Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: tradjim on March 26, 2012, 18:39:06
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The clock in my 67 230 has stoped working ,anyone know how to remove it and where to get it fixed , I live in New York - thanks
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If I recall, you take out the glovebox, not the door, the inside with a few screws, reach behind and unscrew the hold down bracket for the clock, then send the clock to North Hollywood Speedometer.
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I used North Hollywood speedo to repair mine some years ago. I opted for the replacement of the internals with a quartz movement. The outside looks dead stock (yes, yes, yes , I know I don't get the little click sound every so often) I can live with that for a clock that keeps spot on time. NHS can repair the original movement.
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These days North Hollywood only does the quartz conversions.
Palo Alto Speedometer does that as well as rebuilding the original movements. Whichever you prefer.
FYI: Within the last few weeks I had my clock's movement cleaned and repaired by Palo Alto Speedometer.
I'm in the middle of the heater controls job, so, it will be a little while until I try out my clock, but I'm sure it is fine now.
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Guys, I just bought a brand new clock from MB Classic Centre for $398. Not a bad price and wasn't much more than the quote for fixing my old one
Rgds
Franjo
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Franjo,
I'm just curious, is the one you bought from the Classic Center a quartz movement or an original style movement?
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The clock I got was the original one fitted in my car as per attached picture
Rgds
Franjo
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Now I am curious. Is this a rebuilt clock as it says on the picture?
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Sorry for the confusion, I just used a picture that I had downloaded from the web a while back
Mine is a brand new clock from MB as per the type in the picture.
Rgds
Franjo
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I took my clock out and sent it to David Lindquist for repair.
It costs $60. and now works fine. I didn't do a quartz conversion.
David is mentioned in the forum.
His address is 12427 E. Penn St., Whittier, CA. 90602
Phone 562-698-4445
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I am having a tough time getting to the clock trying via glovebox
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There is a row of screws at the top of the glovebox, and another row at the bottom of the glovebox. Remove all of those. It is a bit awkward to pull out, but you can finagle the entire glovebox out. I think I had to move the left hand side (as you are looking at the glovebox) in a little, to be mindful of the spring assemble on that side. But with a bit of patience it does come right out. The wire for the glove box light is not quite long enough to allow it to set on the floor, so you can leave it dangle from the opening, or disconnect. I also disconnected the switch (on the right side) to turn the light off while you are working.
Once the box is out, getting at the clock is very easy.
I have to clarify - I had my clock in the 250 SL redone by Palo Alto not North Hollywood, although I think there is some connection between the two.
When the clock in my 280 SL stopped, I took it to Silver Star Mercedes in Escondido. This was sent to a local (San Diego) place and was refurbished, fusible link, I believe. Cost was $200 including shipping.
I did not realize you could buy an exact replacement. I thought they were all now done with the quartz movement, and had "quartz" printed on the dial face somewhere.
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I have a rebuilt with 1 year warantee from Chicago Clock for sale $225.00...
Bob
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Mine is with David Lindquist now - much more reasonable than the others referred to above. In discussion with him, he recommended repair versus replacing with quartz saying they were sturdy clocks and that when repaired should work a long time.
Chuck
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I repaired my clock myself, assuming you have followed the above instrcutioins to get the clock out you can test to see if it is a simple fix or a more complex one.
There are 2 simple fixes.
1. - It needs cleaning and oiling (use watch oil as it is much finer than 3 in 1 or similar)
2. - the fuse has blown (see here...http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/Clock)
To identify the fault you need to strip the clock down, the fuse issue can oftem be seen by naked eye, but the "cleaning" issue is less obvious. The clock is "electro-mechanical" this means that it uses asmall current from the battery to "re-wind" the clock once every minute or so. Careful inspection of the mechanics should identify the winding flywheel (sorry no pictures), gently wind the clock manually and check if the clock begins to tick (the movement starts to move). You may find it starts and then stops straight away, if this is the case then it is almost definately dirt and dust.
Now this next bit goes against everything you will want to do, but trust me its OK. Fill a bowl deep enough to cover the mechanism in warm water (no soap). Then emerse the mechanism only (not the clock face) into the water and agitate it for a few minutes. This will losen any dust blocking the mechanism and wash the interior of the clock. When you are happy that you have cleaned it, leave the clock in a warm dry place to dry out. I left mine for 48 hours. Once dry, using clock oil, oil as many of the pivot points as you can. My clock oil came with a needle aplicator which helps to get to the awkward parts. When you are sure that you have oiled everything try winding the clock again...good luck, it should now work.
I cleaned mine about 12 months ago and it is still working now...although I am told that timekeeping is not something that these clocks do well, depending on how humid it is mine will lose or gain time.
Good Luck.
M
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I used the services of David Lindquist to repair my clock about 10 years ago. Clock is still running well, with the occassional tweek for accuracy. I'll accept that tweek (and the periodic 'click') as part of the old world charm of our Pagoda experience.
Jaxxonia
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I had the same problem with my clock in my Porsche 356. I just took it to a small local watch repair shop and the guy took it apart, cleaned everything and fixed it up! Works like a new one now. Cost me only about $50
Cheers
Bill
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Got the clock out thru the glovebox and sent it to Palo Alto ...Thanks for all the help
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tradjim,
If your results from Palo Alto are like mine (from Palo Alto), you will be happy.
When I first put mine in, it was 5 minutes slow in one week. (Either I read or they told me that it is hard to bench set.)
I made a "one mark" adjustment on the back and it was too much and went fast on me.
Two iterations later and it kept the right time of a week. That is where I am at now and I've put my dash back together.
There are postings on this forum that state that minutes off per week is normal, but let me tell you, if I bought an $8500 car in 1970, and it was off by 5 minutes a week, I would take it back for a new clock.
Keeping correct time makes much more sense to me.
Now that the clock is cleaned up, "restored", and adjusted, I'm hoping for a few tweaks per season.
Only TIME will tell. ;D
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My 1970 clock was no longer able to keep good time, loosing as much as 10 o 20 minutes a day. I tried to adjust it over a winter, but is was so warn out, it I was unable to make it keep time at all. I initially sent it to one repair shop,(they will remain nameless) but they did not cure the problem at all.
So, about a year and a half ago, I removed it (again) and sent it off to Palo Alto Speedo. I asked that they repair it , but to keep it original, as I was not interested in a quartz replacement. When it came back I plugged it in and have not had to make any adjustments to it. It keeps also perfect time. It might loose a minute every month or two.
I could not be happier. May not have been the cheapest on the surface, but in my opinion, you get what you pay for. You can't cheap out on some things.
Jim Donati
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Got the clock back from palo alto they did a great job gave me a new chrome ring and replaced the bulb its now a quartz movement ....reinstalled and working great -Thanks guys
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Palo Alto speedometer is indeed a good place for this job.I sent my clock there a few yars ago, and service was near perfect.
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I took my clock out because being an engineer (electrical) I thought I could clean it up and fix it myself. Well, I learned my lesson. It may take 13v to run this clock, but after many attempts an definitely making matters worse I gave up. I sent it to David Lindquist in California who repaired it in a day and returned it to me at a cost of 85.00 + shipping. Well worth it. His number is 562-698-4445.
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I second all of the above with regard to Dave Lindquist - very fast turnaround, very reasonable price, and a repair that I could not do myself (worn bearing)). Pal Alto Speedometer quoted me $200 before they even saw the clock.
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Hey guys, I had my clock out to remove and work on the radio and every since it gains time. Can someone tell me how to adjust it? Thanks
GErry
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Hey Gerry,
Maybe the battery is over charged? ;D
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.. Can someone tell me how to adjust it? ...
It is all right here: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/Clock
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It is all right here: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/Clock
Well, sorta. This is what it says there: "Make EXTREMELY small movements of the adjustment pinion, and allow the clock to settle for at least 24 hours between adjustments. To get a really fine adjustment can take a week, and it will be spoiled as soon as the car heats up inside. An inability to achieve adjustment indicates wear on the plates." My questions are more along the line of what does this adjustment look like and which way do you turn it to make it slower or faster and how much does what?
Gerry
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Well now, we can't divulge everything up front, that would kill the joy of discovery! ;) ;D
Just take the clock out, turn it around and (if still there) remove the paper sticker with the VDO letters. Underneath is the adjustment pin that you need to turn. There are step marks visible; turn the screw only one step at a time and check the result. I believe a clockwise turn will speed it up, but I am not sure.
If your clock is slow then it is most likely caused by dirt and grease built up and any adjustment will be good only for a limited time until the spring gets weaker again.
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If your clock is slow then it is most likely caused by dirt and grease built up and any adjustment will be good only for a limited time until the spring gets weaker again
As mentioned is other replies here, there is a thermo fuse inside this clock. As the clock oil gums up with the grime from decades added as Alfred describes, the movement will sieze. The fuse then "pops".
A thorough cleaning of the movement is essential, hard to find a watchmaker that will take on the task however (I have asked a number of them). I may need to clean it myself, as Markbhai suggests in posting #14 here.
Also, the chrome trim ring will need to be swaged back on after dis-assembly, not all watchmakers can do this well. BTW, the front glass on the clock is plastic (plexiglass?), can anyone suggest a vendor which sells these separate?
/Hans in Sweden
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The Pmma clear plastic lens is in repro available , but it lacks the small "Ring" that surrounds the knob.
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.... hard to find a watchmaker that will take on the task however (I have asked a number of them). ...
Hi Hans,
have you asked him: http://www.uhrmacher-meyer.de/ ?
See: http://www.pagodentreff.de/diskussionsforum/t2257-uhr-geht-4.html
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Well now, we can't divulge everything up front, that would kill the joy of discovery! ;) ;D
Just take the clock out, turn it around and (if still there) remove the paper sticker with the VDO letters. Underneath is the adjustment pin that you need to turn. There are step marks visible; turn the screw only one step at a time and check the result. I believe a clockwise turn will speed it up, but I am not sure.
If your clock is slow then it is most likely caused by dirt and grease built up and any adjustment will be good only for a limited time until the spring gets weaker again.
Okay, here's the latest update. As part of a dash refurbishment (another story) I have the clock out so I hooked it to the car's battery with alligator clip wires and ran it for 24 hrs. It gained 5 minutes. Today I turned the adjustment one increment ccw and will time it for another 24 hrs while I wait for some parts to arrive. If anyone is interested, the dash job was probably not quite as difficult as it appeared. The trick is to soak the leather in hot water at least 30 minutes before trying to make compound curves. Also, seal off the wooden cowl that goes over the instruments BEFORE stretching the wet leather over it. That will save you a lot of time later trying to reshape the wooden cowling. Ask me how I know. :'(
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... The trick is to soak the leather in hot water at least 30 minutes before trying to make compound curves. ....
Did you loose much of the grain in the leatherdoing that way?
Can you post a photo of the final product, please?
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Can anyone recommend a clock repairer or converter to digital in Australia?
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Did you loose much of the grain in the leatherdoing that way?
Can you post a photo of the final product, please?
No, there is no distinguishable difference between the soaked leather and the not soaked leather. Some pieces, such as the right side dash upper is only soaked at one end (outboard) and there is no visible line of demarcation. I am assembling today and will forward finished photos. On a related subject, do you know how to get the glass off the speedo?
Gerry
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Did you loose much of the grain in the leatherdoing that way?
Can you post a photo of the final product, please?
I examined the leather carefully in regard to your question. There is no visible change to the leather. OTOH the portion that has been soaked and shaped is not as flexible as the leather that has not been treated. Since it doesn't flex in use on the dash parts that doesn't seem to be a problem. I posted the first photos today on another thread immediately after completing the job. In fact I hadn't even cleaned up or put the ashtray back in the console at that time.
Gerry
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Thanks for the update Gerry!