I am trying to count the number of times the word "HPCR" appears in Column B that appear before the time of 17:58:00 - more precisely before the time displayed in cell F3.

The code below works (It returns the value of 31, which is correct):

=COUNTIFS(Sheet1!$B$1:$B$2000,"HPCR",Sheet1!$A$1:$A$2000,"<17:58:00")
However, I want the time to be able to change based on what appears in cell F3. I have 17:58:00 entered in cell F3.
When I use the code below, it returns an incorrect value of 0. 

=COUNTIFS(Sheet1!$B$1:$B$2000,"HPCR",Sheet1!$A$1:$A$2000,"<($F$3)")
Cell F3 has this function:

=F2+Timing_Sheet!$J$3
This adds a time in F2 to a time entered in Timing_SheetJ3. When these two times are added it gives me 17:58:00 in F3


Any thoughts on how I can get the COUNTIFS formula to acknowledge the value in cell F3?

Thanks!