Fixing the clock < Previous | Back to index | Next>

Now back to that little ring-shaped terminal: It's mounted a bit loose on its copper strip, so it can flop around slightly, and it's supposed to be soldered to another terminal that you can see below it. What usually goes wrong is that the solder melts, letting the ring-shaped terminal pop loose. This interrupts the electric current and keeps the solenoid from winding the clock. To make sure that's the problem, you can hook up the clock to a 12-volt supply (I use a lantern battery) and briefly bridge these two terminals with a paper clip. If the rest of the clock is OK, you'll see and hear the solenoid swat the flywheel to wind up the spring, and the clock will start ticking. Now, all you've got to do is apply a permanent fix.