Removal of a Spyball Alarm?

[jimbo]

The bike cut out on me completely last night on the way home.
My diagnosis was the alarm. When I told the RAC man he asked it was a Spyball (it is) - he tells me that he see a fair few 5 year oldist BMW bikes broken down for this reason.

So time for the spyball to be removed - does anybody know what's involved? I imagine that they are designed to be removed in 5 minutes (well they bl**dly well shouldn't be). the unit is under the tank, so if I trace all the wires and remove them all, will I be OK, or is there something clever going on that will decide this is an attempt to bipass the alarm.

Cheers,
Jimbo.

 

[Bateman]

I had my Datatool System 3 removed last week at CWs. It took 2 mechanics 45 minutes to strip it out and reconnect two circuits. Cost me £60.

 

[Steptoe]

Lot depends on who fitted it .

Check the ignition lead from the "key" unit, before commiting yourself to ripping the spyball out.
Give it a wiggle while the bike is running. See approx 2 a month with a wire in the ignition loom broken.

 

[the civil one]

Lot depends on who fitted it .

Check the ignition lead from the "key" unit, before commiting yourself to ripping the spyball out.
Give it a wiggle while the bike is running. See approx 2 a month with a wire in the ignition loom broken.

As per usual , our Maun Steppers is on the Ball.
But you can take some solice form the FAct that i have done it.
So , if i can , i am confidant you can .
Just dont fall into the same trap i did , thinking it will go away
grab the bull by the horns , and go for it.

 

[jimbo]

Lot depends on who fitted it .

Check the ignition lead from the "key" unit, before commiting yourself to ripping the spyball out.
Give it a wiggle while the bike is running. See approx 2 a month with a wire in the ignition loom broken.

I'll try a wiggle, but I can't while the bike is running, cos it won't go because thats the problem in the first place

 

[delpel]

Piece of piss to rip it out.

1, Unwrap and trace all the wiring from the alarm unit. There will be wires going to an ignition feed, permanent 12V feed, earth/chassis, indicators and most important wires going to the imobiliser circuits. These are usually the starter motor and fuel pump.

2, disconnect or cut the wires out of the bike wiring loom. If the alarm has been fitted to a decent standard the alarm wires will be spliced into the bikes wiring loom and can be cut and re-insulated. This is done by stripping an inch of insulation off without cutting the wire itself. The black alarm wire is then wrapped around the original wire and soldered. The joint is then covered in insulating tape.

3, The imobilser circuits need to be cut and the bikes wires rejoined. For instance the starter relay is a Black/Yellow wire to operate the relay. The wires will have been cut and the imobiliser wires normally black, will be contected to each end. Cut the black wire and rejoin the Black/Yellow wires together (assuming they were the wires/circuit used).

4, Remove all the alarm boxes etc, sit back have a beer and never worry your alarm packing up again.

Any problems then drop me a line.

 

[Cooky]

As per usual , our Maun Steppers is on the Ball.
But you can take some solice form the FAct that i have done it.
So , if i can , i am confidant you can .
Just dont fall into the same trap i did , thinking it will go away
grab the bull by the horns , and go for it.

Another awful UKGSer poem.

 

[jimbo]

Thanks everybody, I started the job last night - albeit by draining rather more of the petrol tank onto myself and the garage floor.
Beers tonight, so I hope to report a sucess on Saturday!

 

[jimbo]

Right nearly done.
I've removed all but two of the wires and re-soldered the originals back together. however the last two are not so obvious. all the others had clearly been cut, so rejoining a red/green back to the rsd/green is obvious.
I'm now left with a:
blue with black stripe
blue with red stripe

there is nothing obvious to rejoin these to when I unsolder it to the alarm. Are they just spurs off the loom for an alarm and I leave them unconnected, or should they go to somewhere.

Help

 

[John Armstrong]

Sorry I don't know, but you'll have Tarka around soon

 

[isaac hunt]

I had my Datatool System 3 removed last week at CWs. It took 2 mechanics 45 minutes to strip it out and reconnect two circuits. Cost me £60.

I have one fitted to mine that i want removing, it's a pain in the bloody arse.
£60 though I could grow to like it

 

[Steptoe]

I'm now left with a:
blue with black stripe
blue with red stripe

there is nothing obvious to rejoin these to when I unsolder it to the alarm.

Flying by memory here ( not very good at my age) - but they could be the indicator wires

 

[jimbo]

right, time to admit I've got it wrong (again).
I've re-considered the symtoms and I'm now sure I've removed a perfectly good Spyball alarm. Still I never liked it, so I'm not too upset.
what does concern me is that I now have no idea why my bike suddenly stopped

So the symtoms are distinctly (I hope).
The RID is dead, although the ignition light and the neutral light work fine. I think all the other electrics are ok too. When I turn the bike on, rather than the funny noise from the ABS doing its self check, there is silence
Any idea where I should be looking.

PS If anybody wants a 2nd hand spyball alarm, then please contact me. God know how you will wire it up with all those black wire though...

 

[jimbo]

Me bike won't go and I haven't got a clue where to go next. No obvious wiring issues, but its a dead as a dodo.

Any body got any suggestions what to try next? (please?)

 

[Grey_Beard]

It's astonishing to think that this thread is now approaching 20 years old, but a mate pointed me at it and it's what prompted me to join the forum. And yes, the Spyball does appear to be as easy to remove as @delpel suggests above, although I have yet to actually put the tank back on and see if everything runs.

 

[theoneandonly]

I had my Datatool System 3 removed last week at CWs. It took 2 mechanics 45 minutes to strip it out and reconnect two circuits. Cost me £60.

you could have bypassed it in less than 10 minutes.