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Why would anyone change the engine hour gauge on a Universal engine?

ofshore74

Member III
Or on any engine for that matter? Previous owner of an E34 I'm looking at replaced the engine hour gauge on the 23hp Universal, current owner/broker put their heads together to see what it added up to. Apparently comes to around 1500hrs. But it doesn't sound like an extremely accurate story. Probably because it isn't. A 30 year old engine with a vague number of engine hours makes me somewhat apprehensive. Will see the boat in person sometime soon and hopefully get more of the story.
 
Last edited:

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
They are notoriously bad in marine use

On older boats, they are notorious for going bad in the marine environments. I check most of them I find, and run less than 50 50 on them working after 10 years.

Most of them are not well sealed, and being little electic clocks, I think that they just gum up inside with either moisture, or they evaporate their lube, or ??? They are not very reliable. Also several engine manufactures placed the custom hour meter in the control panel and if the panel is changed out, there goes the hour meter. (Perkins is known for this).

Guy
:)
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
No worries. Unless the boat has motored around the world, the engine hours are bound to be in some range, none of which is guaranteed accurate. For example, maybe the official Hobbs meter broke in 1996 and wasn't replaced until 2003. Usually the busted Hobbs meter is saved to show the next guy.

More important are service records, just to show somebody was paying attention to the oil and zincs.

My current boat had a new hour meter. This thinking relaxed doubts.
 

ofshore74

Member III
On older boats, they are notorious for going bad in the marine environments. I check most of them I find, and run less than 50 50 on them working after 10 years.

Most of them are not well sealed, and being little electric clocks, I think that they just gum up inside with either moisture, or they evaporate their lube, or ??? They are not very reliable. Also several engine manufactures placed the custom hour meter in the control panel and if the panel is changed out, there goes the hour meter. (Perkins is known for this).

Guy
:)

Thanks Guy, this is good to know I appreciate the insight.
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
Thanks that does relax doubts. Requesting all of the above from the broker including whether they kept the original Hobbs meter, thanks Christian.

There is no evidence that an hour meter ever existed on my boat. I have one to install, but have not done it yet.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
My hour meter is linked to the fuel pump circuit. It only goes on when the ignition is turned on and off when it is turned off.

Grandpa Bob
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
My hour meter is linked to the fuel pump circuit. It only goes on when the ignition is turned on and off when it is turned off.

Grandpa Bob

Thanks Bob. Since there is a already volt meter in the dc distribution panel, I think I will replace the disconnected ammeter in the engine panel with an hour meter, and connect it to the ignition key switch.
 

woolamaloo

Member III
My boat did not have one originally. I gained one when I replaced the control panel. However, I almost never read the hours on the current gauge. It's so low to the deck that I'd literally have to get down on my knees to read it. I always plan to get a reading before and after every cruise and at the beginning and end of every season. I have not remembered to do it a single time.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
There is no evidence that an hour meter ever existed on my boat. I have one to install, but have not done it yet.

That's unusual but not unheard of, IMHO. Our '88 boat always had an hour meter installed on the side of the engine compartment, and wired to the adjacent wiring for the Facet electric fuel (lift) pump. Seems logical to me. The wiring for the engine fire bottle went there also.
I did have to sister the DC wire to the engine panel to bypass the original circuit thru the "dreaded trailer plug" however, when I found that the lift pump was only seeing about 11 volts.
In a past thread here I have the pix of a terminal strip installed in back of the meter for this area.
Reply #2 in this thread:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?3404-Fuel-Pump-Problems

Regards,

Loren
 
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