Two weeks ago I purchased a '65 convertable 327/350hp and was fortunate to have a couple members help me with advise on a brake light problem and I'm hoping you can help me with a clock problem.
The clock seems to be running fine however the lights in the clock are very dim. I also noticed that the right side bulb seems to flicker brighter for a second then back to dim. It seems to do this every few seconds. The left bulb doesn't change and stays dim. I found that the torpedo light under the clock was dangling and I clipped it to it's spot under the clock. It seemed bright as I could see it through the heater controls.
I thought the right buld could not be getting a good ground so I removed it and grounded it out on the radio. It seemed to light properly. Put it back in place...still dim. I then disconnected the clock power plug. First thing I found was that the black wire (ground) connector had a green wire spliced to it. I couldn't see enough to find what happened to the original black wire. Obviously, something had happened to the ground at some point. I am hoping to trace the green wire back either to the black somewhere to the harness or see if maybe it is grounded to the z-bar.It's hard to see much without tearing the dash apart.
When I pulled the plug from the clock, the wires along with the connectors came out of the black plug. I don't want to reverse the wires when I reconnect...so does anyone know which terminal on the clock is hot and ground? I can't seem to find a pic anywhere.
I was thinking that because the clock is working as is the torpedo light which gets it's ground from the clock, that the ground was good. But then, the clock lights are very dim and the one blinks a little brighter making me think it is a ground problem. Am I going in the right direction?
Thanks for your thoughts..
Larry

 

If you look at the clock, the lug that attaches directly to the clock case is the ground. The one that goes to the lug with a cutout and a nut goes to the 12v wire. The clock is grounded via the black wire in the plug to the back of the radio where it splits and runs to ground.

 

65GGvert...thanks again for your help! I have both panels off on either side of the radio. I'd like to know where that green replacement ground wire goes and that gives me a start. I saw the lugs on the back..one with the nut but it was hard to see much more laying on my back in the footwell. That info certainly helps.
Any ideas on why the bulbs are so dim or the one getting brighter every few seconds? If not the ground then what? Could there be internal problems with the clock? All the other dash bulbs seem ok and don't get brighter.

 

The power doesn't go through the clock, it connects to the instrument panel lamps. A loose or dirty connection at the power, or a loose or dirty ground is all I can think of. Maybe the light socket itself is loose or corroded where the bulb plugs in or where it contacts the clock case.

 

If you remove the glove box the clock is much easier to access, FWIW.

"but it was hard to see much more laying on my back in the footwell."

 

Open glove door, remove the 6 screws in the arch, then the 4 screws underneath the front of the box, 2 large screws on either side of the trim tag.
The glove box light wire may be long enough to allow you to lay the box on the floor. (I finally spliced a longer wire into my wire after removing it a few times).
And with the box removed, you can also inspect a part of the bird cage.

 

The clock is only held in with 2 spring clips that slide onto 2 studs with a ball on the end of them. they are at 3 and 9 on the back of the clock.

 

Thanks for the tips guys! I got sidetracked today but plan to attack it tomorrow.

 

Ok..so the mystery of why I have a green ground wire to the clock got to me. I took the clock and the glovebox out. ( thanks for the tips on both). I then located the plug to the rear of the radio. My understanding was that the black wire (ground) runs from the harness to the radio plug and then one to ground at the z-bar and the other to the clock.
The radio plug has three terminals. The center one has two black wires to it. One of these wires goes to the z-bar and is grounded above the radio. The other I followed back to the harness located on top of the z-bar coming from the direction of the dash. Where the wire meets the harness, the green ground to my clock is soldered in and taped with electrical tape.
What the @#$ do I have going on and better yet...what is it supposed to be? Any pictures would be great too.

 

Bubba has been at work on your clock wiring - that "L"-shaped connector has a black wire (for ground) and a black/orange wire (for power); the black/orange power wire also serves the glove box light, courtesy lights, and the stop light switch.

 

Larry
Here is what you are looking for. This is from my 65 and a new Lectric Limited harness.

Dave Z

P.S.
Also added a shot of the harness connectors you might find in the radio-clock area.

 

Dave,
Thanks for your reply. I do have the right connector to the back of the clock except that the black ground wire has been replaced with a green one. My radio connector also looks correct just like the picture.
My question now is the black ground wire on the clock..where does that go? My green wire (obviously replaced by Bubba) goes to the harness behind the radio and is soldered to the black wire that goes down to the radio connector. I have to open the harness some to see more but it would be helpful to know where the clock ground is supposed to connect at the other end.
John...I do have the right blk/orange power wire that runs those other things. Just trying to figure what happened with the ground now.
Larry

 

I see in the pictues that the black wire in the radio connector as well as the black wire from the radio connector each go into the harness. Do you know if these wires are supposed to come together in the harness somewhere ( sort of like my green ground wire soldered to the black radio connector wire) or if I dig far enough back in the harness should I find the original black clock ground? I hope that made sense.
Larry

 

As I said earlier, the black wire from the ground connection on the clock runs to the radio connector black wire. That pin in the radio connector has two black wires, the one from the clock and the one that grounds to the cluster. It doesn't matter if your wire from the clock ground is green or black as long as it connects to ground on the cluster, either directly or in the correct wiring that goes to the radio connector black wire. Electrically it's the same place whether it's at the connector or further back in the bundle. I would not remove any wiring to move the ground, just ground it. I'd put a ring on it and put it under the same screw as the black wire with ring shown in the picture above. If it's already connected to the black wire in the bundle, you don't need to do anything. If you doubt your clock is working, just apply +12 v to the proper connection on the back of the clock and connect the - to the other (ground) lug or clock case. It should run just like it does in the car.

PS, Per your original question about the dim and flickering lights in the clock. The power for those lamps comes from a different fuse via gray wires and when snapped into the holes in the clock case are grounded. Make sure your clock case is grounded and plug in the lights, they should not flicker and should be equal brightness. Grounding the clock case directly should resolve any question about that being an issue. The little fingers in the bulb socket provide the ground to the clock case for the lights.

 

I guess I am missing something so please be patient with me. I understand that a ground is a ground regardless of the color of the wire. But I wanted to see if there is a bigger problem and why the wire has been changed to green.
My harness and connectors look just like the pictures above other that the black wire on the clock connector is green (and a bigger gauge wire). The two black wires on the radio connector go: one to the harness and the second to the ring terminal grounded on the z-bar. I do not see where a black wire goes from the radio connector to the clock ground ( I don't see where that would be in the pictures above either). The ground for the clock connector in the picture also goes to the harness, as my green wire does.
Upon removing some black tape, I am able to see that just inside the harness I have two black wires. These two wires are joined together with the black wire that goes to the radio and the green wire to my clock. There is a gob of solder joining all four of these wires. Originally, I assume that one of these black wires went to the clock and the other to the radio seperately.
I have no idea why they are joined now. I know that the clock works and I had lights that were dim. This wiring question started when I was cleaning the ground due to the dim light problem. I did find two different bulbs...so I have new ones coming before I can see if that problem is solved.
So...is the consensus that I should just wrap this mess back up because I do have ground....or should I cut out the solder joint and join the wires the right way? I'm still miffed about why the two black wires are joined at the harness then split off again.

 

I'm not sure about your wiring configuration, so I won't comment on it, other than to say, that some folks have added switches, as was in mine, to turn off the clock so it will not draw current when the car sits idle for periods of time. Perhaps that is why your clock wires are odd.

 

Yours sounds like it's wired correctly except someone has changed the black wire to green. Probably just happened to have that color handy. It wires as you said yours is except for that clock ground wire being green. Hopefully the correct bulbs will solve you original problem. If that ground wasn't good, the clock wouldn't run and the clock lights wouldn't light and the radio wouldn't play. If you still have issues with the clock lamps, make sure the sockets are securely contacting the clock case.

 

Update: First, I want to thank the guys here on the forum. I've found that everyone goes above and beyond to help.
I did post that there were two different bulbs in the clock. Once I checked, sure enough, one of those bulbs was a #257 flashing bulb meant for the brake or headlight warning light. Answers why it seemed to get brighter every few seconds!
After looking over my harness and wiring, I decided to leave well enough alone. The green wire that replaced the black ground to the clock was working fine. I taped the harness back up. I also cleaned around the area of the light sockets so a good ground will be had. I have some other things to clean up under the dash before I reinstall the glove box and clock. Thanks again!
Larry