PeteCamplinSr

I am getting an intermittent grinding noise from the clock in my 1957 C1 and want to disconnect it. There is a red wire with a standard stud electrical connection and a gray wire with an unusual connection that does not disconnect with light pressure. I don't want to damage the clock but for right now would like to stop the occasional grinding noise when the engine is running. The clock continues to run with the red wire disconnected so I need to disconnect the gray wire without doing damage. Any ideas on how to disconnect the wire and what is causing the clock to intermittently make the grinding noise? Many thanks.

MidShark

If I'm not mistaken, the '57 clock would probably work the same as a midyear clock. The red is the power, but the clock has a mechanical movement, so the power to it only serves as a "re-winder". After the power is disconnected, it will continue to run until it unwinds. The gray wire is to the bulb socket. You have to wiggle the whole socket out, not just the wire.

Rich

65GGvert

The clock will continue to run with the red wire disconnected for a minute or more. It runs mechanically until it runs down and then the red wire which has 12v on it rewinds it. The rewind mechanism can stick, or the points that touch to rewind it can get burned or corroded and when it tries to rewind, it will chatter. I pulled out my stock clock and put in a quartz clock that looks exactly like stock for that very reason. You can send your clock out to be rebuilt if you prefer to keep the mechanical clock, but if you do, add a fuse in that red wire.That red wire is the one you need to disconnect. The gray wire is connected to the bulb socket that locks into the housing. You can leave that connected, it doesn't draw any power unless you turn on the dash lights. Be sure to cover the end of that red wire so that it can't touch anything back there. If it's stock it's not fused and you sure don't want it to short to the grounds like the clock case back there.
You can easily make up an inline fuse for it by attaching a female spade to one end of an inline fuse holder and a male to the other end and plug your existing red wire spade onto the male spade you made up and the female spade on the back of the clock where you disconnected your red wire. Again make sure you insulate the metal ends so they don't short. I used shrinkable tubing over all the connections. The inline fuse holders are around 4 bucks at Autozone and such.