Just an FYI message for anyone interested

As most of us have had to deal with over the years, the dash clock in my '71 did not work. I took it to a local clock repair guy and for $30 it's as good as new. He is a little old guy who seemed genuinely happy to be working on one of these. He told me that he hadn't worked on one in years.

We got to talking and I mentioned how these clocks always seemed to break after a few years. He said that it was the car's fault. He says that the vibrations in older cars would throw off the delicate balance in the gears and cogs in these old style clocks.

I thought that that was an interesting tidbit of info that made allot of sense and figured that I would pass it on.

 

Good to hear that you got your clock working. I need to do the same for my 71 98.

 

Great news, Would you be able to send me his name & #. I have many people that ask about this kind of repair. Thanks !!!

 

Thats really cool you found him!

 

The store is called "Golden Renaissance Jewelers" . Here is their link.

Southern Maryland's Premier Repair Shop & Bridal Jewelry Retailer | Golden Renaissance

 

Thanks much Chip !!!

 

I believe the issue with the mechanical clocks is the contacts that energize the magnet that winds the clock. The contacts either get dirty, or the stick closed and burn up the coil. Either way, the magnet doesn’t energize, the magnets don’t wind the clock, and they stop.

Cleaning the contacts can sometimes bring a dead clock back to life.

 

Chip,

The price is fabulous. Do you know if he'll accept the clocks by UPS/FedEx/USPS.

Thanks in advance.

 

One problem is the reach exceeded the grasp. The self correcting clocks were a nice idea, but were not robust enough for the application.

 

Great to hear you found someone local. I searched and was basically laughed at when I asked. Ultimately ended up watching enough youtube videos and took it apart myself, did a minor repair with cleaning and boom! It's great to have it working. That "thump" noise is just cool to hear lol.

 

No idea. You'd have to call to find out.