Author Topic: Clock Disassembly (Read 6833 times)

Pawel66 · « **on:** October 02, 2021, 20:33:44 »

Perhaps someone has at hand any adivse on how to remove the movement from the clock in one piece (I would not dare to dismantle it plate by plate).

I went through Wiki and through search, there is nothing on "clock repair" or "clock disassmebly", when I put in just clock I got 20 pages of hits.

I am familiar with what is in technical manual. i am familiar with the article from MBZ, familiar with pictures in Pgodentreff.

Certainly I removed the white casing. Checked the points, checked the fuse. I made the clock work. I would just like to clean it and lubricate it. Ideally I would get under the plate that is not seen when the movement is in the clock. I am afraid to hard pull out the adjustment plastic knob to free the hands. And hands seem to hold the movement in the housing.

Is there a safe way to extract the movement in one piece form the housing?

Pawel66 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 03, 2021, 18:05:58 »

One more question on this topic: why can't we use a thermal fuse for the connection that blows so often? There are solutions based on diode and capacitor - ok. But why not thermal fuse rated 110 or 120C? They cost peanuts and are available everywhere.

MikeSimon · « **Reply #2 on:** October 04, 2021, 13:33:32 »

Maybe because a guy with a straw hat and a blue blazer is going to deduct 5 points from a pristine restoration....

Pawel66 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 04, 2021, 15:39:16 »

I see, clear now, have not thought about this one

I will probably give it a try. Should be better than just soldering together...

Found something like this, for 110C and 120C: https://allegro.pl/oferta/bezpiecznik-termiczny-110-c-10a-250vac-ft110-x2szt-9187950546?reco_id=01e372a3-252a-11ec-a0e5-b8ca3a6ab290&sid=0e7a5475e04eefd78184d559df6fb9f87c889ad5ac94196dac75ac99722370c3&bi_s=archiwum_allegro&bi_c=Product&bi_m=reco&

mnahon · « **Reply #4 on:** October 05, 2021, 03:43:44 »

You could try this. Solder with 138C melting point.
https://stellartechnical.com/products/super-low-temp-solder-wire-for-pewter-062

Pawel66 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 09, 2021, 19:20:05 »

I did not manage to rescue the clock glass (or rather plexy).

If anyone fabricated it - please kindly advise how you did it as it looks fairly complex due to the collar for hands adjustment knob.

Or perhaps anyone has one spare in good shape - I can polish the surface if it is not transparent as long as there are no dep scratches.

GM · « **Reply #6 on:** October 09, 2021, 21:06:13 »

Can you polish the existing?
Be aware that the center reset knob is tricky to remove. This is for a Porsche VDO, but I believe it's the same for ours:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/918212-vdo-clock-reset-knob-removal.html
Good luck!

Pawel66 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 09, 2021, 21:21:09 »

Yes, I can and I did polish it with fine polish paste - with very good results.

I removed and re-installed the knob and clutch for hands adjustment, no problem.

But I broke the collar for the knob for hands adjustment

. That is why I am in need of a new plexi or a way to fabricate it.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2021, 09:53:08 »

I got the structure of the plexy wrong last night, took a better look with a magnifying glass and corrected it. I removed the drawing from the previous post and attached the correct one here.

Maybe I figured out how to do it, I will ask a couple of plexy manufacturers. I know for sure I can by the pipe to cut the bushings.

Still, if you have experience with this or if you have a spare plexy - please kindly share.

I have enclosed modified file below with one of the dimensions changed.

GM · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2021, 16:25:06 »

I'd recommend you reach out to Jeffrey Read at Classic Car Clock out of Houston, TX.
He might have spare parts for you.
jeffrey@classiccarclock.com
832-315-9961
http://classiccarclock.com/index.html
Tell him you're from the Pagoda SL Group

Pawel66 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2021, 18:09:10 »

Great lead, thank you, will do!

Pawel66 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 23, 2021, 17:50:32 »

Now I need to put these parts together.

On the second picture - plexi glass drying after being glued. We will see how it works...

Pawel66 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2021, 15:37:19 »

The front is ready. Clock is working.

Now it is time to go back to internals and fit the thermal fuse.

GM · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2021, 17:25:24 »

Well done!

cfm65@me.com · « **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2021, 19:14:23 »

Well done

Pawel66 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2021, 17:03:24 »

Thermal fuse is in place. I will let it work for some time before closing the whole thing.
I lost my multimeter, it fell apart when I was checking power draw of the clock... had it for years...

Leester · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2021, 22:57:11 »

Wow, nice work!

Pawel66 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2021, 16:20:05 »

I have put it back together, working so far, but I do not fully trust, so will watch it ticking for a while.

A couple of observations:
1. The white plastic housing. Very brittle, very fragile. I enlarged slightly the orifices for the holding screws and for the pins. I know they were tight to prevent dust form coming in, but the holes for the screws have collars around them where the nuts are resting - I think it is sealed pretty well. Also: there is a foam pad inside the housing on the upper movement plate - it is sealing the holes for pins. I just preferred to have less stress related to cracking of the plastic housing.
2. It is important to route the wire inside the housing (power for the bulb) through the cut out on the side of the upper movement plate. When I failed to do it, the wire pushed the housing and the housing blocked the movement. The wire needs to go through the cut out that is there.
3. The points are binding when there is not enough voltage or the connection between the two eyes is not fully soldered. Simply - the winding point that is supposed to hit the point on the flywheel does not have enough power to hit it, just touches slightly the point on flywheel causing the increase of current and temperature.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 04, 2021, 17:25:46 »

The solution with thermal fuse was working for several days with no issue. I was not able, however, to confirm if it is a correct solution and, as I do not have technical education, I was not sure if I should leave it there. I decided to go for the recommended solution of diode+capacitor.

And here I have several observations as for the materials we have on this topic: the article and the video. the first attempt I made was as per the video. The diode was fried after 15 minutes of clock working even though I managed to detect a mistake in verbal description of capacitor connection and I made it correctly.

Then I went for the article. I tried to find the pictures associated with the it and I found some on Benz World forum - but I am not sure if they are the actual/original ones. Fig. 6 form the enclosure below shows wrong capacitor, its wrong polarization and a strange soldering point.

The clock has now been working for many hours with the set up proposed in the article, with capacitor positive point soldered as per the video.

I wrapped up my observations in the pdf attached.

H. Keith Henry · « **Reply #19 on:** December 04, 2021, 22:54:35 »

Very interesting. Sent my VDO clock to Jeffrey of Classic Clocks today. And after seeing everything involved to do a good job, I'm glad I did! Congratulations on a job well done.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 05, 2021, 01:10:19 »

Thank you, but it still needs more testing...

It was a spare clock - I had some freedom to experiment just for the fun of it.

However, as much as the electric mechanical part (that I did not have to deal with a lot) may be somewhat difficult, the clock glass may be something some of the Members will need to get done one day and I hope I proposed one of the ways to enable them to do it on their own.

Kevkeller · « **Reply #21 on:** January 12, 2022, 15:17:39 »

Excellent. I need a new face glass also. Never thought about making one.

This has been covered probably in the past but I’m concerned about removing the chrome ring and distorting it. Is that an issue? Is it easy to open?

I need to open up my center cluster also. It has humidity in it.

Pawel66 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 12, 2022, 17:11:07 »

My chrome ring was rusty, I could not re-use it. I bought replacement from SLS - very good quality, the seal inside was there.

I watched several films on you tube on setting the stones in bezels. I bought a couple of tools as well. The big challenge to me was not to destroy the plexi - the collar around the adjustment knob. It is sticking out and when you have the clock upside down without a proper base - you will crack it. That is why I fabricated a stand for it seen on pictures.

Also: in the newer version (not sure about the older one) there is an oring between the clock and dash - that helps cover bezel crimping imperfections.

There were some posts on working with the chrome ring.

One more important point: when you install the adjustment knob and its mechanism, the head of the screw needs to be flush with the bottom side of the plexi face - then the clutch works.

Cees Klumper · « **Reply #23 on:** January 12, 2022, 17:20:31 »

Pawel, I saved my original clock when I bought a VDO quartz (yes, yes) replacement. I'd be happy to send it to you as raw material for your endeavours? It's all together, just doesn't run right (maybe not at all, I bought the replacement 20 years ago and can't remember if it stopped or just lost an hour a day). Would be this summer when we are back in France, Deo volente ...

Pawel66 · « **Reply #24 on:** January 12, 2022, 18:13:15 »

Cees, thank you so much, but I fixed my clock and it is working fine now!

I was sharing some of the experiences with kevkeller who is about to embark on the journey of replacing the plexi.

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Author Topic: Clock Disassembly (Read 6833 times)