Does anyone have a 70's Moffat range with a clock/timer like mine?

[dlb]

I finally replaced the clock in my 70's Moffat range but I can't figure out how to connect the wires for the stove. If someone has a clock like this one, can they take a picture of which wires connect to which terminals on the back? I copied the numbers from the previous clock but that configuration is not working.

Thanks, all.

 

[turquoisedude]

David, does the model tag for this stove say that it was made by Camco in Montreal?  If it did, wiring for the Moffat will be similar to Hotpoint, GE, and McClary ranges of the same era and I think (not 100% sure) that I have some McClary range service literature buried somewhere.  If there is a long-established major appliance repair place near you, they may be able to help you out with a wiring diagram for this.  

 

[dlb]

I don't see Camco anywhere on this stove but the timer is a GE 3AST 51, which was apparently used on numerous other makes stoves so you're right, any stove with a similar clock/timer should work.

There is an appliance repair shop in town but any time I have asked them about my old fridge and stove, they have been a little surly. I was surprised because it's an old family-owned business so they worked on these things 30, 40 years ago, and I thought they'd appreciate keeping this old stuff alive but nope, they have no nostalgia for it.

 

[dlb]

I got it! Despite the terminals on the timers being numbered, it seems that the numbers of one timer do not necessarily correspond with those of other timers. The wire that went to...

1 is now attached to 4
2 is now attached to 1
4 is now attached to 2
3 is still connected to 3
and I had to add a ground wire from 5 to ground

I figured this out by looking at the wiring schematic on the back of the stove. I noticed that it said the #1 timer terminal should be connected to the 30 amp fuse, but on the previous timer #2 went to the 30 amp fuse. I hadn't noticed that before so I tried reconnecting things according to the schematic and that was the ticket.

The previous timer looks like it was a replacement unit made by Robertson so maybe that has something to do with it being wired differently.

What a saga this has been. I'm very pleased to finally have a working 'digital' clock in the stove. Now to figure out the obscure oven timer controls...

 

[turquoisedude]

Glad to hear you got it all hooked up again!  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions about using the timer for delayed cooking.  I've had many stoves with a timer unit like this and I used them often... at least until they gave up on me... LOL 

 

[dlb]

Hey turquoisedude, I actually do have a question that is sort of related to the delayed cooking function: how do I get switch the stove to stay in manual mode indefinitely? There is a sticker up where the fuses are that explains how to use the delayed cooking feature, and it says to use the oven normally to press the 'stop' knob in. I'm finding that pressing the stop knob in does switch the oven to manual mode but the knob doesn't stay in until I turn it to something other than the current time. The problem is that once the clock reaches whatever time the stop knob is set to, the stop knob pops out and I have to reset it. I'd like the stop knob to stay depressed indefinitely but feel like I'm missing something here.

 

[dlb]

I figured my 'manual mode' problem out, and it was the same as the wiring problem I had: the clock I had in it was designed for a stove with a different option configuration! My stove is a basic one so the oven just has the temp knob -- there is no knob for selecting bake, grill, self-cleaning, timed cooking, etc -- and the clock I had put in it came from a deluxe model of stove that must have had that. When I pulled the clock from the donor stove, I didn't realize there would be these differences so I didn't pay attention. Silly me.

Luckily for me, yesterday I found someone selling another base model 70's Moffat stove around here that had the right style of clock/timer. I bought the stove for $25, expecting the clock would need to be shipped off for repairs but it works perfectly so this was a simple remove & replace job. I think this is the first stove clock I've come across that didn't need repairs. The owners of this stove said they bought it new at Sears in Victoria in '75 or '76 so I can't believe the little clock motor still works after 45 years.

Now all the features of my stove work as they should, and my wife doesn't hate me for making her live with a half-functioning appliance. Hoo-ray!