by TTait » Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:10 am
The cleaning and lubricating certainly didn't hurt, but it wasn't a dire case as the clock was partially working when I got the car. The clock would run for a minute or two and then stop for a day or two. The problem appeared to be with the points in the clock. They were definitely been arcing- as soon as I pulled the clock out and cleaned them up it stared running OK. I then blew out a bunch of dust, so I cleaned and then re-oiled it to freshen it up.
I realized the points could have simply gotten scored when the battery ran low but I also checked the electrical connections in the car. I got good voltage on the + wire but moderate resistance on the ground wire. I traced out the black wire and found it cut and stripped at the end and laying on top of the heater control, completing ground depending in how the car was being driven. Nice! This was obviously the bigger problem. For those who haven't been through the clock threads, the clocks are actual old school mechanical clocks with gears and springs which are only "wound" electrically once every two minutes or so. The clockwork slowly closes a set of points like in an ignition system, completing the circuit to a small solenoid in the clock which quickly and rather loudly winds the clock enough for another 2 minutes of operation. If the power faulters for a moment in that time the clock doesn't slow down because its mechanical timekeeping.
There's what looks to be several runs of alternate speaker wire down that way as well, mostly unterminated, so I suspect someone found the clock wire and tried to pit it to use while doing a stereo modification, or stole its homerun to ground for a similar project in the early 80s.
I repaired the ground connection obviously. I'm betting that helps reliability. Having ground wires flop around behind the dash looking for bare metal was a technique usually only used by Lucas in British cars I thought?
I just hate bending the pot metal tabs back on the casing without doing my best to trim the speed, they don't have many cycles in them.
I'm hoping the clock will run for a while.
Time will tell...
Or not.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order