Solenoid "Odometer"
The counter shown with a solenoid for size comparison
I like to think of the counter as an odometer for the
solenoid and motor on your lure machine or winch. It is in fact, a
mechanical counter that is connected to the solenoid and it counts the number of
times that the solenoid is activated...each time you hit the button, it flips
over one number. I can just imagine the "so whats" coming from the people
reading this...so I'll explain the reason that this is important.
The Injoy solenoids are rated at 60,000 actuations (expected
life), soooo, when you get to around a 50,000 count, you can change the solenoid
and avoid a breakdown or locked solenoid at your field trial. This is
called preventive maintenance orrrr, you can go for the "solenoid actuation
world record" and wait for the solenoid to fail before replacing...it's your
choice. Another condition that can happen, with a solenoid near the end of
its useful life, is that the motor will start heating up prematurely because of
the resistance caused by the worn electrical contacts in the solenoid.
Also, the brushes in the Ford starter motor last around +/- 120,000 solenoid
actuations.
The counter is easy to install. There are two wires...one
wire needs to be connected to a ground...the mounting bolts for the solenoid on
the lure machine works good or the mounting bolts for the motor. The
second wire needs to be connected to the small (#10) terminal on the
solenoid...the same terminal to which the switch is connected. It
does not matter which wire is connected to the ground or the #10 solenoid
terminal.