Stopped motor hours gauge

ferret30 · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:25 pm Post subject: Stopped motor hours gauge

My boat that I bought a few months ago has an hours gauge that's stopped at ~76h, but from tach needle position and lights at startup I think it's actually around 180h. So:

1) The hours meter only rolls when the motor is running (right?) so is there any way to debug this problem with the boat on a trailer, preferably without the motor running? I suppose I can just take the gauge out and give it 12V power for a while and see if it rolls forward, but I'd like to see if there's actually power from the motor...

2) To correct the hours, should I just let it run on a 12V power supply for a while until it's correct? I don't want to accidentally go over...

3) I have the service manual pdf but it doesn't explain any way to get an accurate reading from the motor. I suppose it's done with some specialized motor code checker.

Thanks!

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:32 pm Post subject:

The hour meter should run anytime the igiition is on.

ACtual hours on the motor can be "read" by the dealer when they hook up the diagnostic software.

@ C · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:34 pm Post subject:

Is the gauge a Suzuki?
Mine is hooked up to run when the ignition is turned on, whether the motor is running or not.
You should be able to apply 12v to it to see if it is indeed working.
Bill

ferret30 · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:38 pm Post subject:

Great, then I'll just use a multimeter to see if it's a broken gauge or some bad wiring. I'm guessing there isn't an inline fuse on the way to that meter.

Someday I want to tackle that big mess of wires and see if I can thin out the unused ones, or at least move them to the side so that the panel is more accessible. It's a huge rats nest right now!

thataway · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:05 pm Post subject:

The Suzuki hour gauges have a history of failing. If you were to buy a Lowrance LMF 200 or 400, it would tell you the engine hours, fuel burn and a number of other engine readouts. (That is assuming that it is a recent gage.

ferret30 · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:44 pm Post subject:

Well I don't care if it says Suzuki, and I don't have any other NEMA enabled gear currently (I don't think...) so maybe I'll give this a shot:

http://www.amazon.com/Hour-Meter-2in-Round/dp/B0001DDLE8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1320698549&sr=8-6

$15 for basically the same display except it's missing whatever the indicator is to the right of the tenths digit on the Suzuki OEM mode. I don't know what that's for.

Jazzmanic · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject:

ferret30 · Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:03 pm Post subject:

Getting the hours meter fixed was pretty low on my to do list, but I took it out last weekend after verifying that it was getting power, and also noticing that it would click every 30s but not advance the count.

I looked at the stickers on the side and it's made by Faria. I contacted the company asking if these are considered serviceable, and if it seems unreasonable that a meter capable of counting 9999h would die after 76h.

Two days later I got this response:

"We are in the process of qualifying a new supplier for the internal counter. You may want to hold off a couple months. Honesty is the best policy."

So, I'll be going with that $14 one from Amazon. It counts to 99999h so it must be amazing. Razz

Captains Cat · Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:20 pm Post subject: