Wheelhorse84 87 #1 Posted December 24, 2012 I have a new hour meter for my c-160 but have no wiring kit and no idea how to install it. Any diagrams or advice would be appreciated. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #2 Posted December 24, 2012 I think it goes between the battery and ignition switch. Just cut the wire and add your connectors. If I'm wrong, I'll be corrected shortly. ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ericj 1,576 #3 Posted December 24, 2012 it goes after the igniton switch so when you turn the switch on it sends power to the hour meter, so you want a hot when switch is on and no power when off eric Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #4 Posted December 24, 2012 Eric, you're right! I was thinking of the ammeter. If wired the way i said, it would run constantly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #5 Posted December 24, 2012 Wiring is not my thing if anyone could walk me through it or has a diagram that would be fantastic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,695 #6 Posted December 24, 2012 Wiring is not my thing if anyone could walk me through it or has a diagram that would be fantastic. I got this right here from our manuals section Steve. As you can see just feed the meter from the hot side of the light switch and make sure its grounded. Tractor 1979 C-Series Kohler powered Wiring Detailed.pdf Mike......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #7 Posted December 24, 2012 Thanks Mike this is a big help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #8 Posted December 24, 2012 positiveand neg are not labeled? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,695 #9 Posted December 24, 2012 I wonder if it runs backwards if not wired right . So just wire it in and leave slack if you have to swap the wires if you find its running backwards. Hooking it up backwards cant ruin anything..... I dont think. Mike........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duff 206 #10 Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) If you take the mounting strap off so you can read and post the model number of the meter, there are a several on-line resources that might be able to help us with which terminal is hot. I'm guessing it's a Hobbs meter? Just a thought..... ~Duff :thumbs: Edited December 24, 2012 by Duff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marv 861 #11 Posted December 29, 2012 The hour meters normally will not run in reverse. So it makes no difference which post on the meter is hooked to positive or negative. Marv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #12 Posted January 18, 2013 If I run a wire from the battery positive terminal and a ground wire the hour meter should run for me to test it ? I did and the meter did not tick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,695 #13 Posted January 19, 2013 Is it a "brand new" hour meter, or a used one? Maybe its just shot? Mike............... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #14 Posted January 19, 2013 It came with a tractor I bought a while ago but it was brand new no hours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Save Old Iron 1,564 #15 Posted January 19, 2013 The last time I tested an hourmeter, I discovered the meter does not require a specific orientation of positive and negative wiring. As long as the meter is designed for the voltage RANGE you intend to use it in ( 8 to 32 volts seen below) AND it is not a meter intended to be used on an AC circuit like an emergency backup generator, it should work. The meter below is marked specifically for DC applications. The DC version of the hourmeter will not draw constant power from the 12 volt line. I found this out while trying to troubleshoot a tractor that had a parasitic drain on the battery. One or two times a minute, I would see a 1/4 amp pulse of power being drawn from the battery. Turns out that pulse of power is how the hourmeter works. The quick pulse of power "winds the watch" so to speak in the hourmeter and the meter runs for 30 seconds or more on that little gulp of power. If you hookup a multimeter in the milliamp mode to measure 1 amp or less, you might be able to tell if the meter is consuming any power. If it is, and it still does not clock off time, it is defective. P.S. Hourmeters will not (should not) run backwards if hooked up backwards. That would make it far too easy for anyone to fake actual hours on the monitored equipment. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheel-N-It 2,967 #16 Posted January 19, 2013 P.S. Hourmeters will not run backswards if hooked up backwards. That would make it far too easy for anyone to fake actual hours on the monitored equipment. WOW, thank you for this added bit of information SOI !!! This is good to know :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheeledhorseman 573 #17 Posted January 19, 2013 Turns out that pulse of power is how the hourmeter works. The quick pulse of power "winds the watch" so to speak in the hourmeter and the meter runs for 30 seconds or more on that little gulp of power. If you hookup a multimeter in the milliamp mode to measure 1 amp or less, you might be able to tell if the meter is consuming any power. If it is, and it still does not clock off time, it is defective. P.S. Hourmeters will not run backswards if hooked up backwards. That would make it far too easy for anyone to fake actual hours on the monitored equipment. The same principlal was used in the early battery wall clocks of the 1950s / early 60s and automobile clocks of the same period I think. However, more recent hour meters have electronic internals even if they do still click digit wheels round as a display. I got one of these to add to my C-120 and on these the terminals are marked + and - probably a good clue to the fact that it's not solely electromechanical inside. I can't recall the current drawn exactly but it was something like 5mA pulsing to 10mA at about second intervals then a bigger wack as it clicked the tenths of hours wheel every 6 mins. The first one I was sent by the vendor was duff, it was replaced and I was told to throw away the dud but I kept it. Hmm.... starting to feel the need to open it up and find out what's inside the later types where electronics drives the old style digit wheels. I'll let you know. Andy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheeledhorseman 573 #18 Posted January 20, 2013 So here's the internals of a modern electromechanical type hourmeter. It consists of a set of counter wheels, the tenths of an hour wheel is advanced by the solenoid driven by an electronic circuit. The eight pin chip isn't a 555 timer, it's a microcontroller which is a minimalistic computer on a chip. It has a tiny memory that can retain a simple computer program 'flashed' into it. It also has some memory for the program to use and an internal clock to run the computer. In this case the program will be making it count pulses from the clock with an end result that it produces an output pulse to drive the solenoid every 6 mins. Getting back to the thread - this one at least has a diode in the power line to the board that protects it from the external power leads being connected the wrong way round. The terminals are marked + and - but if incorrectly connected then it won't operate but no internal damage will be done. Andy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
meadowfield 2,545 #19 Posted January 20, 2013 the last 3 we have bought from evil bay (<$10) have all had no markings or instructions... They are polarity agnostic and you can hear them tick upon application of a voltage in the range 5-24v. Sound very much like a modern quartz clock mechanism - but they are glued together so I can't take a look mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
