Engine hours meter reset question

[jobey]

I have an 06 Chevy 1500 2wd w/t truck and the engine hours are 800 something and my miles are 124k. Now I’m not a math wizard but unless the previous owner was driving that thing at an average 120+ everywhere they went, which I’ve only been able to get it up to just under 100, so I kinda doubt it, I’d say somehow the hour meter got reset. Is it possible that the engine was replaced by the factory? Maybe warranty issue or something? Is there a way to find out? Any help would be appreciated. I love the truck and plan on keeping it going as long as I can. I figure if I get 300k out of it I’ll be doing pretty good and I think it’s very possible. I had to park my 96 after putting about 170k or so on it over 4 years. It has 350k on it now and still ran good but some issue came up that I couldn’t figure out which forced me to park it and I’m gonna put an 84 corvette drivetrain under it cause I got it for a steal. Anyway. Looking forward to hearing from someone who can help with my questions

 

[4silverado]

Welcome to the forum. You’ve come to the right place with your questions. I’m sure one of the members here should be able to help out.

 

[stutaeng]

I'm pretty sure the mileage (and engine hours) are stored in the cluster itself. Maybe the cluster was replaced?

In earlier years they hadvstfpper motor issues, and later on they've developed parasitic drains due to lead free solder breaking down.

I actually had a cluster programmed to mileage and VIN last year for my 04 suburban. I didn't check what they put for engine hours, although I can't remember if that was even on the form for specifics.

 

[Tonimus]

I believe the hours ARE stored in the cluster, but are in volatile memory like fuel mileage is. My truck has fewer hours shown than physically possible.

 

[ORVietVet]

Welcome to the forum, from Oregon.

I do not think you can reset hours or mileage, unless the cluster is done at an accredited shop?

 

[jobey]

So with that being said are the miles stored in the vehicles on board computer then? If so that’s the only thing that would make sense. It still seems odd that the hours are stored in the cluster but the miles are in the computer. My main thought was maybe the engine got replaced by a dealer at some point and they reset the hours. Either way, I really appreciate all the help from everybody that commented.

 

[AuroraGirl]

you need a IPC without any miles or hours in it in order to program it. which im not sure how one "resets" the IPC or if its possible , it wouldnt be a factory method. maybe people who hack and know their way around modules and EEPROM and PROM can figure out how

 

[AuroraGirl]

 

[JorgeS]

The engine hours resets itself every once in a while. I think mine has reset 2 or 3 times in the 3 years I've had it, maybe more than 3, I don't really pay any attention to it any more. I did some research the first time I noticed it had reset, and found information that others had experienced the same thing.
Since nothing important is based on engine hours, it seems to be a complete non-issue.

 

[AuroraGirl]

The engine hours resets itself every once in a while. I think mine has reset 2 or 3 times in the 3 years I've had it, maybe more than 3, I don't really pay any attention to it any more. I did some research the first time I noticed it had reset, and found information that others had experienced the same thing.
Since nothing important is based on engine hours, it seems to be a complete non-issue.

It maxes out at a value I’d assume

 

[JorgeS]

It maxes out at a value I’d assume

I think there's just a bug that goes active for some reason, and it resets at, seemingly, random times. I say "seemingly" because there's probably something(s) that triggers the reset, but I haven't really tried to figure it out.
Mine reset a few weeks after I bought it, then again, and it seems to have been stable for a long time.

 

[jfmorris]

This thread caught my eye, as I have had the engine hours mysteriously reset itself on my 2006 Silverado 1500 WT.

The hours were up around 800 when I first got the truck, in 2014 with 90k miles on it, and at some point it reset to 0, after being somewhere between 1000 and 2000. I cannot say if I had worked on the truck, or had the battery disconnected when it happened though, as I typically leave the dash set to the odometer, and not the engine hours. I just know I am now back up to 800 or so again. Currently sitting around 137k miles.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Since nothing important is based on engine hours, it seems to be a complete non-issue.

Spit take. The engine hours being unreliable forces it to become a non-issue.
A reliable measurement of engine hours is as important as the odometer, possibly moreso.

 

[jfmorris]

Spit take. The engine hours being unreliable forces it to become a non-issue.
A reliable measurement of engine hours is as important as the odometer, possibly moreso.

It certainly was when I owned a boat. And for airplane owners.

 

[JorgeS]

Spit take. The engine hours being unreliable forces it to become a non-issue.
A reliable measurement of engine hours is as important as the odometer, possibly moreso.

Agree completely. Reason for my statement is that we don't have a reasonable miles/hours recommendation for PM.
Our old, I mean vintage, motorhome has a 1990 Caterpillar 3208T. PM recommendations are on engine hours, and the engine book has a table to convert to miles.
I added an hour meter and use it for maintenance intervals.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Agree completely. Reason for my statement is that we don't have a reasonable miles/hours recommendation for PM.
Our old, I mean vintage, motorhome has a 1990 Caterpillar 3208T. PM recommendations are on engine hours, and the engine book has a table to convert to miles.
I added an hour meter and use it for maintenance intervals.

PTO use would be good to have hours

 

[JorgeS]

No PTO, but I've been known to start it and let it run for 20+ minutes at high idle in the winter, when I don't want to take it out to "exercise" it because of salt or ice. I try to run it at least every 6 weeks or less.