“My clock has stopped, it was working before so it’s probably a quick fix” is something we often hear as a repairer, but unfortunately is very rarely true. A clock stopping is a sure sign that it’s time for a service, and there are no shortcuts - it needs to be done properly. Below is a good example of a clock that ‘was fine until it stopped’; thick, black oil has become so sticky, the motor of this synchronous clock is no longer able to rotate. Although from the outside the clock looks okay, once the component is out of the clock it isn’t hard to see that this will cause a problem.

Only after thorough cleaning and some repairs to worn components can the clock be reassembled and re-lubricated. It is time consuming but is the only way to ensure the clock will run well.

With the clock back together it all looks great. I particularly love the label on the plug socket. This was probably put there so the clock wasn’t accidentally switched off at the wall.