Digital Fuel-Hour Meter Stopped Working

[TMen]

A couple weeks ago I went out to mow my grass and during so I noticed my digital fuel-hour meter not showing the usual complete info that it should have been showing... hours were un-readable broken lines, no fuel showing at all.
For an S170 that was purchased new in April '22 with likely... as I recall 20 + hours showing, THIS is unacceptable poor quality of components! My 170 gets used sparingly as I also have my late fathers' 20 year old L118 to mow and bag with... and the digital gauge on it STILL reads and has since new!
I wrote an email to JD Customer Service explaining my situation along with my frustration of the machine getting used so little and the gauge giving up so early in its' life.... A day or so later I received a reply from a customer service representative assigning me a case number and acknowledging my situation and apologizing to my frustration... then also mentioning that.... "the meter is designed to last the LIFETIME of the machine".......well in my case IT SEEMS NOT!
A day later another reply from JD and another CS rep pertaining to my case # suggested I contact my servicing dealer.... which I promptly did.
After explaining my issue and relaying my case # to their service department, I was told they would investigate my case/claim and call me back when they knew more.
Less than an hour later...I received a call stating JD will NOT replace the meter!!! No further explanation! Flat out NO. Then I was told, "but we have them in stock for $87"....I said No Thanks... I'll do without!
So much for "buying USA assembled quality" .... with crap components from WHO knows where? that do not last.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The 100 series is basically a junk mower to sell at Walmart & Lowes
Americans have this weird mental attitude that no price can ever rise so the factories just keep making the mowers cheaper and cheaper to keep the ticket price to a level that Joe Public will pay.
IT is as simple as that
I still use the 1966 Rover Rancher II that I bought used in 2000 off a market gardener complete with out front slasher to mow under fence lines and pressure pump he used weekly to spray crops with.
It came with the original purchase receipt of $ 750 .
Back in 66 the minimum basic wage was $ 75 / weeks he paid 10 weeks wages for it .
Now in 2024 a similar mower package would be $ 1750 but the minimum basic wage is $ 825 / week so just a touch over 2 weeks wages
What sort of quality should you expect from 2 weeks wages ?
Dad bought his first petrol walk behind mower in 1960 and he paid it off over 4 years
My sister still has it and her neighbour mows the grassed area of 4 blocks of flats ( Apartments to americans ) .
I get mowers in for repair that are just over a year old that the owners paid 2 days wages for and they got what they paid for, garbage .
But people will never ever learn and keep on buying cheap junk
So while the vast majority of home owners buy junk mowers the factories will continue to make junk mowers
This is why Honda stopped making ride on mowers and then stopped making ride on mower engines because they refused to make junk and junk is all the factories will pay for because junk is all the public will pay for .

 

[StarTech]

And yet we have to try repair this junk. Last year to repair a S100 series here that customer only had 4 months. He decide to melt down all of the front end plastics. He pair over $4000 for the mower and then had to spend another $2300 to get it restored.

All us shops can do is procure the parts and hardware from the source that JD brought the parts from when we can. But yet the customers complain a lot.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

A couple weeks ago I went out to mow my grass and during so I noticed my digital fuel-hour meter not showing the usual complete info that it should have been showing... hours were un-readable broken lines, no fuel showing at all.
For an S170 that was purchased new in April '22 with likely... as I recall 20 + hours showing, THIS is unacceptable poor quality of components! My 170 gets used sparingly as I also have my late fathers' 20 year old L118 to mow and bag with... and the digital gauge on it STILL reads and has since new!
I wrote an email to JD Customer Service explaining my situation along with my frustration of the machine getting used so little and the gauge giving up so early in its' life.... A day or so later I received a reply from a customer service representative assigning me a case number and acknowledging my situation and apologizing to my frustration... then also mentioning that.... "the meter is designed to last the LIFETIME of the machine".......well in my case IT SEEMS NOT!
A day later another reply from JD and another CS rep pertaining to my case # suggested I contact my servicing dealer.... which I promptly did.
After explaining my issue and relaying my case # to their service department, I was told they would investigate my case/claim and call me back when they knew more.
Less than an hour later...I received a call stating JD will NOT replace the meter!!! No further explanation! Flat out NO. Then I was told, "but we have them in stock for $87"....I said No Thanks... I'll do without!
So much for "buying USA assembled quality" .... with crap components from WHO knows where? that do not last.

Buy an aftermarket hour meter online, hook it up to battery to correspond with current number of hours on machine, and install. It is a big box store John Deere. I doubt the hour meter will be your only issue.

 

[GrumpyCat]

Buy an aftermarket hour meter online, hook it up to battery to correspond with current number of hours on machine, and install. It is a big box store John Deere. I doubt the hour meter will be your only issue.

Not only that but the quality of non-replaceable battery hour meters from China is spotty. They have hundreds of manufacturers of the lithium cells used, buy by cost, and have little quality control.

You have nothing to lose by trying to cut your hour meter open to replace the battery.

Dozens of functional replacements on Amazon. Some start counting when a DC signal is applied. Some wrap a wire around the spark plug wire to know when the engine is running. Am guessing yours uses a DC signal either from the ignition switch or the low oil safety cutout switch.

Some meters on Amazon have replaceable batteries. And others use no battery at all, the display is off when the meter is not running. And if you really want a Cave Man solution there are good old fashioned mechanical hour meters. No battery, display on 24/7.

In the $25 price range you have a lot of choices. May even find one that fits the exact same opening as the original.