I thought I could fix my clock

scotricker · 11-17-2009, 05:54 PM

I got another one for the car, but then I thought this would make a cool desk clock if i could make it go. Well, it still doesn't.

I opened it up and it all looks fine. I sprayed it out with contact cleaner and then got my compressor going and blasted all that cleaner out of it.

hooked it up to 12V and it just sits there and stares back at me.

heck-dang-it it doesn't go.

what should I do next?

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

Put it in a box and forget about it.

LakeCleElum · 11-17-2009, 07:15 PM

Clock, sorry, I misunderstood........Movin' on

GaryR · GaryR's Garage

Send it to N. Hollywood Speedo and have it converted to quartz and fixed!

JohnJL · 11-17-2009, 07:40 PM

What is your 12v source?

Evans, Marv · 11-17-2009, 08:15 PM

Don't know what kind/year of clock you have, but I fixed the clock for my car. It's the old type that rewinds periodically. There are contacts inside that I soldered together that act as a sort of fuse. Than I put a 3 amp fuse inline. It's been a long time, so I can't remember the particulars but you can probably dig up the info if you keep at it. Good luck.

c0metdot · c0metdot's Garage

Fixed mine.

New type.

Nothing to lose, so I cracked it open.

Heated up the soldering iron and remelted some paths on the PCB.

Not sure why, but it works fine now.

Pelican Technical Article: VDO Clock Repair

Pelican Technical Article: VDO Clock Repair...

T77911S · 11-18-2009, 04:08 AM

bad solder joints are a common fix. clean everything well and look at the solder joints. you are looking for little cracks, sometimes they look like a little circle around the joint or pin. also look for joints that are a different color, usually more dull than the rest. if you cant find anything, hit them with the iron anyway, you may get lucky.
consumer electronics seem to be more prone to this than other stuff, perhaps they are trying to save money and the solder is not as good.

sc_rufctr · 11-18-2009, 04:17 AM

I tried fixing mine... now I have a blanking plate in my dash.

T77911S · 11-18-2009, 04:25 AM

i may be wrong, but i think there is a switch in the AFM that opens when there is no air coming into the engine that shuts off the FP.

racer_X · racer_X's Garage

The white hand on my clock doesn't move- is this the second hand or a "marking" hand?

mholbrook38 · mholbrook38's Garage

The white hand is a marking hand. Kind of wonder how the motor is doing at 7000+ rpm, 120 in 4th gear and about 2 bar of oil pressure. ?????

crusty73 · crusty73's Garage

Do a search. I repaired mine with a $1.79 capacitor from Radio Shack.

happy repairs..

T77911S · 11-18-2009, 08:46 AM

155 MPH? one hand and taking a picture? turbo?

racer_X · racer_X's Garage

It's a bone stock stock 2.7 with photoshop installed.

Paulporsche · 11-18-2009, 02:07 PM

racer_x,

Try bdriving down King's Highway @ that speed!

T77911S · 11-19-2009, 03:31 AM

good job with the photo shop.

fredheiler · 02-19-2012, 04:48 AM

I fixed my clock, thanks in part to some good tips on this site. Someone pointed out that the earlier clock with a white plastic case can be opened up easily, which I did. Mine looked good inside (no blown fuse, no broken solder joint, no cruddy gears), but the rewind contact points looked burned and pitted (just like old ignition points). My points file was too big, but a super-hard tip from my Dremel operated by hand worked great.

I haven't seen bad contact points mentioned on this site, so I hope this helps other 356 owners.

By the way, the 356 clock is like a fine, old wind-up watch, except the mainspring is rewound every time the electrical contacts close (they presumably power a magnetic coil, which turns the mainspring a bit).

I tested my cleaned-up clock by setting in the trunk and connecting it to the battery with test wires and alligator clips. It ran well, and I was able to fine-tune the fast-slow adjustment before putting it back in the dash.