B7100 Hour Meter Troubleshoot

[Sideofabarn]

The hour meter on my b7100 recently stopped-want to get it working so I can stick to my service intervals. The meter will run if I hook directly to my battery. I hooked up my voltmeter to the wires to the meter and they read 12.14 on my 20 volt DC switch on my voltmeter.

If the meter runs hooked directly to the battery it's good-correct.

I cleaned the bullet terminals and I'm certain the meter is getting 12 volts when connected at the dash.

I have to be missing something-any ideas?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

How exactly are you "hooking it to the battery"?

 

[Sideofabarn]

The original wires out of the meter are long enough that once I disconnected the bullet connectors I could "touch" each terminal on the battery.

The battery reading is 12.14

 

[bmblank]

There is a fuse in that line. Perhaps that is blown.

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[Sideofabarn]

I'm getting 12.14 volts at the output wires (the wires that the meter plugs into) when the key is on.

My next step is to replace the connectors.

I guess I'm trying to verify that hooking the meter directly to the battery is a legitimate test for the meter's operation.

 

[bmblank]

I would think so. I think you're right about replacing the connectors.

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[Sideofabarn]

Replaced the connectors and still did not work-I'm going to order a new hour meter

 

[bmblank]

That's odd that it works on the battery but not where it's connected. Good luck.

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[Jimc3165]

If it works connected to the battery it should work in your circuit I believe you have another issue like a bad fuse or ground.

 

[Sideofabarn]

Jim,

I checked all three fuses behind the dash and cleaned the connectors-all look good.

When you say it has a bad ground is there a way I can check it. This is a dumb question but does the ground come solely off the black wire connected to the dial or does it also ground off where the dial touches the dash.

I agree that I'm missing something. The dial works like a champ when I connect directly to a 12v battery.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bmblank]

When putting in my fuel gauge I had some flaky issues behind the dash. When I pulled my own ground, instead of relying on what was there, it seemed to clear up.

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[Jimc3165]

The hour meter on my b7100 recently stopped-want to get it working so I can stick to my service intervals. The meter will run if I hook directly to my battery. I hooked up my voltmeter to the wires to the meter and they read 12.14 on my 20 volt DC switch on my voltmeter.

If the meter runs hooked directly to the battery it's good-correct.

I cleaned the bullet terminals and I'm certain the meter is getting 12 volts when connected at the dash.

I have to be missing something-any ideas?

According to the wiring diagram it is off the black wire to ground maybe you should run your own ground because if you have good power it has to be ground. When you check for power do you find another ground or do you use the black wire for the ground? Are you using a meter or a test light?

 

[Sideofabarn]

I use a digital voltmeter set to DC "20". The voltmeter shows -12.14 when I hookup to the correct black and red wires coming into the meter.

I use the black wire for the ground. Should I try another ground instead of the black wire?

 

[Jimc3165]

I use a digital voltmeter set to DC "20". The voltmeter shows -12.14 when I hookup to the correct black and red wires coming into the meter.

I use the black wire for the ground. Should I try another ground instead of the black wire?

Well I'm stumped bmblank suggested another ground but if you are using the black wire as ground and reading voltage I'm stumped. The only time I had issues with a bad ground was checking a light and using a different ground than the light and reading voltage but after hours of troubleshooting realized the light was not working because it had no ground. DUH! was a hard lesson for me to learn

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

On hour meter wiring,
VOM black lead on battery negative - and red lead on meter wire ~12V
VOM red lead on battery positive + and black lead on meter back wire ~12V

If both are good then really check the wires and connections carefully as they go into the hour meter, as one is likely bad.

 

[kubotasam]

I use a digital voltmeter set to DC "20". The voltmeter shows -12.14 when I hookup to the correct black and red wires coming into the meter.

I use the black wire for the ground. Should I try another ground instead of the black wire?

Is the meter really displaying "-12.14" or is that just how you typed the post?
-12.14 is indicating a negative voltage reading. Might have been caused by reversing the leads on the multimeter. Could be the battery is hooked up backwards. I don't think the hour meter will work if the battery is connected backwards.

 

[Sideofabarn]

Sorry for the follow up-two doubles at work.

KubotaSam I think you may have hit the nail on the head. My multimeter definitely said "-12.14" when I hooked into the red wire.

I think the battery is in backward!!!!

The negative terminal on the battery is hooked to the starter/generator on the motor. My positive is hooked to what looks like a ground on the metal frame by the steering column.

Is it possible that this thing can run fine with everything but the hour meter working with the battery installed backwards?

I've attached the wiring diagram from my manual for reference.

Please let me know your thoughts. If so, this would explain why the meter worked fine when hooked to the battery but did not work with the polarities reversed.

 

[bmblank]

If the starter were hooked up backwards i'd expect it to spin backwards. It's possible to run the engine backwards, but I'd think you'd notice that.

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[Sideofabarn]

Here is a pic of my battery in the tractor. The left side is the positive terminal of the battery-it's hooked into the frame by the steering column. The right side is the negative terminal of the battery and it hooks into the starter/generator of the motor.

If I'm reading my wiring diagram correct it's backwards. What do you guys think?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yep backwards battery hookup.
it's possible that when you hook it up the opposite and proper direction that the regulator for charging could possibly be fried, it's about the only part on that tractor that cares about the polarity.