Help! Fuse keeps blowing for Scorpio alarm!

[bboySushi]

I have a Scorpio alarm hooked up to my bike. It runs in series from the bike to the signals, and another power line that just goes to the positive on the battery. Everything works fine. When I first got it I didn't ride much and eventually the alarm drained my battery and my bike was stuck at my girlfriend's house and I had to recharge. Since then I decided to install a switch running between the battery and the alarm. Now here's where things get interesting:

1) When the switch is off, the alarm goes off/emergency lights flash when I signal. Therefore I have to keep the switch 'ON' whenever I'm riding.

2) That wasn't a big deal, but when my fuse blows on the alarm (I think orig. was a 10A) the same thing happens. Obviously not good to find out when you're riding that you can't signal.

3) I bought another switch but it didn't change anything.

Everything works fine with the switch on, but eventually maybe a week or two of riding, the fuse will blow.

So, the big two questions are:

1) Why is the alarm fuse blowing? It did not seem to happen before I installed the switch which is curious. I will bypass the switch this week and see if it still blows.

2) How can I get around this and still install a switch? I assume it's some kind of built-in feature of the Scorpio alarm. Is the only way to just put the bike on a tender to prevent battery draining? (i have no garage)

 

[spookycat]

First off I'm assuming that your Scorpio system is similar to mine (SR-C400 and SR-i500). The manuals are available on-line BTW.

Does your system have the optional battery backup? It will activate the alarm when the system is armed and power is interrupted (when the switch is open). Maybe activating the turn signal is arming the alarm or the alarm is armed already? Does the alarm stay on or does it just chirp a couple of times (like when you arm the system)?

Anyway,the other alternative is a wiring issue. The first thing that I would ensure is that the orange(?) wire from the alarm system is connected in parallel (not in series) using a t-tap to the tail light power supply wire (or any other wire that is always hot when the ignition is on)instead of the turn signal (which is only hot when the turn signal is on). This is an alarm system input. The black ground wire goes to a solid ground. The other line going directly to the battery is where you should have the switch and fuse. This way when the bike is off there is no power draw from the alarm system when the switch on the line from the battery is open and there is no power going to the tail light as the ignition is off.

 

[bboySushi]

Thanks for the response. I am using a sr-i800. Whether or not it has a battery backup I am unsure. If it did though, I don't see why it would not allow normal operation of the motorcycle when its being used. The alarm constantly beeps at a regular rate and all the signals flash at the same time so its not the alarm sound.

I have the bike-specific harness so I don't think there should be any issues there. Have you had any problems with your Scorpio draining the motorcycle battery? It has only happened to me once before, which prompted me to install the switch. Maybe it was just a fluke? Supposedly the alarm is supposed to go into sleep mode.

This still doesn't explain why the fuses are blowing though. Save for the switch the wiring is exactly as the manual instructs, it is impossible to do it otherwise with the bike-specific harness. I have electrical tape over all my connections....could it be something shorting that would blow the fuse?

 

[spookycat]

Don't know if you have the manual for this unit but here is a link to it.

http://www.scorpioalarms.com/media/SR-i800%20manual%20updated-5-18-10.pdf

This warning is in the installation part:

Note: Connect the (HAR-1) harness to the MCM only after installation is completed.
If the battery is to be removed, disconnect this connector first. Reconnect only after battery​

terminals are reconnected.

By having the switch open in the line to the battery it is the same as removing the battery (as far as the alarm system is concerned). The beeping at a regular rate indicates that it may be going through an automatic arming process, possibly by backfeeding through the turn signal circuit?

I have never had a problem with the alarm system draining the battery but I haven't not ridden the bike for extended periods with the alarm set so that's probably not a good indication.

The fuses blowing is a puzzle. A dead short would usually just blow the fuse right away. Can you trace the circuit using a circuit tester and disconnecting various sections of the wiring to see if it is going to ground somewhere?

Good luck!

 

[bboySushi]

I've never seen that footnote, thanks! I will see what difference disconnecting HAR-1 will make.

As for the ground, I'm not big on electrical circuits. I do believe the alarm is drawing power from the turn signal harness though. I will hopefully get to it when the weather looks a little less rainy!