As many of you know I am a bit of a novice. I have this neat little clock radio RCA C-2e and radio wise it now works great but the clock is a bit of a problem. (I am guessing this is a common theme.)
A first the clock would not work. I took it apart as best as I thought I could reassemble it and greased it up a bit, worked the gears and motor assembly and slowly but surely it started to work but usually not without a bit of a nudge to just get it started. Then I found if I turned the radio face down the clock would start without a initial turn. (I noticed the motor initially pushes the small central gear shaft forward and then starts to turn. So I guess the gravity helps it along.
My feeling is the motor assembly itself is weak and probably could use a replacement motor and here is where my question comes in. Where would I find one? I think a 50 year old clock might not have a new manufacturer motor assembly lying around at RCA so what do I do? Is there anything else I can try? Am I right the motor is weak? It looks real easy to remove and replace. Does anyone sell them? I do not even know the part number as all I have is the schematic.
I would appreciate any guidance.
Edward
The clock probably induces an AC current into the rotor, so there are no permanant magnets to get weak. The 50 year oil inside the thing is probably the culprit. Try turning the whole thing upside down to move the oil around, and see if a few days of running like that makes it work. I have repaired a couple like yours by *carefully* drilling a *small* hole in the motor and injecting fresh oil with an oiler you can buy that works quite well. After oiling, a dab of solder over the hole, and the motor is good for another fifty years, I reckon.
Lewis
I forgot to add one thing. I ran the clock for about 4 hours and it was losing about 3 to 4 minutes an hours also.
The clock motor does run off AC directly. Also this motor assembly is rather service friendly in that it has a rear shield that can easily be removed with the removal of two set screws. That exposes the assembly which is a round rotor assembly and you can see the ?stators? and magnet positioned around the rotating part. I am not sure what is inside this but there are a number of circular holes that I have sprayed liberal amounts of WD-40 in to.
Is WD-40 OK to use? When you say run it upside down do you mean when viewed from the front or with the face up or down or all of the above?
Ed
:The clock probably induces an AC current into the rotor, so there are no permanant magnets to get weak. The 50 year oil inside the thing is probably the culprit. Try turning the whole thing upside down to move the oil around, and see if a few days of running like that makes it work. I have repaired a couple like yours by *carefully* drilling a *small* hole in the motor and injecting fresh oil with an oiler you can buy that works quite well. After oiling, a dab of solder over the hole, and the motor is good for another fifty years, I reckon.
:
:Lewis
:
Put the top of the radio on the table, so the oil can run back into the gears, but if you can get inside, clean out the old lubricants with WD-40 or the like, but don't rely on WD-40 for lubrication, it protects wonderfully, but it will eventually become a hard protective film. A petrolium distillate, such as mineral spirits or kerosine is an excellent cleaner. If you have a friendly clock repair shop nearby, they have great degreasers and cleaners. When you flush out the old oil, you are also removing little chunks of metal that have been ground off of the gears over the years, these you don't need. I have tried several lubricants over the years, but plain old 3-in-1 seems to work better than anything else. If anyone has a better one, I would love to hear of it. Re oil it, seal it, and let us know how it works.
Lewis
Edward
::Hi Lewis,
::
::I forgot to add one thing. I ran the clock for about 4 hours and it was losing about 3 to 4 minutes an hours also.
::
::The clock motor does run off AC directly. Also this motor assembly is rather service friendly in that it has a rear shield that can easily be removed with the removal of two set screws. That exposes the assembly which is a round rotor assembly and you can see the ?stators? and magnet positioned around the rotating part. I am not sure what is inside this but there are a number of circular holes that I have sprayed liberal amounts of WD-40 in to.
::
::Is WD-40 OK to use? When you say run it upside down do you mean when viewed from the front or with the face up or down or all of the above?
::
::Ed
:
:Put the top of the radio on the table, so the oil can run back into the gears, but if you can get inside, clean out the old lubricants with WD-40 or the like, but don't rely on WD-40 for lubrication, it protects wonderfully, but it will eventually become a hard protective film. A petrolium distillate, such as mineral spirits or kerosine is an excellent cleaner. If you have a friendly clock repair shop nearby, they have great degreasers and cleaners. When you flush out the old oil, you are also removing little chunks of metal that have been ground off of the gears over the years, these you don't need. I have tried several lubricants over the years, but plain old 3-in-1 seems to work better than anything else. If anyone has a better one, I would love to hear of it. Re oil it, seal it, and let us know how it works.
:Lewis
Edward
:I agree with Lewis. I use 3 in 1 oil and it seems fine. Also, if soldering the hole after you are done is a problem, try using epoxy putty, the type used to repair leaky pipes. It works great. Mark in Kalamazoo