|
|
Post by scooterollie on Jun 4, 2006 20:25:11 GMT -5
Just thought I would share what I did last week to stop the battery drain problem with my alarm equipped scooter. My 150LB Roketa Phantom clone did not come with a factory alarm but I purchased and installed one from ebay. As it turned out, it was a Chinese system just like the ones installed by the scooter factories and all I had to do was plug it into the already existing harness. But, just like many other posts I have read on scooter forums, I experienced excessive battery drain. I don't need the scooter alarm for everyday use, just wanted another "bell & whistle" for the occasional need. When not triggered, the alarm has a constant drain on the battery, even with the key off. It would drain my battery (a heavier duty AGM battery I installed) over the course of a few days to a week. The charging system could not keep up with the drain even though I would ride some most days. To experiment, I disconnected the alarm - no battery drain! Next, I purchased a small, round button rocker switch and a blinking LED from WalMart. The switch was installed inside the locking "glove box" so as to be hidden and inaccessible. I cut the 12V power wire going to the alarm and routed the feed through the rocker switch. Drilled a hole in the dash for the LED and powered it from the alarm side of the switch. Now I can power up my alarm and activate it with the remote and have a nice blinking red LED to show it is alarmed. Many have complained about the sensitivity of their alarms. Mine has a small rubber plug on the alarm module. Underneath is a slotted screw. With a small screwdriver and some experimentation, you can reduce the sensitivity so it will not be triggered by a breeze or small ant climbing on the scooter.
ScooterOllie
|
|
|
|
Post by surfbum96818 on Jun 6, 2006 19:05:03 GMT -5
Great tip ollie I myself have had problems with my alarm draining my battery I am going to try to install the switch this weekend.
|
|
|
|
Post by scooterollie on Jun 6, 2006 20:42:28 GMT -5
surfbum;
As I indicated, i bought both the switch and blinking LED from WalMart. The switch also has a small LED in it but I did not ground it. Since the switch is mounted inside the glovebox out of sight, and the LED I installed on the dash blinks when there is power to the alarm, I thought the switch LED was unnecessary. I don't claim to be the first to do this, just wanted to share how I did mine. Hope it works for you.
ScooterOllie
|
|
|
|
Post by knice on Jun 15, 2006 8:17:18 GMT -5
I have disabled my alarm by removing the fuse.
It wasn't draining the battery that I could tell, but the thing auto-armed and drove my neighbors nuts.
Also, disarming it with the chip-chirp was kind of embarrassing..
Like having an alarm in a Ford Pinto, people would snicker as I disarmed it.
|
|
|
|
Post by kozinator on Jun 17, 2006 18:38:41 GMT -5
A few days after I got my scooter, I drove into the garage, turned off the kill switch and walked away. Since it rained the next few days, I didn't have a chance to ride it. When I attempted to ride it after the rain passed, lo and behold, my battery was dead! I had left the key in the ignition with it turned on. Ever since then, the battery has been a bit flaky about holding a charge. I saw the info in my ScootDawg manual about keeping it charged and planned to go to Harbor Freight to pick up a charger. However, while shopping in the auto supply section of WalMart, I found something similar to what was shown in the manual, only a little more convenient. What I found was a plug-in charger that had a quick disconnect that would plug into one of two sets of leads that were included. One set of leads had the typical clip-on clamps you'd find on jumper cables (only smaller!). The other set of leads had ring terminals that I mounted directly to my battery, then I ran the quick-disconnect side up under the seat and strapped it down with some tie-wraps. Now, all I have to do is lift the seat and plug my charger in and and it's good to go. The unit has green and red LED's to let you know if it's charged or being charged. You can leave it plugged in because it won't overcharge your battery. One of the big plusses for me is that the plug in module is small enough that I can keep it under the seat and take it with me everywhere I go in case of emergencies. I don't know about other people, but I haven't had a lot of luck using the kick starte so a charged battery is very important to me. Just thought I'd share.
|
|
|
|
Post by scooterollie on Jun 17, 2006 21:07:06 GMT -5
kozinator;
That is a good idea. There are several makes out there that will do the job. Most Chinese scoots have poor quality Chinese batteries. Starter batteries don't like to be drained all the way down like you would do with a deep-cycle battery. You may have damaged the battery. Keep the charger on it as you described for a while, run it as you normally would do, then don't connect the charger for several days to see if the battery recovered. If it still goes dead overnight, you probably need to replace it with a higher quality one.
|
|
