Clock fuse location

[Mauro]

Can anyone tell me the location of the clock fuse is on a 59 cad?

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Mauro,

I wish I knew that one on my 60 as it tried to fry itself one day.

Luckily it was noticed before the dash got too hot and burst into flames.

Now, it just looks pretty.

At least the time is correct at least twice a day.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Fred Garfield 22310]

The answer is conversion to continuous quartz movement. Smooth sweep second, far more accurate than the 12-volt motor and you only replace the battery every few years. The dial, hands, bezel and housing all stay original.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8249605381&rd=1&sspagename=STRK3AMEWA3AIT&rd=1 TARGET=_blank>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8249605381&rd=1&sspagename=STRK3AMEWA3AIT&rd=1

[John #22631]

Fred,
I looked at the site that you posted, and I like the idea. Using a AA Lithium battery in place of a standard one would yield approx 10 years usage before replacement is needed.

My question to you would be. How would you know which unit to purchase? He has a variety of types on there with different shaft lengths. And again using the existing hands from the original clock, they might not fit the replacement unit. Its not a lot of money, but it is wasted if the wrong one is purchased. Ive just have never taken apart a clock before and the one in the dash though not working still looks better than a gaping hole there.
John

[Dave MacGregor 18998]

I had my clock on my Eldorado rebuilt by The Clockworks when it stopped.  Took only a week turnaround time.  Since it was done four years ago its only had to be reset once a year for racing ahead only about three minutes a year.

I didnt go with the quartz movement only because I try to remain as pure as possible with my car and at the time I really couldnt see the advantage of doing any other way regarding cost and convenience.

Dave

[Fred Garfield 22310]

When this project comes up on my calendar, I will pull the clock out of the dash which is easy. Then I will take it to my watchmaker and set it on the counter. He will mic it out and tell me exactly which continuous quartz movement I need, including pinion configuration for the existing hands. Watchmakers are very resourceful (at least, mine is). They can drill out hands, apply tiny adapters, spacers, etc. They have all the catalogs right there at their fingertips.

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Not doubting a word youve said, but a 3-minute gain in one year is more accurate than the finest Rolex.

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Dave, I should have said it approaches (rather than equals) the finest Rolex in accuracy. Thatll teach me to do arithmetic in my head.

That said, Im amazed that a 12-volt mechanical movement can be as accurate as youve described. Even so, whenever you have to disconnect your battery to do electrical work, the clock will have to be re-set.

[John #22631]

Fred,
I wish I could schedule my projects by a calender. I schedule things by my watch. That means when I have time!!!

Put up a post when you get the clock analyzed. This should be quite informative to all of us. The pressure of the CLC is on you now.

Now for the Rolex issue. A Rolex is guaranteed to be accurate to within 1 second per year. My cheapie Timex has never been off more than 30 seconds in a year. I keep everything set by my atomic clock. Which is quite a neat clock to watch, especially when the time changes occur.

[Fred Garfield 22310]

John, as Ive understood it, the COSC standard to which Rolex subscribes guarantees accuracy to within -4 to +6 sec/day.

That comes out to an acceptable error range of roughly 30 min/year. The most accurate quartz movement Ive ever heard of has accuracy within ~10/sec/year.

Hold on to that 1 sec/year Rolex of yours. It can only go up in value!

[denise 20352]

   That seems pretty lousy to me.  I have a little brass clock that I sat on the shelf three years ago and thought nothing about until I realized, one day, that I had never set it, wound it, or replaced a battery, and it was still right on the minute.  If this is what a quartz movement is, then I would say, by all means, put one in your car clock.  Maybe you have to replace a battery every ten years or whenever, but it would nice never to have to set it, even when your battery goes dead or gets disconnected.

   My only concern would be, can the quartz movement handle the extreme temperatures and rapid temperature changes that you have inside a vehicle?

-denise

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Hi, denise. Good question about quartz temp tolerance. Ill ask my watchmaker when I see him. Since I live in the most temperate zone in the Bay Area, Im not too concerned about that but I know you get some pretty hot days in Arizona.

Of course, most of us have freezers and ovens and those little plastic quartz clocks are pretty cheap...

=:O

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Just found this outfit through Hemmings --

http://www.clocksandgauges.com/gpage.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.clocksandgauges.com/gpage.html

Scroll down page to the DIY kits. These run off your 12V battery and are only available for Borgs made from early 60s-80s. But were getting closer.

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Heres another company that will quartz your clock but again, these are still on 12V --

http://dandmrestoration.home.mindspring.com/clocks.htm TARGET=_blank>http://dandmrestoration.home.mindspring.com/clocks.htm

Next week, Im going to give these guys a call and see what they say about continuous quartz movement with its own pop-in battery.

[Dave MacGregor #18998]

I find three minutes a year to be pretty good for any analog auto clock considering that conditions of extremes it has to be operating on a daily basis.

Also, mechanical auto clocks as a rule are notorius for not keeping much any time in part by the conditions they have to face and by the trial and error design of adjusting speed in to keep accurate time once set enough ... setting a fast clock slows it down some ... setting a slow clock ahead speeds it ahead some ... enough adjustment and it will be better.

On top of that in many vehicle clocks of the time, theres a spring type of mechanism that trips once in a while to keep it going, I think which is activated upon loss of power.  Ill never forget removing the clock out of my grandfathers 79 LTD when it made a quiet pop in my hand and was still running for a couple of minutes in my hand after it was disconnected from the car.  Thought that was real neat!

BTW, most Rolexs dont face such torture and most likely probably never will considering the cost of one and who most likely wears them.  Im sure they would hold up to the torture, but I wouldnt compare a vehicle clock to a fine watch.  Thats like comparing apples to oranges ... not in the same league.

Besides, if you want to speak about watches of fine quality in that Rolexs can be that accurate or more, my ordinary Seiko from Kohls hasnt had to be reset since I got it new five years ago.  It will soon though because I also realize its still on the same battery now that I think about it!  Guess I better get it done before it dies out on me.

No, Im not knocking quartz movements or Rolex either, but I just dont a quartz movement in a vehicle not originally equipped without any is all.  I just prefer to being accurate to the car and staying original.  Also, I dont have to take my dash apart to change the battery every few years as some movements may require.

Later!

Dave

[Dave MacGregor #18998]

Hi Fred,

I just read this after reading your above response to my post.  LOL

I realize what you were trying to say, but it is true that it does keep that accurate a time!  I used to reset it for savings time and back each year for the first couple of them, but now I just leave it so in the spring when my car is on the road, its already set!

Im sure results from repairs and restoration may vary and I too find it amazing that the clock performs so well, but Im not going to be one to complain.  Maybe I should keep quiet or maybe it might want to act up on then!

BTW, I do wish I had a Rolex!  I like some of their designs.  Not the real gaudy diamond studded one, but the ones with the bigger round faces which I guess is the classic Rolex look.  Closest I have is a fake one that keeps terrible time!  Looks good, but thats about it!

Good Luck on your clock endeavor.

Dave

[Dave MacGregor #18998]

Guess what?  Battery must have died today!  Didnt wear it since yesterday because of work on the car and just looked at it.  Stopped a little after 9 this morning.

Now I really have to get a new battery.

Guess I shouldve kept quiet about it.  Now Im gonna make sure that the clock in the Caddy is still running as I was talking about it too!  LOL

Later!

Dave

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Sounds like you and I have similar taste in Rolexes. Nicest one I ever saw was in a little Mom and Pop jewelry store back in 1980. Oyster Perpetual. Solid brushed 18K gold case/bracelet, simple midnight blue dial. Nice heft to it. My kind of watch.

[Ivan Zanatta]

 One thing to remember if you convert your clock using a quartz movement the time adjustment is located on the BACK of some of these units- not so good if you put one in a 59 or 60, unless you have hands like E.T.!
.

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

But, as Mauro asked in the first place, is there a fuse for the clock, and if so, where is it?

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV