69 dash clock repair

[BillG]

Is there any way to repair one of these myself.  Its out of the car now and, I'd rather have the original than a repro.  Any help is appreciated.  Bill

[Kelley W King]

I have opened them up and oiled the parts and got one to work but it is a big maybe. There are guys that install new parts for reasonable cost. The one in my 64 vette was done years ago and keeps perfect time. I would do that before the repop route.

[69Z28-RS]

I repaired mine a few years ago... mostly a little light lubrication and points cleaning does it.  All the GM clocks for a bunch of years from 50's thru the 70's used a spring-driven mechanical operation with periodic 'reloading of the spring' via an electric solenoid. 

[camaronut]

Depends on the condition of the internals.  If the gears inside are gummed up, you'll have to take the unit apart (carefully w/o breaking the hour / min / sec / faceplate) and let it soak in naphtha over night and blow it out very lightly.  After that, burnish the contacts on the rebound / wind-up spring mechanism then apply 12V to it and see if it works.

After all that and it doesn't work, Id throw in the towel and either look for another clock or get a repro, which looks spot on, but the second hand motion is smooth rather than stopping at every second.

Good luck.

[69Z28-RS]

There's also quartz conversions to retain the orig clock housing/face/looks, but eliminates the mechanics and greatly minimized the current required as from Instrument Services, etc...

http://www.whitegauges.net/products/1969-Chevrolet-Camaro-Quartz-Conversion-Clock-Repair-Kit.html

I'm not sure if these are available for both the clocks ??  Does anyone know?

[70z28lt1]

There are electrical contact points in them that wear out.  Basically, it is spring driven mechanism that re-winds itself automatically every two or three minutes.  As the spring unwinds, the electrical contacts come together and this fires a solenoid that re-winds the mechanism.  What kills them is when the battery has a low voltage.  If it drops below around 12 volts or so it doesn't provide enough power to re-wind and the contacts just sit and arc burn.  This is a good reason to always unhook the battery when the car is sitting for any length of time.  There is also a mod to add a xener diode to the circuit to protect it.
I have replaced the contact points with sterling silver contact points that are used on tattoo machines:
http://www.spaulding-rogers.com/tattoo-supplies/tattoo/1059.html

I took a dental drill (a Dremel will work too) and carefully machined away the old contacts and then used a high conductivity adhesive  like this: MG Chemicals 8331-14G 2-part Silver Conductive Epoxy Adhesive, High Conductivity
to glue the new contacts in place.  A little cleaning and lubing and it works like brand new and the contacts should last a long time and you will have the satisfaction of restoring your clock.  The quartz movements just don't look right in a 60's car in my opinion.

Here's a decent Youtube video showing the inside:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyHFaNxmn3g

Kind of hokey to use the RCA cable end.  The SS contacts are made for this type of application.

[KurtS]

I've done several. Every one that I've done, the spring was stretched. Take off the stretched end and make a new eye on the spring. Light lube helps too.

[BillG]

An update:  Starting with the simplest, I lubed the unit lightly and, made the spring a bit tighter as Kurt suggested and its Working!  Benn working continuously since last night.  Thank all of you for the suggestions.  I think its a keeper!