Clock Not Working

[Steffan]

Can anyone tell me if there is any posting showing and explaining how to repair the clock in a 60 T.
I pulled mine out of the dash, split the case and everything looks clean. If I hook up power and ground the clock I can watch what looks to be a set of breakers fire and spin. On the bottom of this is a pin that looks like it should move something, maybe a gear, but it is not hooked into anything. I have tried moving the gears by hand but nothing will spin, maybe this is caused by the ratio between the gears, not sure.

[YellowRose]

Clock Not Working

Hi Steffan, check the Technical Resource Library (TRL) link under my signature element. The information regarding clocks is there, under Interior and Dash. Hopefully, that information will help you troubleshoot the problem. Mine was not working and I had it quartzed by the Bird Nest. It has worked fine ever since.

[JohnG]

The clock has a set of electrical contact points that need to be carefully cleaned and polished so they can conduct electricity.

Beyond that, there are many brass bushings that have not seen lubrication in 52 years and could use some light machine oil such as for a sewing machine (not WD40).

You can set up a test place with a 12V car battery and some little jumpers and see if you can then get it going. It took me a week of stopping and starting before I got one to run reliably; then some more time to get it to the right speed (which is ingeniously ajusted by the clock each time you either move it ahead or back).

[Dakota Boy]

This is what I used to oil my clock:




You can get it at bicycle shops. The needle point was great for getting into all those hard-to-reach spots on the clock.

[Jimz Bird]

Great tip - this is why I read EVERYTHING. Other uses perhaps speedo or tach cable, door handles and locks and no doubt more.

7 bucks at Amazon since I am ordering other stuff also.

Thanks!!!

[Steffan]

Clock Not Working

I have checked the power with small jumpers to the positive and a ground off the case to the negative of the battery. The points fire, you can see the spark as they open and close. I can observe the gears moving but the second hand just bounces about 1/16" back and forth. Also it is very noisey, almost sounds like a miniature jack hammer.

[Dakota Boy]

might be time for the quartz conversion on that unit then.

[lawyercalif]

Or if you are not a stickler for originality, you could do what I did and put a Tach in place of the clock and use your wristwatch for time.

might be time for the quartz conversion on that unit then.

[Guest]

Now that looks good. nice job. tester's model paint has a red that match's the needles almost perfect for the speedo needle. what gauges did you use?

[jopizz]

I never worried about a working clock because I never leave my battery cable connected. I'd have to reset it all the time. I wonder how hard it would be to modify one to use with an AA battery mechanism like a standard wall clock. I'm sure you could wire an external battery holder so it would be easy to change. I have an extra clock laying around. Maybe I'll try it.

[lawyercalif]

Those are Classic Gauges I bought on Ebay. Thanks for the hint on the speedometer needle paint. However, if I have any problems with the speedometer working on the new C6 transmission I am installing, I will then get a Classic electric speedometer to replace it.

Now that looks good. nice job. tester's model paint has a red that match's the needles almost perfect for the speedo needle. what gauges did you use?

[Guest]

Thanks they look perfect in there

[Guest]

Hey Daniel,
I love what you done to your instrument cluster!
Richard D. Hord

[JohnG]

in case you did not locate it, the article on clock repair is at:

http://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/clock_repair.pdf

I got out an extra clock I have that I managed to get to work about 5 years ago. When I first applied power, there was a loud, racheting sort of sound from the electromaget and it's contact points. After about 15-20 seconds, that ceased and the second hand began to move. I let it run for a couple minutes and disconnected it. It continued to run for about a minute or more. I think this means that the electromagnet is essentially winding a spring with the clock running off of that spring like an old pocket watch. The electromagnet then provides tension as needed. (all this is being written by a rank amateur and should be treated accordingly).

If you had the racheting sound, that is a good sign.

Make sure and test with a real 12V battery, not a charger.

There is a copper tab on the edge - it tends to provide a better ground than the mounting tabs. Since the current flow is pretty low, good connections are important.

[lawyercalif]

Now that looks good. nice job. tester's model paint has a red that match's the needles almost perfect for the speedo needle. what gauges did you use?

Thanks for the tip on the Testors paint. I bought some today and it matched the other gauge needles perfectly.