Quartz Clock Question

scottevest

scottevest

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
2,017
Reaction score
616
Location
Ketchum, Idaho
I replaced my non-working clock as a part of my mini-restoration with a working clock @Gary Knox was kind enough to sell me. Initially, it didn't keep good time, and I believe it had something to do with the power supply and my alternator issues. But then, it kept perfect time until recently. Now, it keeps perfect time for most of the day, then it loses about 15 minutes or so. I am trying to figure out if the issue occurs at one time of the day when the hands may get stuck, but I don't think that is it. I have a new battery. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Happy July 4th!
 
Video tape at real time with a working clock next to it for 24 hours.
Playback at fast forward
 
Sounds to me like there's a bug in the works, literally. To fix that you'd have to get it apart and use a spray cleaner. I'd do it if it were mine, but it might (again) take 15 years to get around to it.
 
Scott,

If I remember correctly, there was an issue with the clock keeping accurate time last fall. After doing some investigation you found that there was a problem with some of the wiring related to the clock getting 12V consistently. There 'might' be a problem with some wire having an occasional short that reduces the voltage (or a ground wire that is not fully 'grounded').

If the clock seems to stop working at random times, I'd think the problem might be in consistent supply of 12V or adequate grounding. If it always stops at the same time (e.g. 12 minutes after 4), to me that would indicate a problem within the clock.

Again - I'm not a quartz clock guru, so follow suggestions from those who are!

Gary-
 
Gary Knox said:
Scott,

If I remember correctly, there was an issue with the clock keeping accurate time last fall. After doing some investigation you found that there was a problem with some of the wiring related to the clock getting 12V consistently. There 'might' be a problem with some wire having an occasional short that reduces the voltage (or a ground wire that is not fully 'grounded').

If the clock seems to stop working at random times, I'd think the problem might be in consistent supply of 12V or adequate grounding. If it always stops at the same time (e.g. 12 minutes after 4), to me that would indicate a problem within the clock.

Again - I'm not a quartz clock guru, so follow suggestions from those who are!

Gary-
Click to expand...
You are correct. Just seems odd that the problem with voltage appeared to have gone away and clock running fine for awhile, then just starts losing about 10min or so a day, but can't find a pattern. Not a big deal. Thanks!
 
If I recall, the quartz clocks have an adjustment screw at the back for the gain and loss of time.
 
Are you sure? Could it be that it slowly looses 10 mins over 24 hrs..... would be hard to notice other than when compared to the actual time. For it to suddenly loose 10 mins can only happen if the power to the clock is temporarily cut and then resume again..... sounds odd.
 
Keshav said:
Are you sure? Could it be that it slowly looses 10 mins over 24 hrs..... would be hard to notice other than when compared to the actual time. For it to suddenly loose 10 mins can only happen if the power to the clock is temporarily cut and then resume again..... sounds odd.
Click to expand...
My point exactly. Yes. It is odd. For 10 hours keeps perfect time, but then loses 10 minutes and starts again. I was trying to isolate when it stops, but have not been able to do so.
 
If you want to get the time and length of the stops, use sfdon's suggestion (or hire a college student to sit in the car and do nothing but look at the clock for 24 hours and compare the clocks time with his Apple Watch every 5 minutes, and record any and all 'stoppage time' (like a Soccer referee).. OF Course, then it probably would NOT stop, as a "watched clock never boils" or something like that!! - ha).

Gary
 
Magically, this morning, the time is now correct. The same thing happen with my old Porsche 911. It seems that the clock got stuck on a certain time due to friction of some sort and it just loosened up and was fine after a while. We shall see if it continues or not.
 
Here is what I did a while back and it doesn't loose a second. This is about a Speedo and a the Clock, keep that in mind:

Some feedback for all of you thinking of sending your Speedo to North Hollywood Speedo or your Bavaria clock. I was having reservations after I heard there were new owners etc. and some people had some bad experiences. I heard some good ones too so I eventually gave it a shot after trying to repair both with a friend and it didn't work out as planned.

I am happy to report, both turned out great and turn around time was minimal. It was not cheap, but within reason (I guess). The Speedo needed parts, so it cost $138.75 + $46.25 "assorted parts" (that's all they said). So $185.00 speedo. Clock they do not repair anymore, but they will put a quartz back on it. I wanted that anyways, supposedly they come out of a Porsche 993 and that explains the cost. For all I know it came out of a VW. But I will say this, it runs like a charm. Right on the money. This was the hard part - $288.75 plus $96.25 for Parts = $385.00. Shipping $21.74 + 12.47 Sales tax.......Total bill: $604.21 ouch...... but all done. Checked speedo with Waze App and various radar speed traps around town and seems to be working great. I love having the clock work like a charm, it's the little things sometimes that make this all worth it. I have no affiliation with NHS at all, just an onsite e9coupe.com Yelp review...LOL Oh, and be very careful replacing the clock, don't force it in, it can be tricky, have some patience and it will get back in place.
 
Gary Knox said:
Scott,

A basic question: When it stops, does it stop at the same time? That is a key piece of information - in my opinion - to identifying the cause.

Gary
Click to expand...

No, stops at different times on different days, and restarts. completely inconsistent. So today, even after more than 24 hours, the time is CORRECT NOW, but if I check tomorrow or later today, 50/50 chance time is right or wrong. No consistency. I just get in the habit of checking the time whenever I get in the car, resetting it then and hoping for the best.

I had an issue with my porsche 911 (964) that resolved itself.

I tried winding it around a few times hoping to losen it up.

just odd
 
My theory is that our mechanical clocks are doomed by design because the key axial bearing mechanisms are not jewel mounted and are rather metal against metal configurations. I know this because I opened two of these (but fixed one).

If I had to calibrate one of these for long term accuracy I would make a very clean audio recording of the tick-tock periodicty over 24 hours, and then time compress it say using music processing software, and then run it against a frequency counter in a scope. One of my favorite engineer interview questions is how can you tell how close two clocks are by just using an oscilloscope. If you synch on one you do not see the other (because they are asynchrounous to each other) and it jumps all over the place. I cannot tell you the answer because then all candidates would know...
I am sure Jay Mackro knows the answer, I may have to hire him.
 
The craziness continues. Oddly, after not driving the car for a few days, I got in the car and was SHOCKED to see the time was accurate. Then, after driving it, it became inaccurate the next time I checked. So, I am guessing it has something to do with the power source when driving not being constant, or when starting, or something. But recently I have noticed that when the clock stops it is making noises as if it is stuck. I then set to correct time until it happens again.

Not a big deal. I will just unplug it and look at my watch. I was just hoping having replaced it, it could work.
 
scottevest said:
The craziness continues. Oddly, after not driving the car for a few days, I got in the car and was SHOCKED to see the time was accurate. Then, after driving it, it became inaccurate the next time I checked. So, I am guessing it has something to do with the power source when driving not being constant, or when starting, or something. But recently I have noticed that when the clock stops it is making noises as if it is stuck. I then set to correct time until it happens again.

Not a big deal. I will just unplug it and look at my watch. I was just hoping having replaced it, it could work.
Click to expand...

It is great that you're in your car enough to notice how your clock is working and you appear to actually rely on it. My battery is disconnected enough between drives, and I get stalled on projects which require the car to sit for a month or so at a time, so I assume it is wrong and never look at it. I aspire to have enough issues sorted and drive my car enough that the clock bothers me!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top