Dash Clock Repair

[ziff73]

Knee deep in my 69' 1600 resto and wondered if anyone knew of a place to have the clock looked at or if there were any DIY instructions for it?

I may just switch it out for a tach if I can't get it working...

Thanks everyone!

Stephen Z

[Kidasters]

Any VDO repair shop can do it. I had North Hollywood Speedometer repair one for me. It's on my desk awaiting the 12v transformer, so I can just plug it in and have a quirky desk clock......

[ziff73]

Cool! thanks for the response..wasn't sure if there was some strange BMW thing that would make it a pain to fix....and since NoHo is ten minutes from me, I'm all good!

I suppose I'll just do a small removable tach under the dash for those times I might desire it....;-)

[Mike Self]

Remove it from the cluster, take the back off and examine the little set of points you'll find inside. That clock is a mechanical clock--with a spring-- that's wound by a solenoid. The solenoid is activated by a little set of points that close as the spring winds down. If the points are dirty or corroded, they won't make contact and the clock won't wind, and thus won't run.

Slide a small piece of doubled over wet/dry sandpaper between the points to clean 'em up and then see if the proper voltage applied to the clock terminals energizes the solenoid. If it does, get a little tube of clock oil and sparingly oil the gear axles--which haven't been for the past 40 years or so. Just a tiny drop will do each gear--not on the teeth, but on the axles and bearings.

Bet that'll do the trick and save you some $$$..

cheers

mike

[eastsidebimmer]

I was in a similar situation on my 71 1600 and contacted NHS in 2009 for help. Getting this response below, I simply found a used one on the FAQ instead. My used clock runs great, but calibrating the time is a real pain--I ran it for weeks on my bench and got it to keep time, but once installed in the car, it seems to run fast. If you have the coin, the quartz movement is probably ultra nice.

Dear Ben,

Due to age and usually worn out conditions we no longer repair electro mechanical clock movements as used in your BMW 1600 clock but do offer a quartz movement conversion at $ 220.00 plus shipping. The conversion does not alter the appearance of the clock and provides you with a superior product.

1 year warranty. App. 1 week turnaround time.

We do accept Visa, M/C, UPS COD CASH, or Pay Pal

Our shipping address:

North Hollywood Speedometer

6111 Lankershim Blvd.

North Hollywood, CA 91606

Ph: 818-761-5136

Regards,

Hartmut Behrens

info@nhspeedometer.com

[kk2tii]

Just set the clock to 4:20.

It will always be right.