Broken hourmeter replaced for free (PT-425)

[Kent]

Finally some good news in manufacturers standing behind their products. Out of the blue my hour meter lost "segments" and became useless:

I was just about ready to email PowerTrac to order a new one, but first I wanted to see if I could buy a replacement from some Internet store (for probably less money).

I admit I wasn't too happy when the old one broke at only 138 hours (insert commentary about how "they don't make things like they used to" here) and really didn't feel motivated to shell out money for a new one.

I found the Hobbs 085094 44 at Granger ($89, yikes)
Then thought maybe a mechanical one would be more reliable? Like REDINGTON 732-0004 ($44). There seems to be room enough for it (it is 2-1/2" long)

I never sent the email to Powertrac so don't know how much they would charge.

I tracked down SenDEC, which is now Global Digital Instruments. I used their comments page (https://www.gdimeters.com/contact/) to ask if there was any way to fix the meter (and to passive-aggressively suggest that their meter isn't reliable):

"Message: Hi - I have a SenDEC model 807A-700-0111, v5.2 Elapsed Timer on my tractor. After just 138 hours on the meter it is now showing just parts of the numbers and is therefore unreadable (like my watch does when the battery runs very low). The case is epoxy sealed. Does this mean the meter is dead and needs replacement? I am about to order a replacement from the tractor manufacturer (hopefully they have one left over!) and was wondering if it is possible to pre-set the new meter to 138 hours? Thanks, Kent"

To my surprise I received a personal response by email from the directory of sales and marketing within the hour:

"I will send you a new one at no charge. It will be a new version whose improved internal electronics prevents from the segment loss issue. When you receive it, just power it with a 9 volt battery until it reaches 138 hours."

I replied and thanked him profusely.

Five days later I received the new meter, have it installed, and am cranking up the hours as we speak.

I am using my little 12v trickle charger (with alligator clips) to provide the power (actually about 16 v). Though I believe that polarity isn't an issue, I did determine which post the hot lead from the ignition switch to the meter went to on the old meter and have used the same polarity while charging.

So three cheers to Global Digital Instruments!

 

[MossRoad]

Nice to hear about a company that cares. Good for them. :thumbsup:

 

[CliffordK]

So,
Is getting a new hour meter like getting a new tractor?

It sounds like it is a known problem.
It is probably cheaper to send a new hour meter only to those customers that complain than to try to get a replacement out to every tractor owner.

Hopefully Powertrac either refers people to the manufacturer, or does a similar replace, no questions asked (other than S/N).

 

[HarryN]

Good that your effort paid off!
Is there a way to "zero" a meter like that?? (like if you replaced the engine)

 

[Kent]

Good that your effort paid off!
Is there a way to "zero" a meter like that?? (like if you replaced the engine)

Yes, a small victory for the small guy.

No reset on this meter (by the way the new hour meter part number is N430-0200-8111, no button). This is the base-level model, no frills. That is why I have to run a charger attached to the pins for 137 hours to set the meter at the previous meter's time. Personally I want it to be simple and not accidentally resettable. Time marches on.

But the "NewGen Series" model at https://www.gdimeters.com/products/1/Products+by+Type/newgen-series-hour-meters can be, and also have many other functions controlled by a button (service warnings, timers, volts, rpm, time etc.). Some of these are pre-programmed by GDI for a particular equipment manufacturer. No heart rate monitor, however, which could be handier than a tiltmeter in some cases. I am confident that further searching could locate even fancier models (or I could ask my neighbor who could build one from scratch and also write the machine code to run it, but it just seems easier to live with a simple/cheap model that hopefully is reliable at doing just one important thing).