Question from Leslie:
I can't figure out how the fast/slow mechanism works. The hole in the back for it seems to go nowhere in the clock.... I am gaining about 5 minutes a day on the one installed in my car....
Reply from Dan:
The ground path goes through the case of the clock, which requires a good connection from coil to assembly, assembly to case, case to dashboard, dashboard to firewall, firewall to block, and block to battery. Of course, if the problem is further down that list, other, bigger things will have trouble working too...
It is designed as a mechanical feedback circuit: turning the clock back slows it down a little, and turning it forward speeds it up a little. That way, each time you set the correct time the clock will be more ac- curate, until finally it keeps perfect time and no longer needs adjustment. Then you disconnect the battery for the Winter, and mess it all up again unless you re-connect the battery at whatever time the clock ends up reading. :^)
Question from Boyd:
Has anyone go through that the clock is running way to fast? If 10 minutes have past, then my clock did about 20 minutes. Can it be adjusted?
Replies:
From Rolland
Clocks that run that fast are usually beyond adjustment. Typically this is caused by a dirty or sluggish works which causes the balance wheel in the escape mechanism to oscillate very rapidly and thereby cause the clock to run very fast. The solution is to remove the clock and clean and oil it. Then it can be adjusted to run correctly.
From Dick:
In this particular case, I do not think his problem is adjustment, but rather that the hairspring has gotten caught in itself. I have repaired quite a few clocks of this vintage, and having made this same mistake myself, I think he can straighten it out without much problem if he has good eyesight, steady hands and some very small tools. That is why I posted the message I sent yesterday. Trying to adjust an error in timing of this magnitude is likely to lead to more problems, and will not fix the problem.
