My battery wasn't turning motor fast enough.
Swapped battery and now I have spark.
V=L di/dt.......voltage out of a magnetic circuit is dependent upon the Inductance of the device (L) and rate of change of the current (di) vs time (dt). Faster the current changes for a given circuit, higher the voltage output.
On blowing your CDI question, Merc claims a 40,000 volt pulse potential in millionths of a second (microseconds) out of the CDIs.....aka fast rising pulse necessary to fire plugs that are partially fouled, common in 2 stroke engines where oil accompanies the fuel.
The CDI capacitors (in the Capacitor Discharge Ignition module) are charged to several hundred volts and that charge is ½ CVexp2 (½ the Capacitance x the Voltage squared) and it is a stored energy source. Once the Stator Trigger (mentioned above) is generated and triggers the CDI, that charge is dumped supposedly into the gap of the spark plug which dissipates it in the form of heat-the arc. If there is no gap for dissipating such, the energy still exists and will be reflected back to the original circuit in the opposite direction (phase) and something has to consume it....question is what...answer is something in your CDI, like a resistor....if there is one, designed for such purpose....and that's for each pulse generated when their is no gap to consume such.
Without a spark plug attached, the above mentioned voltage starts rising and can go to full voltage without something to clamp it at a lower voltage.....aka a spark plug gap....with the case of the plug grounded...for conductivity. For that reason, any time I test compression I do it with the plugs attached to the CDI high voltage lead and their cases/shells wired together and to ground with a piece of wire. Do I need to????? Depends on the dielectric stand off capability of the/my ignition HV circuit insulation. My feelings are, why challenge my equipment to see if it will when I don't have to and CDIs are a hundred bucks a pop if you are lucky and you have to go through the replacement hassle!
