How to Hook Up an Hour Meter on a Small Gas Wood Splitter Motor

A wood splitter uses a small four-stroke gas engine to power a hydraulic pump, which powers the wood-splitting ram. The engine's ignition system does not rely on a 12-volt battery; therefore, adding a typical hour meter that relies on a 12-volt ignition system is impossible. Fortunately, there are self-powered hour meters containing an internal battery. These hour meters use an inductive pickup to sense actual engine operation. Adding an hour meter to a wood splitter helps you determine when maintenance is necessary. An hour meter also helps you generate an accurate bill for a rented splitter.

Denatured alcohol
Rag
Drill bit set
Drill
Box wrench set
Wire ties
Electrical tape

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a suitable hour meter mounting location. Position the meter away from the hot exhaust and muffler. Do not drill-mount the meter on the gas tank, engine crankcase or any other surface where drilling a mounting hole could cause damage.
- 2
  Mount the meter by using the supplied screws or double-sided tape. Use the mounting hole template when you drill for a screw mount. Use the drill bit size recommended by the manufacturer. Clean the mounting surface with denatured alcohol and a rag if you will use double-sided tape.
- 3
  Route the inductive pickup wire from the hour meter to the spark plug wire. Keep the wire away from the muffler, exhaust and belts.
- 4
  Wrap the inductive wire tightly around the spark plug wire. Take three to four turns around the spark plug wire.
- 5
  Loosen an engine bolt with a box wrench. Place the hour meter's ground wire under the bolt and retighten the bolt.
- 6
  Secure the inductive pickup and ground wires from the hour meter to the existing wire harness. Use either electrical ties or electrical tape.

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