How does the clock work?

[k]

Mine has stopped.

I am going to sne to PA Speedo for repair.

Does it draw power from the battery or wind mechanically?

Will this drain my battery? Or can i safely use a cut-off switch & reset manually?

Thanks!

[ja17]

Hello K,
These clocks are both electric and mechanical. A electical solenoid winds a spring about every 12 minutes which runs the clock. There is a fusable link in these clocks which blows an puts them out of action. They can easily be re-linked with solder. The question is what caused it to blow in the first place. Usually the clock works needs a good cleaning.
There have been many descriptions posted on clock repair over the years. If you cannot search one up let me know and I will dig up one for you.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[mdsalemi]

There is a great article written some years ago by Jim Mahaffey entitled "Clocks of the W113 Era" about the clock in our cars.  They are truly complex little devices!  You can find the article here:

http://113.mbz.org/hints/clocks.htm

However, after reading it, and if you are sending yours to Palo Alto, they will offer to convert the clock to quartz.  I did this, and the advantages are:

1)  You will NEVER have a problem with the clock again, period.
2)  It will ALWAYS be accurate.
3)  Only YOU and Palo Alto will know for sure...you can't tell!

BTW I sent ALL my instrumentation back to Palo Alto as part of the restore; it all came back looking BRAND NEW, better-then-showroom condition.  Great guys to deal with in my experience.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Quartz converted clock

Mike Salemi

[Mike Hughes]

My clock seems to runs well and quietly.  The only problem is that it runs a bit slow, loosing around 15 minutes per week.  Assuming that it is an original clock and not a quartz conversion is there any fine adjustment available on these units?  I would just as soon not tear apart the glove box and dash if there is no point.  The world will not come to an end if I just have to continue to reset it occasionally!

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[erickmarciano]

for  Michael Salemi , will you lose points since your clock does not tick?
for Mike : there is a brass color screw at the back with + and - that is for the adjustment . you can remove the clock from the radio hole

1971 280sl
1962 VW
1954 Allstate vespa
1958 gs150 vespa
1962 gs160 vespa

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by erickmarciano

for  Michael Salemi , will you lose points since your clock does not tick?

The judges don't generally listen for a clock ticking, and I'm not sure the original one ticked anyway.  Some later units I've seen are labeled quartz anyway.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[erickmarciano]

my late 280sl is not quartz

1971 280sl
1962 VW
1954 Allstate vespa
1958 gs150 vespa
1962 gs160 vespa

[hauser]

Just spoke to someone at Hollywood Speedometer about this.  I've decided to have mine switched to a quartz.  It will have the same face but will have a Porche clock.

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[Cees Klumper]

I bought a quartz clock with the same external appearance as the original (except for the word "quartz") and it's perfectly accurate of course. I do miss the occasional * click * from the old mechanical/electrical clock which, some day, I will have repaired.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[gugel]

quote:Originally posted by Mike Hughes

My clock seems to runs well and quietly.  The only problem is that it runs a bit slow, loosing around 15 minutes per week.  Assuming that it is an original clock and not a quartz conversion is there any fine adjustment available on these units?  I would just as soon not tear apart the glove box and dash if there is no point.  The world will not come to an end if I just have to continue to reset it occasionally!

There is an adjustment screw on the back of the clock.  To get to it you have to remove the glove compartment and take out the clock.  Make very small adjustments at first, and leave the glove compartment out until the adjustment is correct -- it will take a lot of tries!

Chris Earnest

[Dick M]

I just had my clock rebuilt at Jacobs Clock Co. in Oakland, CA.  He rebuilt it for $85.  It works fine now except I'm going through tedious process of adjusting it for speed.  I'll be driving around with out the glove box for a while...


Dick M
1970 280SL

[Ed Cave]

The clock in my '64 356 used to keep terrible time. It ran and you could set it but a week later it would be off 45 minutes or so. Really frustrating to look at a clock that is, for the most part, always wrong. I found it very irritating.

Switched the 'behind the face' out to quartz and hasn't missed a beat since. Extremely and consistently accurate. A blessing to basically never give it another thought after resetting it most every time I got in the car.

When the question came up with my 280sl restoration it was a no brainer. Quartz. Perfect original look because nothing you see has changed. I love getting in an old car and glancing at the clock with confidence. Think about that for a second - its the kind of thing that makes me smile. There are plenty of other things to deal with besides constantly setting a clock.

Sorry, guys. Long day at the office.


Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA

1964 356C
1971 280SL
2002 SC430
2004 A4 3.0

[rwmastel]

When one is driving their Pagoda, there should be no concern about the time, just enjoy the ride!

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Cees Klumper]

I second Ed's motion - in fact I looked at my clock this morning when the radio announcer said "the time is now 25 minutes to seven" and it was satisfying to see the clock smack-on.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[hands_aus]

The sound of the old electro/mechanical clock rewinding every 2-3 minutes is strangely re-assuring and indicative of the period.
When adjusted correctly the clock keeps accurate time.
It took me about 2-3 days and lots of patience to adjust the little brass screw before I was satisfied.
I removed the clock from the dash and connected it to the car battery.
One point I think is important is that the battery should be getting charged correctly. With low voltage the clock could run slow.



Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto