When I bought my '76 electra the previous owner said the clock doesn't work. When I opened the car up, I noticed that it was unplugged, so I was like "oh that's it." When I plugged in the clock, the fuse blew, so i tried it again with a new fuse and it blew again. Has anyone here serviced a clock like the one found in my car? I think this clock was in more than the electra and lesabre, but I'm not sure. I can't figure out how to take the time-set pin out of the unit. I pulled a little bit, then I thought it twisted out so I grabbed a needle nose plier and clamped the base and tried to unscrew the knob but no luck. Anyone have any ideas? I really like having a clock, and I preffer leaving the CD player on the mode where it reads song title and how much longer the song is. Here is the picture:
anyone??? I looked at a clock repair person and they want 125 bucks to convert it to quartz movement and they only last 10 years. The clock in my lincoln has laster almost 30 years.
These are the inside parts of the clock. Does anyone know which is the "points" and the "coil"? I have no idea...
Try contacting Al Bell.buickpts@comcast.net or 941-927-3588. He specializes in reconditioned clocks and guages. Hope that helps you!
In my 1983 Caprice wagon I also have a clock like that, but this one has the "time set pin" sticking out from underneath. Pull the knob all the way out and turn it counter-clock-wise with little jerks, this will release it from the pin with the thread on it. If this doesn't work, put a pair of pliers on the piece of the pin that shows when you pull it out of the clock, and again turn the knob counter-clock-wise :TU: Edit: I think this is already a quartz clock, the points and spring from the earlier clocks are missing in that photo. Isn't there quartz written on the face of the clock ?(very small letters)
75 and 76 Riviera's had those clocks as well. This is a quartz crystal controlled clock. Had to service my clock few years back, but only for one of the time indicator rolls didn't work. Will take a look at a spare clock I have here later this week.
There were two clock models used in 1975-76, both are interchangeable. If I remember correctly, the earlier model has a larger opening for the seconds display and shows 0 sec (that's how mine is on my 75 built in March 75) while I think there's another style found on some newer cars has a smaller opening and shows 60 seconds instead of 0. I'm not 100% sure about it however, I'm going by memory. If there's a short circuit, maybe it's just a wire inside the clock that touches the ground. The small "wheel" in these clocks movements can be readjusted if it makes too much noise or if it stopped working. To remove the knob, it should be done as you said, use needle nose pliers to hold the shaft and unscrew the knob with your hands. If it doesn't work, you might try another pair of pliers on the knob but use a piece of fabric to avoid damaging the chrome and don't try too hard to avoid beaking the threaded part of the shaft in the knob.
I'll have to look at it tomorrow, I'm pretty sure my clock has a second counter that goes all the way around to 60, I think it's smaller too. I have never paid too much attention to it since it has never worked and I always set it for 7:20 which was when school started, am of course. My car was built January of '76 so I guess it may be similar to one found in a '75 because January was earlier for the 1976 build year which started on september 25, 1975. I'll try again with the clock tomorrow. -mike
If I remember correctly, I removed the clock from a 75 Riviera and it looked like the 76 clock. Maybe the change happened in the 75 model year. Here's a picture of it showing the "0" seconds.
I thought the quartz movement clocks lasted virtually forever?? The one in my 80 Le Sabre was 25 years old and kept perfect time.
the 75 and 76 clocks are interchangable .... but they are different. i know that the ones i have cant swap lenses because the hole for the adjusment knobs are in different places.
They last much longer and are more accurate than the cheap self winding clocks that were common on mid 60's, many 70's and some early 80's GM cars. The dial quartz clocks seem to be those that last the longest, the digital ones are not bad and just as accurate as the dial clocks but many stopped working over the years. It's often possible to make them work again with an adjustment which requires to remove the clock from the dash and open it. Even the self winding clocks sometimes just need some cleaning and will work for years after that. That's all I had to do to my 67 clock over 5 years ago and to my 65 clock 2 years 1/2 ago and they both still work. Others have too much wear on the movement itself or their self winding mechanism went bad.
