Clock for a 52-53 Mercury

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Merc Cruzer

Teaser question for the day: How many set of point are in a 1953 Mercury?

Answer - 4...not counting relays for power windows, top or seats.

Are you not counting the fuel, oil pressure and temp (two) sending units?

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by JSeery

Are you not counting the fuel, oil pressure and temp (two) sending units?

Initially I was thinking of: distributor, voltage regulator, radio vibrator and clock. So if you add fuel, oil pressure and 2 temp, you are up to 8. Power windows would be (switches = 7) windows = 4, power seat (2 way = 2, 4 way = 4) and power top = 2, you would be up to 25. That is allot of point maintenance.

[51 MERC-CT]

And what about if equipped with Over-drive?

[Merc Cruzer]

Bottom line the car is nothing but one giant set of points. So basically, we all should have bought stock in a points manufacture back in the 50's then sold the stock when everything went transistorized. I would guess that the only sets of points still manufactured today would be the distributor and the voltage regulator. Even the radio vibrator has gone electronic....I miss the hum when I turn on the radio.....necessary evil I guess.

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by Merc Cruzer

Bottom line the car is nothing but one giant set of points. So basically, we all should have bought stock in a points manufacture back in the 50's then sold the stock when everything went transistorized. I would guess that the only sets of points still manufactured today would be the distributor and the voltage regulator. Even the radio vibrator has gone electronic....I miss the hum when I turn on the radio.....necessary evil I guess.

Don't all current vehicles still use relay switches?

[Merc Cruzer]

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Thought I would put a finishing touch on this post. Most of us have never seen just how the clocks work. The video starts out with the clock in the car and then goes to one with the cover off. You might have to turn up the volume to hear it electrically wind. As the owners manual says: You will note it is referred to as an electrically wound clock - NOT an electric clock. It is rewound approximately every minute and 38 seconds.


https://youtu.be/s3P-ndEv48U

[Merc Cruzer]

The video was getting to involved to view on Facebook so I put it up on youtube.

https://youtu.be/s3P-ndEv48U

[rjlester]

I have a guy that fixed my AM radio on my 54. He knows his stuff and mentioned that if you put a diode across the points, they will never "arc" and therefore will never get dirty and stop working. He figured these clocks without a diode will only last a year or so before the points get dirty and then stop again. Has anyone else heard this or is this only a chevy clock thing (he is more of a chev guy).

So far mine has been working almost a year.

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by rjlester

I have a guy that fixed my AM radio on my 54. He knows his stuff and mentioned that if you put a diode across the points, they will never "arc" and therefore will never get dirty and stop working. He figured these clocks without a diode will only last a year or so before the points get dirty and then stop again. Has anyone else heard this or is this only a chevy clock thing (he is more of a chev guy).

So far mine has been working almost a year.

Not sure, but mine has been in the car, for over 10 years and is still working.

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by Merc Cruzer

Not sure, but mine has been in the car, for over 10 years and is still working.

Recall that back in the mid 50's we used to take clocks to the local watch repair shop and he used to add a coating of platinum to eliminate most flash pitting to the points. Recall that the points in my aircraft engine were platinum.

[Sunnybob]

A strange thing happens to me. My clock, if disassembled and tested on the bench, works perfectly. I left it connected to the bench for more than a day and it didn't loose a second. If I fix it in the car, it runs for a while and then stops. I must say that the car is being restored and does not move and that I connect and disconnect the battery as needed. It doesn't seem to like being in the dash

[Kens 36]

If you disconnect the battery, the clock will stop within about three minutes. What are we missing here?

[Sunnybob]

Yes, usually when I connect the battery it starts again... The problem seems not to be electric as when I removed the clock it started again after I shaked it. Giving 6v on the bench it worked perfectly...

[Sunnybob]

I mean... Sometimes when I connect the battery it doesn't work, but it's not a power problem, because when I take it out of the dash and shake it, it starts working again for a while (a few minutes). It doesn't happen on the bench where it never stops.

[tubman]

Do you understand how these clocks work? They are essentially regular old spring driven clocks with an electrical winding mechanism. They are not designed to run continuously with the power disconnected. I think the one in my '51 winds every 15-20 minutes. When you shake it, you put some momentum back in the escapement and it will run for a short time.

It sounds like your clock is operating correctly.

[Sunnybob]

I apologize for not explaining myself well. I'm italian and my English is bad. I'll try to explain the situation again:
Car mounted clock. I connect the battery. The clock starts. I hear the sound of the charging and then the ticking of the mechanical part working. Every so often I hear the charging click and it goes... If I disconnect the battery it runs until it has residual charge. And it works even if I disconnect and reconnect the battery. It goes as long as he has the charge and then stops. Sometimes however, when I reconnect the battery I don't hear the sound of charging and I realize that it is stopped. The problem is after a certain amount of time (indefinable because it varies) it no longer works. If I remove it from the car I notice that it still has a residual charge because if I swing it it starts again for a certain amount of time (variable depending on the remaining charge).

Clock on the bench. It runs smoothly for hours and hours. It ran for 24 hours without any problems.

[tubman]

OK. It sounds like there s something awry with the clock itself. It sounds like if it is solidly mounted (outside the car) it will run continuously, but any small movement (closing the car door, leaning on the fender, or even bumping the car, changes the internal alinement enough to affect it's running. Or maybe something is bent on the mount in the car that pulls the clock out of alinement when tightened. At this point, I would mount the clock in the car without tightening it at a time when you can go without touching the car for 24 hours and see if it changes anything.

[Merc Cruzer]

It probably just needs to be cleaned.

[rjlester]

You can actually put a diode across the points which eliminates the spark. Then you will never have to clean the points again, and they stay clean forever. The guy that fixed my 6 volt radio told me that trick. Once my clock stops working, I'll take it apart, clean the points and solder in a diode. I don't remember which way you polarize it, but I"m sure an internet search will tell.

[tubman]

Never heard of this, but it sounds good. Do you have a part number for the proper diode?