Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Mercury Discussion / 51 merc Dash Clock

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: 51 merc Dash Clock

Tracker

02-06-2010 @ 9:05 AM

reply profile send p.m.

New Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Oct 2009

The clock stopped working...the fuse is good and the test light is showing power all the way to the clock.
I do not want to remove the entire dash to take it out but I read on here some time back someone with a similar problem had sprayed the clock with a solvent of some kind to loosen up the original oils these clocks had when assembled.

Any suggestions on this fix would be much appreciated. Thanks & regards

deluxe40

02-06-2010 @ 9:30 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 413
Joined: Oct 2009

There might not be any more you can do without removing the clock from the dash. I haven't worked on a '51 Merc, but you can get the clock out of a '51 Ford by first removing the radio. Once the clock is removed, you might be able to free it up with some ammonia-based clock cleaner or, as I have done a few times, some spray-can brake cleaner (be careful not to get any on the dial or hands.) Then wash with dish soap and hot water and blow dry (gently). To lubricate, I use MMO or Mobil 1. Don't put any oil directly on the gear teeth - just a dot on the face of each gear - it will spread. After cleaning and oiling, I sometimes I hang the clock over my workbench and start it by spinning the escapement each time I walk by. The clocks seem to run longer and longer each time until they keep going on their own.

If the Merc clock is like some of the '49-'50 Ford clocks I have worked on, it is driven by a spring that is electrically wound when it runs down and points close. If so, the battery in the car needs to be charged fully. A problem with cars that aren't driven frequently is that the battery runs down to the point where the clock won't rewind, but current still flows through the winding coils which can burn them up. Hopefully, this isn't the case with your clock.

supereal

02-06-2010 @ 12:36 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009

Electrically wound clocks depend on good contact points. These clocks rewind often, usually after about 5 minutes, and the points develop burned spots, interfering with energizing the "kicker" coil. If you spray anything into the clock, you will make the problem worse. Remove the back of the clock and, using a fine point file, dress the point surfaces. If necessary, adjust the contacts by carefully bending the arm. We have also found broken coil wires. They are very fine, and subject to damage. If you want to lube the clock, using a very fine instrument oil, dab a tiny bit on the pivot points with a toothpick. Car clocks are getting very expensive, if you can find them at all. I bought one on eBay last year for over $250, and still had to fix it to make it wind!

TomO

02-08-2010 @ 6:18 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 7243
Joined: Oct 2009

First you need to check if the clock is wound. You have to remove it from it's case to see this.

You need to be very careful when working on the clock. There are small springs that can be damaged when any force is applied to them and there may be small leaf springs that can be lost when trying to operate the clock by hand. To prevent loss of small parts, I suggest that you spread a large white cloth in your work area and do all of your work over this. I would also recommend an artists paint tray, to organize any parts that you remove. This is a tray with 4-6 compartments for mixing water colors. They are usually white in color.

Once you have it out of the dash board, open the case and observe the contacts. If they are open, or your clock starts running when you move it, it was probably wound and needs cleaning.

If the points are closed, hook the clock up to 6 volts and ground the case. The clock should wind. If it does not, try cleaning the contacts with a contact burnishing blade. This is a small blade coated with very fine diamond dust. Do not use sand paper or emery cloth. They will remove all of the silver or tungsten coating. You can spray contact cleaner with lubricant on the contacts and use a piece of cardboard to clean the contacts also.

The contact cleaner will not harm the movement and I have used it to get clocks working. The contact cleaner and burnishing blade can be purchased at Radio Shack.

Tom

Tracker

02-08-2010 @ 1:06 PM

reply profile send p.m.

New Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Oct 2009

Thanks to everyone who took time to respond to this request for help. I know nothing about the subject but I am following the recommendations offered here and will post a follow up when finished. Thanks again for the valuable info.

Tracker

Tracker

02-09-2010 @ 3:53 PM

reply profile send p.m.

New Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Oct 2009

I am glad someone mentioned that the clock may start running after its removal from the dash.I thought I had entered the twilight zone after spending 1/2 day standing on my head getting it out and then it started running again.

I took it to a local watchmaker for repairs. He agreed the clock had been wound but the electrical contact points were frozen and may have to be replaced.

Again, my personal thanks to every one who provided invaluable info on this subject. The most knowlegable people I know of contribute to this forum and always render great advice on how to for novices like me.

Tracker

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions