Trying to get some info on the 'Scorpion 738' alarm that came fitted on my mk1.
It says '1988' [corrected ] on a sticker on it - since my mk1's a 1989 car, was wondering if this alarm might have been commonly fitted from new, and maybe other owners might have a wiring diagram etc.
Managed to get it working ok by twiddling the variable capacitor in the keyfob - the frequency must have drifted over the years; when I got it you had to hold it right near the car but now it'll work from a good distance.
Problems remaining are that the indicators don't flash to signal arming / disarming, and also I was wondering what the adjuster knob on the back of the alarm box does. I noticed a receipt in amongst the history for 'disconnect flasher circuit'.. maybe this is a clue.
Anyone have any info or ideas?
Scorpion 738 alarm
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Scorpion 738 alarm
Last edited by flippin'eck on Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
flippin'eck wrote:
It says '1998' on a sticker on it - since my mk1's a 1989 car, was wondering if this alarm might have been commonly fitted from new
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
Well spotted
it says 1988 not 1998
it says 1988 not 1998
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I think Scorpions were a pretty standard fit, I 'm sure mine originally had a Scorpion, but I have no info on them at all, sorry
Jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
mines got one fitted but no remote
I have though never used it as no one ever takes any notice of car alarms and one of this vintage could easily be bypassed by a newborn council estate kid
I have though never used it as no one ever takes any notice of car alarms and one of this vintage could easily be bypassed by a newborn council estate kid
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I took mine out as it was disabled and had no keyfob. I think they were a dealer-fitted option.
Btw, Does anyone else have an LED in their dash blanking plate? Mine was snipped off at the wire behind - thought it must have been something to do with the alarm?
ps, I've got a coin holder now
Btw, Does anyone else have an LED in their dash blanking plate? Mine was snipped off at the wire behind - thought it must have been something to do with the alarm?
ps, I've got a coin holder now
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
One of my key fob transmitters for my Scorpion alarm stopped working and couldn't be retuned. Like you it started only working from close range then packed up altogether. So be careful or get caught away from home and not being able to disarm it! Mr T supplied new one for £35 (that was a couple of years ago). Worked fine with that one.
I never had a key to switch off unit and was bit worried about at but fortunately I had the model without battery back up in alarm unit itself so simply went off if power disconnected.
I never had a key to switch off unit and was bit worried about at but fortunately I had the model without battery back up in alarm unit itself so simply went off if power disconnected.
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
Kevin.. yeah I'd figured it'd probably be about as useful as you say. I figure if it was fitted from new by a Toyota dealer it might be worth keeping purely from a nostalgic quasi-authenticity standpoint, otherwise I'd probably change it if I started leaving it in dodgy places
Don't know if it might have been a similar problem on yours Andy but mine needed a few joints resoldering on the circuit board in addition to twiddling the adjuster. Think I was lucky not to fry the chips.
Also, 'twiddle - try - twiddle - try - twiddle..' didn't work, I had to do 'hold button down, keep twiddling until alarm picked up the signal' if you see what I mean. It seems to be a really fine adjustment. No idea what that adjuster actually changes (frequency it transmits on, signal strength, something else) just that it seemed to do the trick here.
One of my key fob transmitters for my Scorpion alarm stopped working and couldn't be retuned. Like you it started only working from close range then packed up altogether. So be careful or get caught away from home and not being able to disarm it! Mr T supplied new one for £35 (that was a couple of years ago). Worked fine with that one.
Don't know if it might have been a similar problem on yours Andy but mine needed a few joints resoldering on the circuit board in addition to twiddling the adjuster. Think I was lucky not to fry the chips.
Also, 'twiddle - try - twiddle - try - twiddle..' didn't work, I had to do 'hold button down, keep twiddling until alarm picked up the signal' if you see what I mean. It seems to be a really fine adjustment. No idea what that adjuster actually changes (frequency it transmits on, signal strength, something else) just that it seemed to do the trick here.
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I've got some sort of alarm on mine as well as a bag full of remotes and keys that came with it. I really should get around to investigating them all at some point and finding out if any of them still do anything.
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
superbad wrote:I took mine out as it was disabled and had no keyfob. I think they were a dealer-fitted option.
Btw, Does anyone else have an LED in their dash blanking plate? Mine was snipped off at the wire behind - thought it must have been something to do with the alarm?
Image Replaced With URL For Quote http://url220.imageshack.us/url220/8787/dscf0158kn4.jpg
ps, I've got a coin holder now
almost certainly something to do with either an alarm or immobiliser that has been disconnected in the past
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
Just got around to playing with my bag of keys and remotes. It looks like I now have some sort of functioning alarm.
I can arm and disarm it from the remote although I haven't tried opening the door with it armed yet for fear of upsetting the neighbours. Besides, I know for a fact that I'll totally forget about it in the morning and open the car as normal anyway!
Bit disappointed that it doesn't operate the central locking (this would be of more use to me than the alarm itself!) as I know from the last time I took the door card off that there's some sort of extra wiring in the doors. I've also got no idea whether it's just an alarm or whether it has any kind of immobiliser built in. (I doubt it on something so old)
The writing on the main unit seems to suggest it's a Scorpion 737 although google doesn't turn up anything useful and there's no mention of the alarm amongst my pile of papaerwork that came with the car.
I can arm and disarm it from the remote although I haven't tried opening the door with it armed yet for fear of upsetting the neighbours. Besides, I know for a fact that I'll totally forget about it in the morning and open the car as normal anyway!
Bit disappointed that it doesn't operate the central locking (this would be of more use to me than the alarm itself!) as I know from the last time I took the door card off that there's some sort of extra wiring in the doors. I've also got no idea whether it's just an alarm or whether it has any kind of immobiliser built in. (I doubt it on something so old)
The writing on the main unit seems to suggest it's a Scorpion 737 although google doesn't turn up anything useful and there's no mention of the alarm amongst my pile of papaerwork that came with the car.
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I've emailed scorpion alarms to enquire about documentation on both the '737' and '738' systems, will let you know what does or doesn't come back..
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I did find some online documentation on the '838' system last night. From the text and diagrams it doesn't sound too disimilar to what I have although I've not had a chance to compare my wiring with the diagrams yet.
Probably best to download these as they're not on the scorpion site any more, I had to use an internet archive to find them again:
User guide:
http://web.archive.org/web/200204022133 ... 38user.pdf
Fitting Instructions
http://web.archive.org/web/200204022133 ... itting.pdf
Probably best to download these as they're not on the scorpion site any more, I had to use an internet archive to find them again:
User guide:
http://web.archive.org/web/200204022133 ... 38user.pdf
Fitting Instructions
http://web.archive.org/web/200204022133 ... itting.pdf
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
My car has a 738 fitted, so do a few other mk1's i know. I need a new keyfob as mine is abit battered. You can get replacments from most alarm fitters, cost aournd 35-40 pound. I couldnt live without remote central locking.
ps. the knob on the back is the sensitivity. They also came with a key so you can disarm the alarm when the cars not in use for long periods.
ps. the knob on the back is the sensitivity. They also came with a key so you can disarm the alarm when the cars not in use for long periods.
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
Oh that's what that strange key is on my keyring nice one - was wondering about that.
Nothing back from my email yet but those links look useful. Will go & have a read
Nothing back from my email yet but those links look useful. Will go & have a read
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
A bit of a thread resurrection - I had a Scorpion alarm in my MR2 when I bought it in 2012. Everything worked - alarm and central locking, until one day I welded a new arch panel, with the battery connected and it never engaged after that. It does still work, but the remote won't speak to the alarm so maybe the transmitter is gone. I still have the little key so disabled it, but the proximity alarm is still very active in the cabin (and has killed a couple of batteries over the years).
Does anyone know if these are easy to reprogram, or does anyone want to sell me the red siren unit and a fob? I thought it worked perfectly as an alarm system.
They worked on 418Mhz, and also came on Mercedes, Land Rovers and Fords.
Does anyone know if these are easy to reprogram, or does anyone want to sell me the red siren unit and a fob? I thought it worked perfectly as an alarm system.
They worked on 418Mhz, and also came on Mercedes, Land Rovers and Fords.
Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
I ended up replacing my alarm with a Falcon Predator Evo3 pager alarm as it was easier and cheaper then trying to find replacements for the Scorpion alarm.
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
boondougal wrote:
It was an aftermarket figment and although it did originally work when i got the car it was a mess or an install and started to get temperamental.
Maybe it just imagined it was an alarm
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Re: Scorpion 738 alarm
jimi wrote:boondougal wrote:
It was an aftermarket figment and although it did originally work when i got the car it was a mess or an install and started to get temperamental.
Maybe it just imagined it was an alarm
Lol... just like i imagine i can touch type!!!!