hour meter accuracy???

[Steve B]

Has anyone ever checked the accuracy of the hour meter on their motor? or has anyone felt it might be ticking over a bit quick?

i bought a brand new motor and it has 17.2 hours on it. I did some calculation regarding the time I have spent on the water Vs time on the hour meter. I am sure it is less than the hour meter!. That doesn't include being on the water with the motor off!!. ( I assume the speed/revs of motor doesn't affect hour meter..or does it?)

I cant tell exactly what the time difference is as I have only just noticed it. Next time I go out I will clock it properly.

Has anyone else thought about this too! or am I getting paranoid or losing the plot!!

cheers steve

[Noelm]

nope, an hour meter is just that, whenever the key is on, the hour meter ticks over, you can run at full throttle or idle, it still shows in hours, I once fitted one to my boat and wired it up wrong, put over two weeks of hours on it without leaving the driveway.

[Roughasguts]

Yep I checked out several, in the VDO brand all one hour for one hour watch time.
The reason why i'm sure is that's how I got paid for actual Aircraft running time.

Boy did I get ripped off.

[SgBFish]

Steve you are not paranoid, they are out to get you and me!

[Steve B]

I figured it would only tick over in actual time while engine was running. Maybe when the wife accuses me of spending too much time fishing..she might be right!!...for a change!

[Greg P]

Depends how it is wired in

[trueblue]

have you left the ignition on at all when the engine was not running?

[Steve B]

Trublu,

I am positive that i haven't left the ignition on, but it could be something to keep in mind. It was wired up before I bought it.

I will do proper test against a watch after Easter to confirm one way or another.

[gone_fishing]

most hour meters are wired into the ignition system so when the key is on the meter is ticking
they are only a guilde really cause there not had to swap out with a new one
so personally they are a personal guide to work out how your boats going but id never trust one when it comes time to buy a boat depending if you trust the seller rather empty the sea with a spoon than trust a hour meter

[Oog.]

Hi Steve, i have recently bought another boat and the hour meter was fogging up so the dealer has sent me another, so i am manually adding some hours tonight to cacth up, so i will let you know how it compares against the real clock.
Hope this helps, Ross

[Steve B]

Thanks fellas for the advice. I spose if you took it to the dealer and they put it on the computer it would give an exact amount of running hours. Good to know, especially when buying second hand motors. The meter may have been replaced and the owner may have accidently forgot to add a few hours!!

Ross, Thanks mate, that would be good to know how you get on.

all the best

[Cloud_9]

only if the motors an etec for the computer hours buddy.
Cloud 9.
its only a guide for serviceing.
who gives a shite if its to the minite!

[Roughasguts]

Well there not accurate to the minute, most tick over 1/10 of an hour so go up every 6 minutes. And yep leave the ignition on and they clock over.

But the best gauge to avoid all the short falls is the Tacho, hour meter.
They read full hours at cruise rev's so idling burns up the hours at a lower rate.

[Oog.]

Hi Steve, well after 12 hours of meter running against the real time for 12 hours the meter was approx 20 to 30 seconds slower. The meter used is a Teleflex .
So in my case that means it is about 3.5 minutes out every 100hrs, close enough for me.
regards
Ross

[Chine]

Has anyone ever checked the accuracy of the hour meter on their motor? or has anyone felt it might be ticking over a bit quick?

i bought a brand new motor and it has 17.2 hours on it. I did some calculation regarding the time I have spent on the water Vs time on the hour meter. I am sure it is less than the hour meter!. That doesn't include being on the water with the motor off!!. ( I assume the speed/revs of motor doesn't affect hour meter..or does it?)

I cant tell exactly what the time difference is as I have only just noticed it. Next time I go out I will clock it properly.

Has anyone else thought about this too! or am I getting paranoid or losing the plot!!

cheers steve

Hello Steve,

I have a four stroke Suzuki which is an amazing engine married to a very agricultural hour meter........the tachometer. From 500~1000 RPM represents 50~100 hours (for around 3 secs) when the ignition is switched on. From 0~50 hours....there is no indication. 50 hours is indicated by a quick flick to 500 RPM.......p.ick of a system.

So to answer your first question, there is very little opportunity for calibration. Which reminds me.....I am due for a service.

The other option is to disregard the hour meter, wire the GPS into the ignition and use it to log the hours.

No you are not paranoid!

Cheers

Chine