1992 240 Clock not even right 2 times a day

Maximum Turtles · Post by **Maximum Turtles** » 03 Feb 2014, 16:58

Several months ago I bought my beloved 240 wagon and I have been making fixes, minor and major, non-stop. Through all of the fixes, I've ignored one minor problem staring me in the face, but now I am out of other problems I can fix (I've cursed myself, I know) and I'm ready to take a look at it. The problem is my wonky clock, which has found a way to not even be right 2 times a day.

The clock does not appear to work, I've never seen it move while I'm driving (the time is the same when I start the car as when I turn it off), and much of the time it is the same when the car is off. Sometimes, however, I will leave the car off overnight and see that the clock has indeed been moving in the night. The changes are usually minor (15min-hour), but can sometimes be very major (>9hours). I haven't been able to nail down any pattern to the movement (doesn't appear to correlate to temperature, time of day, or amount the car has been driving). I've tried cleaning the connecters on the back of the clock, and I'm pretty much down to replacing it as the last effort.

I do live near a pick and pull, and the last time I was there I actually found a pile of the instrument clusters with clocks in them, so finding a replacement won't be an issue, I just want to be sure that this is a faulty clock, not some other problem before I go out and buy a new clock. Any input at all is welcome.

voodoorobaz · Post by **voodoorobaz** » 03 Feb 2014, 19:17

It sounds like the clock is bad. Some people have repaired the clock but I think it would be easier to just get another one. I have a spare if you can't find a good working one. Let me know if you need it.

Maximum Turtles · Post by **Maximum Turtles** » 03 Feb 2014, 19:21

Ok, thats what I figured. I'll just head down to the pick and pull later this week, and I'll post the results.

voodoorobaz · Post by **voodoorobaz** » 03 Feb 2014, 19:36

The reason I have an extra clock is I put a tachometer where the big clock was then I installed the 52mm clock in the location just right of the instrument panel. I just wanted the tach option. It's easy to do if it's available at your pick-n-pull location. If you do decide to go with the small clock make sure you get the entire kit because the 3 rubber mounting feet are important.

Maximum Turtles · Post by **Maximum Turtles** » 03 Feb 2014, 21:37

That's what I wanted to do originally, but I couldn't get my hands on either a large tach or a small clock, so I got a small tach and now I'm trying to fix up my clock. Curious, though, why are the feet so important?

voodoorobaz · Post by **voodoorobaz** » 04 Feb 2014, 17:00

The feet are what holds the tach or clock inside the round mounting location.

Maximum Turtles · Post by **Maximum Turtles** » 04 Feb 2014, 19:47

Ok. I had an old rubber mat handy and I just stuck a little piece of that in there, works great.

Maximum Turtles · Post by **Maximum Turtles** » 10 Feb 2014, 19:08

So I finally went on down to the pick and pull, got a new clock and installed it, still no good. I'm not sure if the new clock is bad too, or if there is something else out o place. Any thoughts?

voodoorobaz · Post by **voodoorobaz** » 15 Feb 2014, 16:16

Yes. and good news! The big clock is easier to fix. There are 2 can type capacitors on the clock and they dry up over the years. Just need a small soldering iron and use a little finesse and replace them. It's the two 100uF 16v capacitors, I used 32v and it works fine. Available at Radio Shack. I have enclosed a link for a bit of information but it is the small clock but repair is the same. Just make sure current clock has power going to it before repairing the clock.

voodoorobaz · Post by **voodoorobaz** » 15 Feb 2014, 16:19

Here is the link http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=1127997