obsessing about something small

[gerard vaglio]

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.

[Rich Lambert]

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.

[Teutonics]

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.

[gerard vaglio]

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.

[Adman]

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.