Radio shack alarm siren install (2 sirens on 2 different bikes)
#1
09-13-2009, 08:14 PM
Radio shack alarm siren install (2 sirens on 2 different bikes)
Just installed the Radio Shack siren on two bikes this weekend (actually two on each bike since I wanted redundancy and even more sound). My bike is an 08 Ultra, neighbors is a 07 Ultra (which connected different, see writeup further down). Here's a writeup of the installs and my review is at the end.
Parts needed:
Radio Shack Piezo Siren, part number 273-079, $5.79 each in my store, but price may vary a little at different stores. This is a 109db siren, really small at about 2" by 2" (estimated). Bought two for each bike.
5 feet of 18/2 wire for each bike. I used doorbell wire from a home improvement store, I think 25 feet of it was $5 or so. I used shrinkwrap for the wire runs, but I think that was overkill. Oh well.
22-18 and 16-14 waterproof butt connectors.
Handful of small tie-wraps.
Some electrical tape (optional).
Install on the 08 Ultra
1. Take off saddlebags, and take seat off.
2. Take off side covers (if only doing one siren, just take off the left side).
3. Disconnect Maxifuse on left side (you can just disconnect the P/A single fuse if you want, but my Fuelpak is mounted on my fusebox, and I was too lazy to go get the main manual to figure out which fuse it was).
4. Find the siren plug-in on bike. It's actually located to the bottom left of the fuse box, and goes straight into an empty connector holder (like you are plugging it towards the engine direction). There's a few different connectors there around the fuse box, this is the only one on the bottom left of the fuse box. Unplug the male end from the fake female end, so you can see where you are eventually going to tie into.
Important note: The siren plugin is a Delphi connector (or P/A connector as I call it). When you pull it out of the part connected to the bike, you will see there are three holes you plug a different connector into, or can plug wires straight into. Looking at the other end of the connector where the wires go into it, you will see a Brown, Green, and Black wire. You will only use the Brown and Green. Nothing gets plugged into the hole going to the black wire.
5. Went to right side, and found a place to mount the siren under cover. Siren has two small recessed holes for screws...I simply drilled them out a little bit bigger to get tiewraps in them (careful, back of siren is a protective cover for siren and you have to hold it tight when drilling hole). Used tie wraps to mount siren to an available spot.
6. Siren only has about 3-4" of available wire. If doing a single siren next to your bike's plug-in, it may be long enough. I simply used (2) 22-18 butt connectors and spliced on 5 feet or so to get wire over to other side of bike easily. I'm ****...after splicing, I used waterproof butt connectors, shrinkwrapped them, and then covered with waterproof electrical tape. I hate electrical problems, so always over protect.
7. Ran spliced wires under seat area, making sure to leave a little slack under seat if you may need to move it later to get to your ECM or battery or something. I have a detachable tourpak, and also made sure not to trap any cables going to the tourpak. Ran the wires to just in front of the fuse box, and pulled it down to where the eventual connection to the second siren was going.
8. Mounted second siren. I put it in the big space reserved for the HD siren, located directly left of the fuse box. Tie wrapped it in (after drilling the two holes a little bit bigger). Trimmed the two wires coming from the siren.
9. Grabbed (2) 16-14 butt connectors. Inserted the trimmed extension wire that went under seat, as well as the second siren lead. Crimped, heatshrink, and taped. Took other tirmmed extension wire from under seat, and the second wire from the second siren. Did same thing.
10. On the other end of the butt connector, I simply cut a 6 inch extension of the extra wire I had, and inserted it into each butt connector, heatshrinked, and taped each (even though it was 18 gauge wire, it will work in a 16-14 butt connector and be tight). Some people say that they can insert both wires straight into the Delphi connector on the bike, but I couldn't both wires to fit in one spot. Also, the stock wire on the siren is very, very soft; my extra wire was stiff and a perfect fit (next step).
11. Insert each wire of your extension wire into the following holes: Original red wire from siren goes into the brown wire hole of the Delphi connector. Original black wire from siren goes into the green wire hole of the Delphi connector. Extra wire I got from store was a perfect tight fit.
11. After inserting wires into Delphi connector, bend the wires slowly around back of connector and press them against the connector (you are eventually going to jam the male part of the connector, with the wires and tape, back into the female connection on the bike. The back doesn't have the clip that catches the female Delphi connector on the bike, the front has this catch. Take tape, and tape wires down, and try to get tape tight around the connector.
12. You will have to wiggle the Delphi connector back into the female housing. It will take a little work as your connector now has wires coming out of it, and the tape. Took me about a minute to wiggle it to get clip to catch. It's really snug, never going anywhere. I guess you can wire directly to the wires going into the Delphi connector if you cut the connector off, but I don't like to cut off special connectors like that.
13. Test your sirens before putting everything back on. We'll explain process further down this writeup. Make sure to reinsert your Maxfuse or your P/A fuse.
14. Tie wrap whatever needs to be tied, be careful not to kink or over tighten your wires.
15. Reinstall side covers, seat, and saddlebags. Your done.
Install on the 07 Ultra
Basically the install is the same as the above, with the following differences:
1. The P/A connector is actually located BEHIND the ECM, which is located behind the right side cover. To take ECM off its mount (it won't fall, the cables will prevent that), take off the (2) 7/16" nuts holding it on. The Delphi connection is the plug going into the lower right side of the ECM . It snakes through, and can be a pain to get it plugged back in with wires and tape at the end of the install. Be patient.
2. You'll be putting on your second siren on the left side, and running wires to the right side.
3. Don't forget to pull Maxifuse or P/A fuse before working. Since you are unbolting and moving ECM out of the way, I was more comfortable pulling Maxifuse, and just resetting his radio stations later.
Way to Test and Use the Siren(s)
Here's the way I did it:
1. Put fob in my pocket.
2. Turned ignition on for a few seconds.
3. Turned ignition off.
4. Walked away 10 feet or more, put fob on ground.
5. Go back to bike, stood bike up. About a second later, bike chirps as a warning (sounds like a angry squirrel).
6. Rocked bike a little for movement. About 3 seconds later, bike chirps again as a warning.
7. Rocked bike a little for movement. About 3 seconds, sirens go off so loud (in the garage), I almost drop bike trying to get it on the kickstand, dismount, run and pick up fob, and run back towards bike. Sirens turned off just as I got to the side of the bike.
My Review
For less than $12 for two sirens, it works the way it should. It's loud. It's loud when sitting on bike and activating it...but even louder around the bike (of course). One siren will work fine, but for the cost, I put two on. I'd advise two if you have an extra $6 in your pocket. Either way, it beats paying HD's overpriced amount.
Install time. Well, it varies. If I hadn't been watching TV while doing it, stopping for beer breaks, and dealing with family, one siren can be installed in about 20-30 minutes (and that's with taking everything off and putting back on). With two sirens on a bike going on, add another 20-30 minutes to mount, run wires, extra crimping, etc of the second siren.
Only negative I found: The HD siren has a backup, in case somebody cuts the battery power. However, I'm of mind that if somebody wants my bike bad enough, they are going to get it with or without a Radio Shack or HD siren. By the time somebody gets to where they can deactivate my security system, minutes have passed most likely...and if the first 5 seconds of an alarm doesn't scare them off, 2 minutes ain't going to bother them while they get to where they can tear it apart. It will keep the curious away, and the newly dishonest honest. It won't stop a experienced bike thief that has time on their side, but again, nothing will. An experienced thief will rip out the HD siren and throw it far away just as fast as they will rip out the Radio Shack one.
Would I recommend it? Yes. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 2 in how hard it was. That's only because of having to take everything off, and running wires which I hate doing anyways; and the fact that it took more then 30 seconds to install since I can get impatient at times. With a beer, cigarette, or a good friend in the garage with you, you'll enjoy the install. It's easy, just take your time.
Hope all this helped somebody. Drop me a PM if you have any specific questions. I didn't take photos, because...well, because I just didn't think of it.
Parts needed:
Radio Shack Piezo Siren, part number 273-079, $5.79 each in my store, but price may vary a little at different stores. This is a 109db siren, really small at about 2" by 2" (estimated). Bought two for each bike.
5 feet of 18/2 wire for each bike. I used doorbell wire from a home improvement store, I think 25 feet of it was $5 or so. I used shrinkwrap for the wire runs, but I think that was overkill. Oh well.
22-18 and 16-14 waterproof butt connectors.
Handful of small tie-wraps.
Some electrical tape (optional).
Install on the 08 Ultra
1. Take off saddlebags, and take seat off.
2. Take off side covers (if only doing one siren, just take off the left side).
3. Disconnect Maxifuse on left side (you can just disconnect the P/A single fuse if you want, but my Fuelpak is mounted on my fusebox, and I was too lazy to go get the main manual to figure out which fuse it was).
4. Find the siren plug-in on bike. It's actually located to the bottom left of the fuse box, and goes straight into an empty connector holder (like you are plugging it towards the engine direction). There's a few different connectors there around the fuse box, this is the only one on the bottom left of the fuse box. Unplug the male end from the fake female end, so you can see where you are eventually going to tie into.
Important note: The siren plugin is a Delphi connector (or P/A connector as I call it). When you pull it out of the part connected to the bike, you will see there are three holes you plug a different connector into, or can plug wires straight into. Looking at the other end of the connector where the wires go into it, you will see a Brown, Green, and Black wire. You will only use the Brown and Green. Nothing gets plugged into the hole going to the black wire.
5. Went to right side, and found a place to mount the siren under cover. Siren has two small recessed holes for screws...I simply drilled them out a little bit bigger to get tiewraps in them (careful, back of siren is a protective cover for siren and you have to hold it tight when drilling hole). Used tie wraps to mount siren to an available spot.
6. Siren only has about 3-4" of available wire. If doing a single siren next to your bike's plug-in, it may be long enough. I simply used (2) 22-18 butt connectors and spliced on 5 feet or so to get wire over to other side of bike easily. I'm ****...after splicing, I used waterproof butt connectors, shrinkwrapped them, and then covered with waterproof electrical tape. I hate electrical problems, so always over protect.
7. Ran spliced wires under seat area, making sure to leave a little slack under seat if you may need to move it later to get to your ECM or battery or something. I have a detachable tourpak, and also made sure not to trap any cables going to the tourpak. Ran the wires to just in front of the fuse box, and pulled it down to where the eventual connection to the second siren was going.
8. Mounted second siren. I put it in the big space reserved for the HD siren, located directly left of the fuse box. Tie wrapped it in (after drilling the two holes a little bit bigger). Trimmed the two wires coming from the siren.
9. Grabbed (2) 16-14 butt connectors. Inserted the trimmed extension wire that went under seat, as well as the second siren lead. Crimped, heatshrink, and taped. Took other tirmmed extension wire from under seat, and the second wire from the second siren. Did same thing.
10. On the other end of the butt connector, I simply cut a 6 inch extension of the extra wire I had, and inserted it into each butt connector, heatshrinked, and taped each (even though it was 18 gauge wire, it will work in a 16-14 butt connector and be tight). Some people say that they can insert both wires straight into the Delphi connector on the bike, but I couldn't both wires to fit in one spot. Also, the stock wire on the siren is very, very soft; my extra wire was stiff and a perfect fit (next step).
11. Insert each wire of your extension wire into the following holes: Original red wire from siren goes into the brown wire hole of the Delphi connector. Original black wire from siren goes into the green wire hole of the Delphi connector. Extra wire I got from store was a perfect tight fit.
11. After inserting wires into Delphi connector, bend the wires slowly around back of connector and press them against the connector (you are eventually going to jam the male part of the connector, with the wires and tape, back into the female connection on the bike. The back doesn't have the clip that catches the female Delphi connector on the bike, the front has this catch. Take tape, and tape wires down, and try to get tape tight around the connector.
12. You will have to wiggle the Delphi connector back into the female housing. It will take a little work as your connector now has wires coming out of it, and the tape. Took me about a minute to wiggle it to get clip to catch. It's really snug, never going anywhere. I guess you can wire directly to the wires going into the Delphi connector if you cut the connector off, but I don't like to cut off special connectors like that.
13. Test your sirens before putting everything back on. We'll explain process further down this writeup. Make sure to reinsert your Maxfuse or your P/A fuse.
14. Tie wrap whatever needs to be tied, be careful not to kink or over tighten your wires.
15. Reinstall side covers, seat, and saddlebags. Your done.
Install on the 07 Ultra
Basically the install is the same as the above, with the following differences:
1. The P/A connector is actually located BEHIND the ECM, which is located behind the right side cover. To take ECM off its mount (it won't fall, the cables will prevent that), take off the (2) 7/16" nuts holding it on. The Delphi connection is the plug going into the lower right side of the ECM . It snakes through, and can be a pain to get it plugged back in with wires and tape at the end of the install. Be patient.
2. You'll be putting on your second siren on the left side, and running wires to the right side.
3. Don't forget to pull Maxifuse or P/A fuse before working. Since you are unbolting and moving ECM out of the way, I was more comfortable pulling Maxifuse, and just resetting his radio stations later.
Way to Test and Use the Siren(s)
Here's the way I did it:
1. Put fob in my pocket.
2. Turned ignition on for a few seconds.
3. Turned ignition off.
4. Walked away 10 feet or more, put fob on ground.
5. Go back to bike, stood bike up. About a second later, bike chirps as a warning (sounds like a angry squirrel).
6. Rocked bike a little for movement. About 3 seconds later, bike chirps again as a warning.
7. Rocked bike a little for movement. About 3 seconds, sirens go off so loud (in the garage), I almost drop bike trying to get it on the kickstand, dismount, run and pick up fob, and run back towards bike. Sirens turned off just as I got to the side of the bike.
My Review
For less than $12 for two sirens, it works the way it should. It's loud. It's loud when sitting on bike and activating it...but even louder around the bike (of course). One siren will work fine, but for the cost, I put two on. I'd advise two if you have an extra $6 in your pocket. Either way, it beats paying HD's overpriced amount.
Install time. Well, it varies. If I hadn't been watching TV while doing it, stopping for beer breaks, and dealing with family, one siren can be installed in about 20-30 minutes (and that's with taking everything off and putting back on). With two sirens on a bike going on, add another 20-30 minutes to mount, run wires, extra crimping, etc of the second siren.
Only negative I found: The HD siren has a backup, in case somebody cuts the battery power. However, I'm of mind that if somebody wants my bike bad enough, they are going to get it with or without a Radio Shack or HD siren. By the time somebody gets to where they can deactivate my security system, minutes have passed most likely...and if the first 5 seconds of an alarm doesn't scare them off, 2 minutes ain't going to bother them while they get to where they can tear it apart. It will keep the curious away, and the newly dishonest honest. It won't stop a experienced bike thief that has time on their side, but again, nothing will. An experienced thief will rip out the HD siren and throw it far away just as fast as they will rip out the Radio Shack one.
Would I recommend it? Yes. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 2 in how hard it was. That's only because of having to take everything off, and running wires which I hate doing anyways; and the fact that it took more then 30 seconds to install since I can get impatient at times. With a beer, cigarette, or a good friend in the garage with you, you'll enjoy the install. It's easy, just take your time.
Hope all this helped somebody. Drop me a PM if you have any specific questions. I didn't take photos, because...well, because I just didn't think of it.
Great Job!!!!Thanks for the Details!!!!
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#9
09-30-2009, 11:59 AM
I did this exact same install about a year ago. It works exactly as you described. Very good. I did have a little trouble getting the siren at the first Radio Shack though. I took the part number in and looked for the Piezo alarm. Could not find one so I asked the pimply faced kid behind the counter to look it up for me. I give him the number and he says, "It has been discontinued". I ask him to punch in the number a second time. Same thing. I go down the road to another Radio Shack and do the same thing. This time I walked out with a pair of them. Moral of the story, if there is one, "If at first they tell you it has been discontinued, go somewhere else and look again".
"Trust everyone, but Verify" Ronald Reagan-1984
"Trust everyone, but Verify" Ronald Reagan-1984
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