obsessing about something small
 

Over the past ten years I’ve repaired a lot of things on my 79sc and I like to work backwards from very important (to me) to just mildly annoying.

So, I am now fixated on the clock.

The clock doesn’t work. Unless I hit a big bump. Then my clock and my glove compartment light start working at the same time. The clock will keep perfect time for weeks, until I hit a big bump, then it and the glove compartment light won’t work for a few weeks. Until I hit a big bump again.

I’ve had the clock tested, it’s fine, the connections to the clock are fine and I can’t find anything under the dash that’s loose. I’ve prodded, poked and jiggled everything, repeatedly as well as many times and often, no luck.

So today, I tried to bypass the problem by running a wire from the fuse box directly to the clock but that didn’t work? Why? What did I do wrong? I admit, electrical problems always stump me.

So how do I wire the clock directly to bypass the loose connection I’ll never find and is this a reasonable solution?

Obviously this is an urgent matter of life and death so any advice would be appreciated.

If the clock is currently in 'not working' mode, find out whether the pos. or neg. circuit is intermittent (dead) using a circuit tester or multimeter. That will cut your troubleshooting in half. Hope for a ground failure as the wires probably terminate close to the clock/glove box and will be much easier to find. A schematic is invaluable for tracing down problems like this.

If you know you had power with the wire from the fusebox, then the problem should be the ground.

Try running a wire from the negative terminal on the battery to the clock ground. If the clock starts working you know you have a ground problem.

thanks
 

You guys were right on the money. The ground seems to have been the problem.

My clock is now working and reliable for the first time in a long time which is nice because I find that I actually use it while I'm driving. It's easier to glance at the dash mounted clock then to look at my watch because I don't have to take my eyes off the road for as long. So it's good to have it working but I also feel it's safer.

Thanks for the help.

Congrats on the clock repair. The clocks are so huge that I also refer to mine when I want to know the time. I am wearing a watch and the radio also has the time but it is so...in your face convenient. Its the first vehicle with a clock that I have ever used.:)