Hours Meter for Generator February 10, 2023, 12:48:10 pm The hours meter screen is blank. Wiring looks good. Everything else on the panel is working.....status of tanks, propane etc all working fine. The generator runs great and I noticed the blank screen during generator exercise.Amazon has a replacement meter for 17.99 that looks identical and I am thinking that I will order one and see if that fixes the problem.Does anyone have experience with this issue?Our coach is a 2020 mid bath in like new condition.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #1 – February 10, 2023, 02:07:25 pm 1) With a volt meter check for 12 volts on the back of meter connections. If 12 volts available remove connections to meter and reinstall them. If still not working probably need to replace meter. 2) If no 12 volts behind the meter, trace meter wire back to generator and check connections at generator area. Check for 12 volts on wire at generator connection. If connections good, test for continuity in wire between generator and meter. If no continuity replace wire. 3) If you replace the meter make sure there is enough clearance when you reinstall the meter with wires connected between the connections and any wall or such behind the meter panel.Ron S 1 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #2 – February 10, 2023, 06:09:38 pm Quote from: Sue - February 10, 2023, 12:48:10 pmThe hours meter screen is blank. Wiring looks good. Everything else on the panel is working.....status of tanks, propane etc all working fine. The generator runs great and I noticed the blank screen during generator exercise.Amazon has a replacement meter for 17.99 that looks identical and I am thinking that I will order one and see if that fixes the problem.Does anyone have experience with this issue?Our coach is a 2020 mid bath in like new condition.Sue,I'm the same person that recommended this one on Facebook. I got it today and it fits perfectly and looks identical front and back, but no time is being registered at all. It stays on zero and the hour glass doesn't flash. (my sick meter symptoms are resetting and running test numbers once a minute, hour glass is flashing, but time doesn't change from 25.0hours. 13.2v is coming to the meter connectors) Back to the drawing board. The number on the back of the LD meter is t42a2a2c03. I saw on another forum that the cummins part number for that is 028-00031. I've tried googling it and got only generic box pictures, none of the actual meter. I'll have to wait to go to a cummins store and see what they have. It is under warranty for 3 years. Maybe they'll pay for the part.LMK if you come up with a meter to fit.Linda 1 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #3 – February 10, 2023, 06:30:43 pm Hi Linda; I'm not sure which meter you have. Mine is a motor driven mechanical counter. The Amazon one A Amazon.com: Runleader Digital Hour Meter for Lawn Mower Generator Motocycle... is electronic. The display is driven by a lithium battery, which may just need replacing. Likely the meter counter, accumulated time, is stored in non volatile RAM. So the number is there, you just can't see it. The description of this Amazon meter describes an internal battery. The meter won't increment time without the generator actually running. Every 6 minutes the tenths digit will increase one. On the old meter see if you can find a little door on the back to replace the internal battery. The two year warranty is about right for a 2 1/2 year battery life. Here is the line in the description that reveals the existence of the battery: "Batteries ‎1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)" The voltage applied to the back is what makes it count. It doesn't run the counter 'innards' or the display. If you can't get the battery out, send me the old carcass and I might be able to cut it open and put in a battery or a way to run it off of coach 12 VDC, or at least a larger external lithium battery. Hope this helps. RonB edit: to explain, I have a temperature probe that has LR44 silver oxide batteries and displays the temperature of my lithium batteries. That is so I can turn on a heater if they might go below 28 degrees F. The batteries last about a year, and aren't too hard to change, but I'm working on a way to run it off of the Lithium batteries straight, so the next owner won't swear at me every year! 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #4 – February 10, 2023, 06:52:24 pm Hi Linda: Here is another meter from Amazon: Amazon.com: Runleader LCD Digital Hour Meter,AC/DC 5V to 277V,Maintenance... and it reveals that the battery is a CR2050. That makes it sound as if you can replace the battery, but one of the reviewers complained that you can't. The 50 hour maintenance reminder might be useful. That is what the button is for. RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #5 – February 10, 2023, 10:33:25 pm Ron, I ordered this one Amazon.com: Runleader Digital LCD Hour Meter Kit,AC/DC 5V to 277V,Use for... It came set to zero and it has two leads on the back which is identical to the LD installed model. It's supposed to flash the hour glass to show it's working when the generator is running. It does not do that, nor does it change numbers after 1/10 hour of run time.Sue's problem is her meter is totally dead. Mine is that it runs "test numbers" every minute and no longer clocks any elapsed time even though the hourglass flashes and it shows 25 hours.Finding the correct replacement meter is the problem. 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #6 – February 11, 2023, 03:47:07 am Hi Linda; Your meter first: It sounds like it should be running. I would try just hooking the inputs to 110VAC first, to see if it just needs a larger input signal, than just 12 vdc would provide. It says the inputs aren't polarity sensitive, and 5 volts is easy to achieve. I wonder if you could call (or message) Todd Miller. He should know where Lazy Daze got your meter and it certainly is new (recent) enough. Sue and you could benefit from this. He might even have one or two to sell you. He might be able to shed light on how they are hooked up/connected. My next impulse would be to go 'old tech' with this one: Amazon.com: Generator Hour Meter Gauge OZ-USA 110 120 240 Volt onan Diesel... No battery. Mine clicks every 6 minutes. A meter would be handy to measure the voltage coming from the generator, to make sure it is there. Those two wires should have 12Vdc on them when the generator is running. I assume the genset is producing power. RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #7 – February 11, 2023, 12:59:01 pm I've got a message in to Todd. Just got a message back from him saying the meter came as a part of the panel and he's looking into a contact.I'm getting 13.2v to the spade connectors on the back of the meter.The mechanical meter would be a good idea if there was space. As it is with the 1" deep meter, LD bent the connectors to 45° because the space is so tight.All the meters I see online that resemble the original meter are made by RunLeader. I am unable to decipher the differences between RL-HM055AD, RL-HM057AD and RL-HM078AD. They are all the same size and detect hours by external power AC or DC. I purchased the 055 and it doesn't seem to want to work. I guess I'll wait for Todd 1 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #8 – February 12, 2023, 01:14:04 pm Hi Linda and Sue; After reviewing your comments I will have to assume there was something wrong with the new meter you received. I'd try another one. I don't know how long Amazons' return window is. If the second one shows the same symptoms, I'd return them both. You'll be forced to get the Onan panel replacement one. I damaged my Onan start switch trying to pull off the red power terminal. The entire pin pulled out of the switch. The replacement panel was in the $100's, but I found a switch for $17, just the switch itself. Here is a different brand of meter that might fit from Grainger: https://www.grainger.com/product/ENM-Hour-Meter-5-to-28V-DC-2PAR6?opr=PDPRRDSP&analytics=dsrrItems_2PAR5 Possibly made in USA. Again it has to have a battery, but no mention of lifetime. Even if you get the 'Runlife" to work, or a replacement, you will still have the limited lifetime of the replacement battery. I plan to buy one to experiment on, to see if I can come up with an external battery, easy to replace once every 5-10 years. Other people will have this problem in the future. A picture of your installation constraints would help. Didn't lazy Daze move all of this away from the vent hood, or is this part of the generator control panel. Since this meter really isn't an operating control it could be replaced with a deeper mechanical meter and just be located nearby. A picture of my controls, but plenty of depth for my 'old fashioned' mechanical hour meter, (and deep electronic BalMar energy management meter) RonB
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #9 – February 14, 2023, 11:08:44 am Just got word from Todd, who got the information from Steve Diffenbacher, a 2021 TK owner. (thanks Steve if you're on this board) The meter and "convenience board" is from American Technology Components (formerly KIB). They are in Elkhart IN. Phone number 800-238-2687. Part number for the meter is METHRT44F65A $15+shipping and 2.5% for cc use.Oh, and when testing the leads to the meter, there will be no juice unless the generator is running. Linda 4 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #10 – February 14, 2023, 04:00:45 pm Hi Linda; Thanks for that feedback on the meter. $100 or so for that meter sounds a bit steep for me. Is there any expectation that it will last for more than 3-5 years, typical life of a Li battery? You could just hook the new meter up to 12VDC long enough to run it up to the hours you have on the generator, so it would be correct. RonB
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #11 – February 19, 2023, 08:23:22 am Quote from: RonB - February 14, 2023, 04:00:45 pm Is there any expectation that it will last for more than 3-5 years, typical life of a Li battery? You could just hook the new meter up to 12VDC long enough to run it up to the hours you have on the generator, so it would be correct. RonBI'm not sure on the life. From Steve's Facebook post, it doesn't have a battery; it has a capacitor that is charged when the generator is running.I do plan on hooking the meter to 12v to set it to approximately the right time.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #12 – March 17, 2023, 03:34:06 pm Thanks to Steve Diffenbacher for the info regarding ordering a replacement hours meter. The back looks slightly different but works just fine.The original meter did start working again but I replaced it anyway because it’s a $15.00 part and it seems that it’s beginning to fail.I’ve attached the invoice which has the contact info for the company, and a photo of the two meters.Hope this helps anyone who may need a replacement.Our LD is a 2021, Mid Bath model. 2 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #13 – March 19, 2023, 10:20:37 am Thanks for the update on your project, Sue. Did you “run up” the hours, as suggested by RonB, so that the meter reflects actual use? Or, will you perhaps simply note in your records the hours at time of replacement?-W 1 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #14 – March 19, 2023, 04:43:46 pm Not Sue, but I got the same meter to replace mine. I hooked it up to a 12v battery for 30 hours to run it up to where it should be.
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #15 – March 21, 2023, 09:03:20 pm I didn’t know that I could run up the hours! I had planned to document the replacement date and keep a photo of the original meter showing the hours. Now I know! I’ll definitely try to run up the hours. I suppose I’ll look to Youtube for how to go about that. 1 Likes
Re: Hours Meter for Generator Reply #16 – March 22, 2023, 02:46:57 am Hi Sue; You just need to hook up the meter to the 12Vdc. from the house battery, for the number of hours you want to put back on the new meter. When you reach that number you just hook the meter back up the way it was originally to the generator. Looking at the input, you could also just hook it up to a 9 volt battery. It doesn't take much current, just time. RonB 1 Likes
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