Clock musings....

[pauljmcnulty]

Now owning a car with a working clock, worth more than Yeti pelts or Unicorn hooves, I'd like to keep it that way.

I replaced the bulb in it today, and it made me think. Doesn't the bulb stay on all the time, so the clock is brighter in the daytime, and go off when the lights are turned on to dim it? [8|]

If I'm right, is it the bulb overheating the clock that damages it, and would pulling the bulb out do any harm?

Also, when it's all reassembled why does the right-hand end of the trim not fit flush? The end with no screw, that abutts the heater panel. [&o]

 

[rcsalmons]

Hi Paul

Not sure about the bulb heating it up but my clock failed on a v.hot day though.

Regarding the trim, yes it should fit flush - there should be a piece that sits behind the heater control panel. Mine has broken off - it is a thin piece of plastic.

Rich

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Regarding the trim, yes it should fit flush - there should be a piece that sits behind the heater control panel. Mine has broken off - it is a thin piece of plastic.

Ahh...that'll be why mine sticks out. []

Do you have to take out the heater bit to remove the clock-to-passenger-door trim? Only because mine came out easily without it, but I'd rather not break a new one when I order it.

Thinking further, the heater bit is cracked as well. Assuming you pop the slider controls off does this come away easily?

 

[Riverside]

Pull the sliding knobs (not the round ones) off the heater controls, then gently lever the black fascia for the heater controls off from either side, it's very thin & is just clipped on.

Behind this the main plastic housing for the heater controls is clear plastic & is held in with two large screws either side, these also hold the trim either side in place, you don't have to remove the heater controls to remove the trim, just ease it forward a few mm.

The passenger side trim (with the clock etc behind it) was broken when I got it & I got a replacement from PH in Shardlow fairly cheaply, but I must have looked at more than a dozen in their warehouse before I found on that wasn't broken somewhere, either where yours is, at the other end, or where the hazard switch clips in.

The hard plastic trim in cars 'dries out' over the years & becomes brittle, you can help restore their original (slight) flexibility by soaking them overnight in warm soapy water etc.

Or you could squirt superglue over the dash & throw all the broken bits at it as the previous owner of my car did [8D]

 

[appletonn]

ORIGINAL: Riverside

Pull the sliding knobs (not the round ones) off the heater controls, then gently lever the black fascia for the heater controls off from either side, it's very thin & is just clipped on.

Behind this the main plastic housing for the heater controls is clear plastic & is held in with two large screws either side, these also hold the trim either side in place, you don't have to remove the heater controls to remove the trim, just ease it forward a few mm.

The passenger side trim (with the clock etc behind it) was broken when I got it & I got a replacement from PH in Shardlow fairly cheaply, but I must have looked at more than a dozen in their warehouse before I found on that wasn't broken somewhere, either where yours is, at the other end, or where the hazard switch clips in.

The hard plastic trim in cars 'dries out' over the years & becomes brittle, you can help restore their original (slight) flexibility by soaking them overnight in warm soapy water etc.

Or you could squirt superglue over the dash & throw all the broken bits at it as the previous owner of my car did [8D]

Ah yes, mine too - I bought a second hand strip from Porsch-apart and very carefully stripped it all down before fitting the new piece.

Please note the "very carefully" bit!![]

 

[babyjack]

Paul,
stupid question,maybe,but where did you get the bulb from & what type is it? I emailed a certain Indy to see if they had any,they replied,"is it so important that your clock is illuminated"!!!

 

[andy watson]

Hi Paul, a couple of years ago I tried in vain to find a replacement bulb for the clock, so I removed the bulb from the clock - then removed the bulb & holder and from the cigar lighter- taped this into poistion in the clock and I find that the clock is just about ok during the day but if the lights are on[][]

Cheers

 

[MRGT]

I found a replacement bulb in Hafrauds. []

 

[Fat Albert]

I have a working clock and Air-con[]

But my clock light doesn't work so at night I look at my watch or my stereo

 

[mr brightside]

Replacement lamps can be got from the back of instrument clusters on almost any car, hunt around a scrapyard till you find one that fits it's never failed me.

 

[sawood12]

I too have a working clock and have been worrying about it conking out as it seems to be a rarity - however I got a pleasant surprise the other day while rummaging around in the cars' documents file looking for my MOT certificate - I found a receipt tucked away in my handbook for a brand new clock bought and fitted at Autobahn two years before I bought the car. Happy days.

I've also got working A/C - just had a brand new condenser and that cannister with desiccant in it fitted. It works like a dream now and doesn't try to stall the engine when it kicks in. It really does work as well as a climate control system in a modern car - though I don't think the numbers on the temp knob correlate very well to the temp the system maintains in the cabin. I'll have to get a thermomitor to calibrate it.

 

[petem]

I didnt even realise that it was supposed to light up!

Must add that to my to do list.

 

[si30boxsters]

I wish my clock worked!! Getting it fixed no where near top of priorities list at the moment.......added to the jobs list!

 

[944 man]

ORIGINAL: sawood12
I don't think the numbers on the temp knob correlate very well to the temp the system maintains in the cabin. I'll have to get a thermomitor to calibrate it.

Turney things always lie: think electric showers or toasters.....

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Turney things always lie: think electric showers or toasters.....

Don't get me on toasters. Ours only has two settings. Lukewarm bread, 1-5, or turn it up to 6-10 and you get the smoke alarm going off and a pile of carbon under the machine. []

Back to the point, my new temp dial only does hot. That's because the little plastic clip has broken. The one my other car had replaced recently. Love these cars.....[:'(][:'(]

 

[tref]

Come on Paul... broken 50p plastic clip, or broken £60+ second-hand, ready to fail tomorrow clock - which would you rather have to fix!

 

[Flick]

My clock works but doesn't illuminate at night, I've got the spare bulb in the shed though, which also on the to do list.

 

[MRGT]

If I remember correctly the bulb is the exactly the same as those found in 'T5' fitments(ie dashboard bulb/holders.) the bulb holder in the dash clock is not an exact swap for a T5, however it is straightforward to remove just the bulb.

 

[babyjack]

ORIGINAL: MRGT


If I remember correctly the bulb is the exactly the same as those found in 'T5' fitments(ie dashboard bulb/holders.) the bulb holder in the dash clock is not an exact swap for a T5, however it is straightforward to remove just the bulb.

thanks for that,all I have to do now is fix the cig lighter(no power), so that I can charge my phone, & yes I've checked the fuse. Plus the light in there doesn't work either.
I'm my last 944 when I switched the headlights on, the car stereo powered up as well!

 

[zcacogp]

In my limited experience of the 944 clock, I've found that the bulb behind doesn't work as expected. From memory, it illuminates brightly when the dashboard lights are off and becomes dimmer when the dashboard lights come on. Yes, it sounds odd, but is the case. Look at the clock when the car is turned off - the numbers will be hard to see. Now turn the ignition on - it will light up noticeably. Now turn the headlights on - it will become a little dimmer. This explains why there are four wires to the clock - 'Positive', 'earth', 'dash lights positive' and 'ignition on'.

The illumination bulb can be bought in a good motor factor. I have a few spare (which are now of no use to me) - if anyone wants them then PM me your address and I'll pop 'em in the post.

Paul, the idea that the bulb causes premature failure of the LCD screen is an interesting one. Good idea. As it is, I slightly doubt that this is the case as the bulb is some distance from the screen, and the light is carried by a clear plastic panel which runs between the two. I'd doubt that there is any warming of the LCD by the bulb at all. My LCD failed on a very hot day (same story as Rich's), and I think it is the heat from direct sunshine, in an enclosed cabin, which causes the fluid in the LCD to burst.

My replacement clock has an interior temperature gauge in it, and I have always been pleasantly surprised by how accurately this mirrors the setting of the cabin temperature dial. If you set the dial to a given temperature, and allow some time for the temperature to stabilise, the interior temperature reading given on the clock is rarely more than 0.5 of a degree away from the dial temperature. I'd say that is pretty good.


Oli.