Explanation for scary spinning clock hands?

[Louisa]

Hi. I have been wondering about this creepy clock experience I had over the summer and figured it's about time I start asking questions of people who actually understand/ work with clocks.

My boyfriend had an analog clock hanging on his apartment's living room wall which had contained dead batteries for months. One evening we were standing in front it, talking, and suddenly the minute hand started turning very fast, with the hour hand following suit. At some point we started scrambling for his cell phone in order to video tape it. But it stopped before we could find it, right at 12:00. I don't remember exactly what time it had started, but it was after midnight. Probably around 2 am. So it went from around 2 to 12, very fast. Clockwise. Both hands moving.


I don't intend to be vague or waste anyones time, but I would really like to know if this is rationally possible. And obviously I don't know much about clocks. My only reference point for this sort of thing would honestly be horror movies.

If there had been a surge in the battery power (i'm sorry if that sounds ignorant), could that have really affected the gears in such a way as to make them spin so fast? Or some sort of spring releasing? We didn't inspect the clock before throwing it out that night (literally) so I probably can't answer questions about the innards of that crazy clock. It was a very basic, inexpensive-looking wall clock that you would buy from Target.


If you have any thoughts please let me know. Thank You!!

 

[Scottie-TX]

First LOUISA WELCOME to the board!
We here understand what you witness, but, "yeah" - is kinda wierd first time you experience it. What it is, LOUISA, is the power provided the clock being released out of control.
During normal operation, power is released a tick at a time. When something goes amiss - a stripped gear or similar - the power is released in a very short time span, spinning the wheels and hands out of control and results in what you witnessed. This is not uncommon but can be very eery first time you see it.

 

[J. A. Olson]

It sounds likes the Quartz movement completely and utterly broke down. What Scottie described above would seem possible, but not very likely to happen during normal operation. Do you know who made the clock, and how old it is? Some Quartz clocks are very shoddy, and tend to break down easily. Others are fair quality and tend to last at least somewhat longer.

 

[Tinker Dwight]

Hi
I'm assuming it is a quartz battery clock.
There is a high frquency oscillator that runs
at about 32,768 cycles ( 32.768 KHz in electronic
talk ).
There is a chip that divides that down to the
one pulse per second that you see drive the clock.
It does that by using a number of stages of
dividing by 2.
It is possible that as the voltage was going down
that not all of these divide stages were actually
dividing by 2, leaving the frequency at the final
stage, much faster than 1 cycle per second.
Do remember, the chip has the dividers
intended operate in a specific voltage range.
What is does outside that range is anyone guess.
Not every clock would act that way but I'm not at
all surpised that yours did.
No, ghost anyway.
Tinker Dwight

 

[RJSoftware]

Ohhh, a spooky clock story...!

Cool.

Hold on, let me get the popcorn, soda and turn off the lights.

Bwwwaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaa....!

Was there any blood come out?

Is clock blood green.?

I heard it was green.

Ohhh, I just got a shivver....

RJ

 

[Scottie-TX]

Please don't be alarmed and run off, LOUISA. It's only DRJAY. He's our special effects man and he - well - your imagination is probably correct this time.

 

[eskmill]

Louisa said in parts: "........dead batteries for months. One evening we were standing in front it".......suddenly the minute hand started turning very fast, with the hour hand following suit...........stopped right at 12:00."

It appears to me the clock was an "Atomic Clock" which suddenly reset. I have no idea why it would suddenly reset and wait for the next clear WWVB coded signal and why the "dead battery" came to life. However we don't know if the battery was really dead or if the clock was an "Atomic Clock."

We do know that so-called "Atomic Clocks" behave as Louisa and her friend observed.

 

[shutterbug]

there's a possibility that this is an atomic quartz clock, and auto reset it's time when it finally got an impulse from a remote transmission site. It may even be set up wrong for your time zone, and you never knew it. The battery may have had just enough power stored to accomplish the task.

Ooops. I see Les is faster than I am

 

[Kevin W.]

From her description of the clock it sounds like a regular quartz clock to me,


It was a very basic, inexpensive-looking wall clock that you would buy from Target.

I guess she would have to give us more details of this clock to be sure.

 

[soaringjoy]

Louisa,

please let me welcome you too, even though a bit late.

Oh boy, oh boy!

It's a radio controlled quartz clock you have there, I would
presume.
Now I don't know where you are located and I don't know, how
these clocks are controlled, for example in North America.
The European countries have centrally located atomic clocks, that
send out a radio signal with the time ever so often.
Whenever your clock gains or loses time, it will stop, go to 12 o'clock
and munch up the signal. Then the clock automatically sets the proper
time. That's nifty if you have daylight saving time...

So, there's nothing, uhmm, weird or scary to it.

Oh, please post some pictures for us...

Jurgen

 

[Louisa]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Later today I will be able to ask my boyfriend where he bought the clock and if he remembers much more about it. From my memory, it was something like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/bravur-wall-clock__29234_PE116289_S4.jpg


Cheap, not complicated. The kind you put AA batteries in and set yourself. It is most likely the quartz battery kind, from what I read in the comments. Also, the batteries had seemed to be dead for months. I didn't live there at the time so I never took it upon myself to change the batteries.

I wish I could show photos of it but we threw it out that night haha.

I will repost later today after asking more questions about this specific clock.

 

[Tony10Clocks]

I agree with Jurgen radio controlled. Have a look at the clock face you might see a picture of an ariel with raidio waves coming from it
Tony

 

[Kevin W.]

Looks like a plain quartz clock to me.

 

[soaringjoy]

I don't think "Ikea" sells radio controlled clocks
around here.

BTW: You switch batteries on those, they start that setting
process too. No, I don't mean the Ikeas.

Jurgen

 

[Watchfixer]

I sent a personal message to Louisa.

Cheers, Watchfixer

 

[Kevin W.]

Since it was thrown in the trash, we might not ever know.I have been to Ikea many times and have not seen radio controlled clocks being sold at this store.

 

[Tony10Clocks]

Louisa dosnt actually say the clock was from Ikea, she say's it's like the one from Ikea, So maybe it was bought from somwhere else that looks similar to the one in Ikea, But like you say if it's gone to clock heaven in the sky, we may not never know...
Tony

 

[flatlander10]

Ohhh, a spooky clock story...!

Cool.

Hold on, let me get the popcorn, soda and turn off the lights.

Bwwwaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaa....!

Was there any blood come out?

Is clock blood green.?

I heard it was green.

Ohhh, I just got a shivver....

RJ

+1

Actually you beat me to it, I was expecting to hear doors creaking too.
Being so close to Halloween and all.
Sorry about the post, just couldn't help myself.

Flatlander10

 

[Charity Bird]

Hey, Guys.
I’ve never seen the hands spinning out of control, but sometimes moves, sticks days at 3:21, 3:30, then 3:36. I mean at least 3 days staying at each time. As of a couple hours ago it was still at 3:36 then (since it’s been so weird I occasionally check it) I looked at the clock and it was at 3:39. It very, very slowly creeped to center of the Roman numeral 8 (about 3:41)

I was amazed and kept watching it steadily. Probably stared too hard because it appeared to go backwards by millimeters, but I just think I was stunned.

This was about 30 mins ago and it’s stuck at 3:41 now. So peculiar. I’ve included a photo of the front of the clock. A bit leery about approaching it.

 

[rmarkowitz1_cee4a1]

Maybe you've entered....The Twilight Zone





RM

 

[bruce linde]

I don’t see a winding hole, which makes me think it’s a battery operated quartz movement... And that the battery needs replacing

It could also be that the hands are loose on the posts that hold them, but the easiest solution is to put a new battery

Also… More better bigger closer up photos are always helpful… Both of the front and back of a clock

 

[JTD]

Welcome to the board, Charity Bird.

Since the last post in this thread (before yours) was 8 years ago, you might have done better to have started a new thread, but never mind.

You don't tell us much about the clock - is it battery operated or mains operated? If battery, it sounds to me as if the battery is running very low. When did you last change the battery? (And, yes, battery clocks can seem to go backwards occasionally, if the battery is low). Without having at least basic information on your clock, it's very difficult to diagnose a fault (if there is one).

Why on earth would you be leery about approaching it? It can't do you any harm and if you don't 'approach' it, you'll never find out what's wrong.

Change the battery (if it's a battery clock) and see how it goes. Let us know and there are many who will be happy to help.

JTD

Bruce beat me to the send key!

 

[The Treasured Clock]

Hi Louisa,
Did your boyfriend buy the clock used? Was it in a garage sale? Sometimes you a find good clock, sometimes you ask yourself "what did I get?" There is no guarantee what you or your boyfriend might get in a way of clocks at garage sales. People just sell them just to get rid of them not knowing what they have in the way of clocks. It is unfortunate that your clock did not work as expected. Keep up the good work in doing more research. If I cannot help out any more, there are other posters who can better answer such questions than I in this area. My suggestion to you, if it does helps, is to ask "does it work?"
Jonathan Lee Jones

 

[JTD]

Hi Louisa,
Did your boyfriend buy the clock used?

Louisa hasn't been on this thread since 2011.

JTD

 

[kinsler33]

It's an "atomic" clock. The movements look much like ordinary quartz movements.