Dead wattsup meter ?

[Hyena]

Hey guys,
It seems my wattsup meter has died
I powered up my bike today only to find the v2.1 text that appears at startup never went away. I unplugged and replugged it and top row of characters became all blank boxes. I did this a few times an each time the same row of black boxes would appear, ocassionally the firmware screen would appear after a minute or 2, but it'd never display the proper info.

It didnt get wet or dropped or anything, it was working one day and not the next. The max voltage I've put through it is 51v, so well within its rated 60v max.

Anyone got any experience with these devices and any suggestions on how to get it going. I'm guessing its going to end up in the bin, but no harm in checking.

Cheers

 

[Gregory]

Only thing I'd suggest is try powering it through the auxiliary power - connect a battery to the three prong connector.

The bottom pin is NEG, the one above is POS, the top pin is RESET (I think).
With a 9V battery mine displays the V2.1 screen then goes onto the usual display of Amps, V, etc

 

[PaulM]

How long have you had it and where did you get it?

I bought mine from powerwerx.com and it died after a couple months. I emailed them about it not really expecting anything, but they said to send it back and they would replace it. Obviously I still had to pay shipping back and forth but that's still better than buying a new one. I have to commend them for excellent customer service.

 

[Hyena]

Gregory, I tried an external power source, no change.

PaulM, It's only around 3 months old. I got it from an ebay seller but after checking the add it says they come with 1 yr warranty so I'll contact the seller and see what they say. As you say the return postage would be worthwhile.

Interestingly, when I powered up the bike this morning it started working again. For a minute...
It then went back to the firmware version screen for a while, then the normal readings came up, and it went back and forth for the 40 minute ride. Each time I lost the cumulitive data for ah usage etc which is annoying, but it seems to be working in come capacity now. It reset after hitting a large bump at one stage, which makes me wonder if there's something loose inside, although I tried shaking and hitting it yesterday (as you do ) to no avail.

 

[snowcrow]

One more thought, could temperture be causing it? I know mine stops working if it gets too cold, or if I leave it out in the hot summer sun. :?

Blessings, Snow Crow

 

[Hyena]

Suprisingly, today it's back to working perfectly. It worked straight away first go and no bumps or shakes affected it. Curious...

Temperature shouldn't be affecting it - min of 15 degrees C, max of around 30. If anything I'd suspect moisture may be affecting it as my bike lives in my carport which isnt completely sealed from the weather and it did rain the day before. It's rained several times before though and never been a problem (it's never gotten wet). Thats the only other thing I can think of, that it might be humidity related.

Ah well, I'll keep an eye on it and hope that it keeps working!

Thanks for the suggestions guys

 

[monster]

if it brakes again don't bin it. i want the shunt resistor out of one of those.