Hi guys and gals, first time on, seems like a friendly and knowledgeable site.

Subject: Clock, Elgin, Quartz, Westminster Chime, Anniversary clock, probably mid-'70's.

Problem: Keeps great time, and ball-device works fine. But.....the number of chimes it rings are 5 hours behind (or, 7 hours ahead, take your pick) ie: at noon, rings 5 chimes.

I wrestled around in your library to see how to set it and looked at several of the regular postings but did not see this covered...maybe because it's too simple of a question. I rang up Elgin when I couldn't find a link for a manual, but....the service person I talk to was basically clueless.

So, what the heck, I'll come to the pros. I hate to think I'm dumber than the clock, but I hate to mess around with this neat old clock without a little coaching. Your thoughts?

Best Regards,

Devil Dog

Someone will come along with an answer...but not me. Never(say never) have worked with one of these before.

Good Luck and Welcome.
greg

I dunno Brad, can't you reset the hands to correspond to the existing improper chime sequence and then walk the hands around to the proper time which will hopefully chime the correct number of hours after that.What I mean is if the clock is striking five times at twelve move the hands to five and then walk the hands through each hour till you achieve the correct time.The chime sequence should match the correct time.The hour hand on most quartz clocks is just a friction fit and should move easily.I hope I understand your question correctly.
Respectfully,Bob Fullerton

Thanks for the welcome Greg.

Robert: I hesitated to do that "hot", so I removed the battery and moved the hands to the phantom time and reloaded the battery, but at the next hour chime, it was still 5 hours back.

My thinking was....trying to imagine what the original instructions must have been. I'm sure they made it pretty simple, something like "Set the clock to the correct time, and insert battery. But....that didn't get it.

One thing I might mention.....when I moved the hands "cold", I just brought the hands around manually rather than using the time set wheel in the back. I hardly think that would be an issue, but by then I had just stopped and started checking things out on the 'net. Your thoughts?

Devil Dog

Brad, did you try just moving the hour hand to the five hour behind time.Try that and then walk it through each chime sequence with the minute hand.I don't know if that will correct your problem but it's worth a try.I would leave the battery in while doing this it's not going to hurt anything and it may help.As far as turning the minute hand by the hand proper rather than the knob I wouldn't worry about it.If you notice when you turn the hand the knob will also turn.After all is said and done maybe your movement is at the end of its life span and needs to be replaced.In my experiences they seem to last from five to seven years or thereabouts.Empire Clock in Minnesota carries replacement quartz movements for 400 clocks.They have a website.
Best of luck correcting your problem.
Bob Fullerton

Thanks for the quick reply Bob. I tried the suggestons, and, armed with your comments, I became a bit more aggressive in checking a couple of more tricks on my own, but the chimes remained 5 hours behind the true time.

I think your right, the movement has probably ended it's useful life and I'll check out Empire.

Again, many thanks for your help.

Hi Bob,

I visited with a real nice local clock guy who gave me the answer: The chimed time that is ringing is the real time, not the time shown on the clock. The object then, is to get the HOUR hand moved to the chimed hour. As opposed to what one might think, the hour hand is not on friction, but rather on a simple sleeve. The hour hand can be moved (either direction) to the chimed hour. From there, simply move the minute hand around to the correct time, stopping each hour to allow the clock to cycle it's chimes.

The deed is done and clock works perfectly. Film at 11:00.

Regardless, many thanks for your post.

Best of luck to all,

Devil Dog