Clock Overhaul

[gingerbeer62]

Just finished overhauling my clock that kept stopping. Nice clock. Actually mechanical with an electric impulse winder. Very fixable after I finally worked out what to do.
If anyone is interested in repairing/overhauling theirs then this is what worked for me.
There is a screw under the woodwork and then pull the clock out.
The hardest part is getting the bezel off. You have to work it around with a screwdriver or similar to open it up a bit to get it off the clock body.
After that it is obvious - three nuts on the back.
I have put a video on line if anyone is trying to fix their clock. It may help.
www.hands-on-illustrations.co.uk/Downloads/Vids/Clock.mp4
I found that a good clean with Brake and Clutch cleaner did the cleaning part. Try not to get it on the clock face, it may be bad for the paint.
You then have to clean the electrical contacts up with a very fine wet and dry type paper.
Then, on running it, I found it was not working well and kept stopping. So, I mixed some wd40 with a few drops of oil and lubed the bits and pivots. You may have some clock oil. See the video for more details.
Ran it overnight and it was still working in the morning. Woo Hoo.
Cleaned the Brass Bezel up and lacquered it. Looks very nice.
Keeping good time after adjusting the speed on the back of the clock.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
Colin

[Steve P5b]

Pioneering work Colin, very interesting.Great to see what's happening inside, and such a wonderful piece of mechanical wizardry used way back then. Thank you for posting .

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2015 20:23:30 GMT Steve P5b said:

Pioneering work Colin, very interesting.Great to see what's happening inside, and such a wonderful piece of mechanical wizardry used way back then. Thank you for posting .

West Germany I think and supplied to many "upmarket" cars at the time. The clock rewinds about every 2/3 minutes and mine's still going strong after 45 years.

Perhaps the electro-mechanical idea was to save a constant drain on the battery as it seems a bit over-engineered otherwise.

[Phil Nottingham]

They were more reliable than the Smiths CE used in the 1950's and early Mk1 P5's - the clunk and ticking of the W German  Keinzle/VDO/Motometer version is much more appealing too

[johnwp5bcoupe]

Colin the Pinion gears should not be lubed or the Wheels "only" the Pivots, the Escape wheel should have a tiny drop of oil on one or two teeth and again only a tiny drop of oil on the Fork, NO oil on the Hairspring other wise dirt will build up and it will stick, I understand you didn't have any Clock Oil but WD40 and ? oil after a while will go sticky so not the best thing to use.

But well done anyway

[gingerbeer62]

Apr 22, 2015 11:06:01 GMT johnwp5bcoupe said:

Colin the Pinion gears should not be lubed or the Wheels "only" the Pivots, the Escape wheel should have a tiny drop of oil on one or two teeth and again only a tiny drop of oil on the Fork, NO oil on the Hairspring other wise dirt will build up and it will stick, I understand you didn't have any Clock Oil but WD40 and ? oil after a while will go sticky so not the best thing to use.

But well done anyway

I did lube the pivots only to start with but found it ran better and smoother by oiling the fork and faster rotating gears as well. Didn't do the "slow" gears.
WD 40 and oil - well I am sure that clock oil may be better, but I only want my clock to last another 40 years and if it goes a bit sticky and starts to lose time I can always do it again starting with a good blast of the cleaner.
I agree, no oil on the hair spring.
I think the most important bit is cleaning the contacts as you can see the "shrapnel" from the points over the side of the winder before I cleaned it in the video. 40 years plus is a long time for contacts I suppose.
Thanks for the interest and hope it helps some members.
Cheers
Colin

[johnwp5bcoupe]

I just pointing out the correct way to oil the clock Colin for anyone following in your footsteps cheap Oilers can be bought Fleabay with a reasonable oil for a few ££'s.

All the heavy pivots should be oiled as well as there is greater loads on them, there would have been different grades of oil used, one of the reason these clocks have lasted is because of the oils used in the first place, plus the fact that "they are" well made! a lot of the old oils were not mineral based and would be frowned on today

I still repair the occasional clock and build them when I get "time" years ago I repaired clocks and watches for a couple of shops for "very little" money! it helped to pay the bills when I was first married

I found it interesting Colin

[Deleted]

Apr 22, 2015 13:36:51 GMT johnwp5bcoupe said:

I just pointing out the correct way to oil the clock Colin for anyone following in your footsteps cheap Oilers can be bought Fleabay with a reasonable oil for a few ££'s.

All the heavy pivots should be oiled as well as there is greater loads on them, there would have been different grades of oil used, one of the reason these clocks have lasted is because of the oils used in the first place, plus the fact that "they are" well made! a lot of the old oils were not mineral based and would be frowned on today

I still repair the occasional clock and build them when I get "time" years ago I repaired clocks and watches for a couple of shops for "very little" money! it helped to pay the bills when I was first married

I found it interesting Colin

Interesting subject and as I'm waiting around for some post to arrive I did some research about clock oils on the net. Clock oils are designed to stay in the same place rather than spread so even using thin Singer Sewing Machine oil in a clock wouldn't be the best way to go.
Also,I now know that it would be a mistake to use EP80 diff oil in a clock 

These beautifully made Kienzle clocks are very sought after and I sold a non-working one a while back on Fleabay for a lot more than I thought it would fetch.

[barryr]

I worked for Kienzle - fascinating company! From cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest!

[Simon H]

At risk of venturing off topic (there is a P5 indicator lens in the shot) my 83 year old father is an apprentice trained watch / clock maker. He still likes to keep his hand in, this is a job he is on with at the moment :

[johnwp5bcoupe]

Long may he continue to keep his hand in Simon he can probably close his eyes and do that movement

[djm16]

Two comments,
first wire a diode directly across the solenoid (can be a LED), it will stop the arcing which shortens the lifetime of the mvt.
Second, include an inline 1A fuse if there is not aready one installed.

[Welsh Warlock]

I decided to try and sort my clock as it's been sat on my bench now for a couple of years and how hard can it be

My elder brother repaired it a few years ago and it turned out that the only issue was the contacts had burned so he tidied them up and all was well for a few years then it stopped again.

I managed to get the face off and remove the internal and again clean up the electric contacts but it still won't wind.

If I manually wind it, the clock will run just fine.

I have put a meter on the positive wire to check it wasn't broken as far as the screw on which it is connected and it appears fine but I can't see what else to test (Electronics not my strong point).

The resistor appears to be 100 Ohm from the colour (brown, black,brown, silver) but when I put the meter on it set in the 200 ohm range it seems to read "00.8". Not sure if that could be the issue?

Anything else I can check as I can't seem to find anything else on continuity after the wire enters the screw at the back and don't want to dismantle any further than I have to lest I can't reassemble.

Any advice gratefully received.