Dash clock not working

iceblade10

Hello everyone, 

The family 1954 Hornet was recently passed down to me.  I am younger and not terribly mechanical.  As such, I am trying to figure out all the little gremlins and nuances of this car, so this will probably be one of many posts :-)

The electric dash clock is not currently working.  My uncle states that he took it out had it professionally refurbished within recent years and it worked for 1 season, then stopped again.  He didn't feel like messing with it again.

Presumably, the problem is electrical.  Maybe the contacts are dirty?  Is there a quick and easy first troubleshooting step I should take?  Is there a fuse specifically for the clock?  If so, where is it located?

I crawled around near the pedals and looked up behind the dashboard, at it looks like a pain to try to remove the clock.  I feel like I need to be a sideshow contortionist to even be able to reach the screws I would need to remove.  LOL...

Any tips for dash/clock removal on this car?  

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

Steve

Jon B

Hi, Steve:

Once you get it out, the clock should be that difficult to check.  Though, if you're not particularly mechanical, you might want to do this in the presence of someone who is.  Inside the clock there are (as you have guessed) points, which close when the clock's winding spring has run down.  When the points close, an electromagnet causes an arm to rotate, thus re-winding the clock for another 4-5 minutes of operation.  And yes, the point do get burned.  Once you get the cover off the back of the clock (the part with the winding gizmo) you'll see the layout.

Here's an article on fixing a Borg clock (in this case a 12-volt; yours is a 6-volt but otherwise, the same construction).   http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/restoration/restoration-tips/putting_the_ticktock_back_in_your_old_car_clock

Here's a tutorial on YouTube but I haven't previewed them so can't tell you how accurate they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_o7LcrThJ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyHFaNxmn3g

If you should need to replace parts, be aware that most of the clocks of this era were made by the same company, and you can even exchange parts from the clocks on one manufacturer's cars, to another; the "guts" of my Terraplane clock come from a Buick of the same time period.

Glowplug

The 54 clock can be accessed via the top of the dash. Remove the speaker grill, speaker and using a light source you will See the screws (4) that hold the clock to the instrument cluster. Before removal, check that 6 volts is present at the power input wire. The power can become isolated due to corrosion on the connection points. Also the wire cover may break down and expose bare sections to metal which shorts the power and hopefully blows a fuse before starting a fire. Look measure and repair.

Glowplug

Picture of the clock from behind the dash.   The yellow arrows point to the screws which hold the clock to the insturment cluster and the red arrow points to the input power which should be 6 volts. The clock power is fused and it recieves it's power from the "B" termnal of the light swtich circuit breaker.

Glowplug

The light switch circuit breaker connection is noted by the yellow arrow.   The red arrow shows what happens when the headlights draw too much current... the push connection terminal burns through the backalite backing plate on the switch.  A perfect example of why relays to pass the high current are a better solution and creates brighter headlights.

iceblade10

Thanks for the info Jon and Oldfarmer!

I'm glad to hear that I can access the clock from the top rather than the bottom!

Those pictures/videos are fantastic and exactly what I needed, as I am a novice and a "visual learner."  :-)

Steve

Lee ODell

Very helpful information. Thank you. Lee O'Dell

iceblade10

So, I finally had some time this weekend to tinker a bit, and decided to take off the speaker grille to access the clock.  However, it was pretty much impossible for me to reach the clock from the speaker opening.  MAYBE if the radio was completely gone, and the hole was on the left side...  Unless the configuration shown in my picture isn't stock?  That's a possibility, because I know my uncle had the radio worked on in the 90s at some point... maybe it was modified.  Or am I just missing something?

Jon B

I don't own a '54, but is it possible that the entire meter pod can be removed and pulled out (from the front) from the dashboard, making rear access -- and removal of the clock -- much easier?

First (I assume) one would want to reach up and disconnect the speedo cable.  Then, it appears that a series of hex nuts (2 of which appear in the first photo down from the top) hold threaded studs from the pod, to the dashboard.  One would think that -- using one of those screwdriver-type socket wrenches and reaching up from behind the dash -- a person could find the nuts with his fingers, slip the socket over them, and then unscrew each one. Then, the entire pod could be pulled away from the dash and tilted down, revealing what's on the back.

Of course, one would want to disconnect the battery first!

As I say, I'm not a '54 owner.  My 1937 dashboard is infinitely easier to access!  But if I were Mr. Hudson and I was going to stuff all that instrumentation into a little housing that's attached to the dashboard, I would FIRST put the instruments into it, and THEN bolt the whole thing to the dash.  Just seems to make sense.

iceblade10

Thank you Ken, I will try that.  Might need some yoga courses beforehand, but we'll see how it goes!