diff --git a/can/packer.cc b/can/packer.cc
index bf0237e956..d8f9dcb82b 100644
--- a/can/packer.cc
+++ b/can/packer.cc
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ std::vector<uint8_t> CANPacker::pack(uint32_t address, const std::vector<SignalP
     }
     set_value(ret, sig, ival);
 
-    counter_set = counter_set || (sigval.name == "COUNTER");
-    if (counter_set) {
+    if (sigval.name == "COUNTER") {
       counters[address] = sigval.value;
+      counter_set = true;
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/can/tests/test_packer_parser.py b/can/tests/test_packer_parser.py
index 8c3653a220..79f24ec5aa 100755
--- a/can/tests/test_packer_parser.py
+++ b/can/tests/test_packer_parser.py
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ def test_packer_counter(self):
       cnt = random.randint(0, 255)
       msg = packer.make_can_msg("CAN_FD_MESSAGE", 0, {
         "COUNTER": cnt,
+        "SIGNED": 0
       })
       dat = can_list_to_can_capnp([msg, ])
       parser.update_strings([dat])