Hey! I have inherited the clock above which was a gift to my grandfather from General Motors many years ago. I have wound all three springs, and the clock will chime if I turn the chime off then back on, but will not keep time at all. The hands never move. I am hoping there is an easy fix? All help is greatly appreciated!!! Tyler
No easy fix and not cheap either but it is possible to either restore the unit you have or replace it with a new one. Either one should be done by a qualified repair person. If you could give us you city and state we could be more helpful.
I'm not too familiar with the terminology, sorry, just learning. What is the floating balance? Is that the round silver thing that rotates back and forth?
I just googled it, yes the floating balance moves freely, but does not keep moving. I give it a gentle nudge and it starts to rotate, but then quickly stops.
Well, thanks to Harold Bain!! The clock is working again after a few gentle nudges to the floating balance!! However it is not chiming anymore... Which isn't the end of the world, but I may have to keep looking in to it
Well, you may want to learn a bit of basic clock repair and service? At a minimum you will need to learn how to remove your hands and movement, then you would need to learn how to let down your mainsprings and check for wear. Then (if your clock is not totally worn out) you would need to learn how to oil it properly. This might allow you to have a running clock for a while. But IMOE, the two options that Mark gave you in the first post are your only good long term options. Willie X
Looking carefully at the picture, this clock does not appear to have a 'floating balance' but has the hairspring type balance (probably a good thing). The bigger question is how many years has it been since it was serviced and oiled? and how many years has it sat without running? The symptoms mentioned are typical of a clock needing to be cleaned and which are about the same as for a clock that is worn out. This not a very good clock on which to learn clock repair as it has a great many parts and the usual repairs (even proper cleaning) require special tools. I agree with Mark, take the clock to a qualified clock shop for an evaluation and estimate. They can check the date code and determine if your clock has the problematic plated pivots issue, or if it just needs to be cleaned and oiled. Be sure to get a price for both repair and to replace the movement. RC
I suppose that would indicate that the clock has been serviced at some point, as it originally, in 1986, would have had a floating balance.
RC & Harold, After RC's post I was kinda trying to figure that one out too. I first thought that case was a good bit older, most of them that I see are, and the movement was a replacement. But, after studying the movement and case label, both show a regular hairspring balance which, I thought, debuted in 1988. So, I guess the movement and clock are from 1986 and the hairspring balance came before 1988?? Another clock puzzle ... Ha Willie X
That would seem to be a reasonable assumption, which raises the question what else (other than swapping out the balance) may have been done during the service. RC
Good observation! Perhaps Mark can clarify just when the floating balance was abandoned in favor of the hairspring balance. RC
I recall in the recesses of my mind (which aren't always reliable anymore ) that both the floating balance and the hairspring were options for awhile, and both were sold concurrently as replacement parts. Maybe Mark can confirm (or not).
From the photo it looks as if the bar that stops the hammers is down across the hammers. It is helpfully marked 'lift', so try lifting it up so that it does not obstruct the hammers. JTD
