electronic ignition module switched output. When this wire is used, the Magnetic pickup connector is not used. Green & Purple: These wires are routed together in one harness as the magnetic pickup connector. The connector plugs directly into a distributor or crank trigger as well as aftermarket pickup. The Green wire is the negative (-) and the purple wire is the positive (+). When the magnetic pick harness is used the white wire is not used. ACCESSORIES: Gray: Tachometer output lead connects to the tachometer trigger wire or any other RPM activated devices.