- 7685–A Corporate Blvd. Plain City, OH 43064, USA
- 166 Benjamin Hudon Montreal, QC, Canada H4N 1H8
- +1 614 873 8995
Titan Enterprises manufactures over 70,000 flowmeters annually, serving a diverse range of industries, processes, and applications. As a result, troubleshooting is a common necessity, especially for customers unfamiliar with Titan’s flow metering products.
Most flowmeters with a pulse output operate using a rotating element with internal magnets. These magnets activate a solid-state sensor, generating a pulse output proportional to the liquid flow rate. While all Titan flowmeters come with detailed documentation and instructions, installation errors—such as incorrect wiring—can damage the meter before it is even put into use.
In this guide, we outline common reasons for sensor failures and share best practices to help prevent damage, minimizing costly repairs and process downtime.
Titan’s pulse precision flow measurement devices typically incorporate high-quality Hall effect sensors, designed to operate within a voltage range of 4.0Vdc to 30Vdc. However, despite an installer’s best efforts, certain issues can still cause Turbine and Oval Gear flow meters to fail—even when they appear to be correctly installed.
Exceeding the maximum 30Vdc to the Hall Effect sensor will damage the unit. A good quality regulated DC power supply is recommended for powering a pulse flow meter.
Other connected equipment containing inductors (coils), or electromagnetic components (such as solenoid valves or pumps) can produce high voltage spikes when switching. These spikes can be a hundred to thousands of volts and if on the same circuit, will damage the flowmeter sensor beyond repair.
Care must be taken when wiring the sensor power supply and pulse output of the flowmeter. The sensor is unable to cope with incorrect wiring – reverse polarity or short circuiting can cause the sensor to fail suddenly, completely and permanently.
Electrical interference can occur even without direct contact if cables are routed near high-power equipment.
A common failure scenario involves a solenoid valve operating on the same power supply as the flowmeter. When the solenoid de-energizes within 1ms, it generates a voltage spike of several hundred volts. Some of this spike can transfer to the sensor, briefly exceeding its 30Vdc maximum limit and causing sensor failure.
Most flowmeter damage occurs during installation, where even minor errors can render the meter non-operational before use, leading to costly repairs, replacements, and unnecessary downtime. To help prevent these issues, customers should follow the detailed data sheets and instruction manuals provided with every Titan flowmeter, which are also available for download on our website. Additionally, we offer installation tutorial videos to guide users and prevent mis-wiring that could damage the units.
The following installation checklist can help prevent common causes of pulse flow meter sensor failure:
Ensure polarity is correct and pull up resistors are fitted correctly before powering the flow measurement unit. Refer to the installation tutorial videos for support if necessary.
Always use a reputable regulated power supply to ensure the correct voltage is supplied to the meter.
Operating on a lower voltage gives headroom for any unavoidable voltage fluctuations and improves resilience to smaller voltage spikes.
The sensor power supply should not be shared with any equipment containing solenoids, motors or transformers that give any significant inductive load.
Install wiring away from high power cables and avoid switching equipment where possible to prevent interference.
If the above practices are not possible and external interference is a possibility, fit an inline DC EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) filter or a local voltage regulator.
This can help to control any unavoidable voltage spike to an acceptable level.
Please click a button below to download one of our data sheets. Alternatively, you can contact us if you have any questions.
