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Beta marine control panel


Dignity

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40 minutes ago, Dignity said:

Hi folks could anyone tell me how to wire in a stand alone engine hour meter from a AB control panel. The built in VDO is dead. 

There’s a couple of ways of doing it, either using the ignition switch (which doesn’t guarantee that the engine is running) or the oil pressure switch. The former is much easier though, so just connect the positive feed for the hour counter to the AC terminal on the ignition switch. And ground / negative to a convenient ground point, eg terminal 86 on the relay (if you have a dual alternator engine).

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1 hour ago, Tonka said:

So why not change the rev counter

Ferzackerly (ignoring the avvoidance of cost of a Beta replacement). A separate instrument needs cutting a hole for the device, or a messy arrangement of wires and 'sticking plaster /bodge' for the counter.

Do it right, do it once...

 

My AB panel is 20 years plus old and the rev meter and counter still works perfic - soo could it be a wiring problem if both are dead??

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1 minute ago, OldGoat said:

Ferzackerly (ignoring the avvoidance of cost of a Beta replacement). A separate instrument needs cutting a hole for the device, or a messy arrangement of wires and 'sticking plaster /bodge' for the counter.

Do it right, do it once...

 

My AB panel is 20 years plus old and the rev meter and counter still works perfic - soo could it be a wiring problem if both are dead??

 

I bet its not, I also bet your hour counter is a mechanical one like an old car's mileage indicator. I think it the dreaded LCD screen failure that seem to be an ongoing thing with LCD hour counters,  especially when outside.

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It is indeed a LCD screen, rev counter works fine. Damp has killed the LCD. I will be tackling the water ingress from the hatch first. Replacing the whole unit would be expensive compared to a new counter, I don't consider it a bodge solution just a sensible one seeing as the rev counter works.

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2 minutes ago, Dignity said:

It is indeed a LCD screen, rev counter works fine. Damp has killed the LCD. I will be tackling the water ingress from the hatch first. Replacing the whole unit would be expensive compared to a new counter, I don't consider it a bodge solution just a sensible one seeing as the rev counter works.

 

I agree with that but try to avoid an LCD one.

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30 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I bet its not, I also bet your hour counter is a mechanical one like an old car's mileage indicator. I think it the dreaded LCD screen failure that seem to be an ongoing thing with LCD hour counters,  especially when outside.

I'm obliged, m'lud..

The OP wrote 'AB panel' and  I assumed rightly or wrongly - 'AB' = a Beta panel  (though come to think of it their panels' rev counter and hour counter were in the same instrument.

Quite often posters info:   is clear to thyem and assume there's an industry standard - which there isn't / arnt....

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19 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

I'm obliged, m'lud..

The OP wrote 'AB panel' and  I assumed rightly or wrongly - 'AB' = a Beta panel  (though come to think of it their panels' rev counter and hour counter were in the same instrument.

Quite often posters info:   is clear to thyem and assume there's an industry standard - which there isn't / arnt....

 

Oh, so right. I wish that when it is not clear and clarification is asked for it is given, without having to drag it out of them

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I tried my best guys, I went on the Beta Marine site to get the correct panel, which is the same as in the picture, I'm sure it was an AB code, I'll post pics up next time, people like pictures. I basically want to know what engine hours are on this engine as its new to me. I've been back in forum search history and read up as much as I can too. 

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1 hour ago, Dignity said:

  I basically want to know what engine hours are on this engine as its new to me. I've been back in forum search history and read up as much as I can too. 

If you dry it out it may light up and tell you, they often keep counting but not displaying I am told

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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

If you dry it out it may light up and tell you, they often keep counting but not displaying I am told

 

This ^^^^.

 

When the one on my first shareboat went blank I took the rev counter out and out it in the airing cupboard next to the calorifier for a week. When I put it back into the instrument panel it was working again and had even remembered the number of engine hours it had already counted.

 

Got to be worth a try before buying a new one.

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1 minute ago, cuthound said:

 

This ^^^^.

 

When the one on my first shareboat went blank I took the rev counter out and out it in the airing cupboard next to the calorifier for a week. When I put it back into the instrument panel it was working again and had even remembered the number of engine hours it had already counted.

 

Got to be worth a try before buying a new one.

 

And somewhere on the forum  think there are instructions on how to remove, clan and refit the display ribbon cable who's connection seems to cause the problem, at least in some cases.

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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

If you dry it out it may light up and tell you, they often keep counting but not displaying I am told

 

Mine does that. It is still possible to read it in some light. The OP might try getting up close and personal with a torch.

 

You only need to read the hours meter every so not-very-often: not many people will do an oil change religiously at 250 hours if 260 or 270 hours will be far more convenient!

 

 

 

 

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I replaced my VDO gauge lcd as it was displaying nonsense but still counting. Found a company online, AK speedo, and they supplied the replacement. It was a fiddly but simple operation to remove and replace following their videos.

 

Edited by Paringa
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On 17/10/2021 at 17:24, ditchcrawler said:

If you dry it out it may light up and tell you, they often keep counting but not displaying I am told

Our Beta hour counter stopped reading about 6 or 7 years ago - but I keep a log. Three weeks ago it suddenly came back to life and in the sun I could make out the reading. I was 61 hours out over all that time, which I thought was pretty good.

 

I was told by an RCR engineer that damp kills these things - and that if it was mounted in the insulated bulkhead forward of the helm position, it would continue to work.

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7 minutes ago, Jim Batty said:

Our Beta hour counter stopped reading about 6 or 7 years ago - but I keep a log. Three weeks ago it suddenly came back to life and in the sun I could make out the reading. I was 61 hours out over all that time, which I thought was pretty good.

 

I was told by an RCR engineer that damp kills these things - and that if it was mounted in the insulated bulkhead forward of the helm position, it would continue to work.

So why do firms use these gauges if they are not fit for use in a marine environment

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1 hour ago, Tonka said:

So why do firms use these gauges if they are not fit for use in a marine environment

Or why do boat fitters put them in locations they are not designed for. Why do you need an hour counter and tachometer outside on the deck? 

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