kit cat klock motor

[cfz2882]

got a kit cat klock the other day-it is the light blue"jeweled"version-some of the plastic "jewels"have fallen off,so will likely remove the rest.Dated 5/79 on the motor mount,intermatic motor is locked up-might just be lube that has hardened-I also have one of those steel ball clocks,~1981,with basicly the same intermatic motor and the same problem-anyone have experience getting locked intermatics turning again?

 

[rp2813]

I've pried them open and messed with them, but usually once they're shot, they're shot.  You can give it a try, but make sure you remember how things were situated (specifically, the flat metal tab that dictates rotational direction of the magnetic(?) drive) or it may run backwards after you put it back together.

 

I don't recall seeing a Kit-Cat clock with an Intermatic motor, but I've only been inside ones from the '40s and '50s.

 

[cfz2882]

kit cat motors

hopefully,if rotor or other part is bad,parts can be salvaged from another intermatic motor such as one from a plug-in wall timer.I have seen earlier kit cats that had external rotor motors more like a sessions or spartus.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, I was going to suggest harvesting another motor from a wall timer and using its parts.  The clock's motor may have a unique drive gear that prevents a simple swap.  That's a problem I ran into with my Golden Hour clock many years ago.  The motor was fine, but the unique drive gear was chewed up and I couldn't just switch it out with another Intermatic.  I ordered a replacement motor and found that they stopped using the Intermatic motors for those and had gone with the Sessions type, which are generally more audible than the Intermatics.

 

[cfz2882]

sessions

I have noticed old sessions clocks tend to be noisy -telechron probably the quietest and most reliable-I have a telechron clock~1935 that is stuck-probably could be restored to operation by carefully making a tiny hole in the copper reduction gearbox and adding fresh oil-amazing how these telechrons last and last even with the motor rotor turning at 3600 rpm...

 

[supersuds]

Ralph has a method of recoiling Telechron clocks that worked like a charm for me, no drilling needed. I'll let him explain as I've probably forgotten some of the nuances.

 

[cfz2882]

cool

if I get the old '30s telechron going,might try to get stuck motor in my 1973 sony flip type clock radio going-made by Omron,motor is copy or license of telechron...A cool feature of the '73 sony is orange colored numerals that fluoress bright green when illuminated by a tiny fluorescent "blacklight" below the dial.

 

[rp2813]

Here's the method I use to rejuvenate H and F type Telechron rotors.  I've been told this isn't successful on the older B type rotors.

 

Use 3-in-1 oil in the blue & white container. 

 

If this doesn't help, then you'll have to drill the rotor.  Let's see how this goes before I share that operation with you.

 

1)  Remove the rotor from the coil assembly.  You can probably push it out, or loosen the screws on either side of the coil to help free it.

 

2)  Place (balance) the rotor, pinion gear side up, on top of a light bulb (60 to 100W) and try to get the rotor as level as possible.

 

3)  Turn on the light and let the rotor cook for at least 30 minutes.  When time is up, shut off the lamp, leave rotor in place, and apply a drop or two of oil onto the pinion gear.  You should see it fill the small well around the gear's base, and then slowly (or sometimes quickly) be absorbed into the rotor case.  Repeat this until you've added 15 - 20 drops of oil.  If it stops drawing it in, heat the rotor up again and then pick up where you left off.

 

4)  Install the rotor back into the coil assembly, connect to power, being careful not to disturb the soldered connections on the coil.  Check gear for rotation.  Information on the rotor case should indicate the rotor runs at 3.6 RPM.  I sort of eyeball it and check against a clock with a sweep second hand.

 

If the rotor is noisy, you may want to heat it up once more and add maybe 5 or 10 more drops of oil.  Less is more.  Too much oil and it will bog down the mechanism inside the rotor and cause it to run too slow.  Noisy rotors that have been revived can sometimes quiet down once they're back in use for a while too.

 

[cfz2882]

will try!

got the old telechron GE clock out,ready to try the fix as on as soon as I have the correct oil on hand-clock,in brown bakelite,is model 7h154:interestingly,says "OPA maximum price $ 4.95"so looks WW2 era instead of mid 1930s.Type H rotor.

 

[rp2813]

7H154

That's a post-war variation on the "War Alarm" model.  The "H" in the model number indicates an H (specifically, H3) rotor. 

 

When you open up the clock, remember that time and alarm setting knobs on Telechrons made after the early 1930s have reverse threads.  A general rule of thumb is that if there's an arrow indicating the direction to turn the knob to set time or alarm, the knob itself is turned in the opposite direction to remove it.

 

Here's a link to pictures of Telechron clocks made from 1945 - 1949.

Telechron and GE Clocks 1945 - 1949

 

[vacosaurus]

If a Kit Kat is the one with the cats eyes and tail moving

You might want to call Suburban clock shop in Berea Ohio 440 - 234 - 4027 They sell new ones there and also repair vintage clocks. Mabey they can help you with a motor if needed

 

[delaneymeegan]

Thank-you Ralph for your idea to repair these

I recently found 2 of these clocks that relatives had in use in the 70s. They've been in the cupboard all this time.

One actually works. The other one merely makes a sad humming sound when plugged in and one of the eyes is messed up. Makes it look like its cross-eyed.

Checking on flea-bay and there is a plethora of kat klocks in numerous colors plus an adorable poodle clock with the same tail. Also, repair mechanisms.

Kit Kat Klock for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Kit Kat Klock at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

 

[cfz2882]

working!

method described in reply 7 got the old telechron unstuck finding the "blue" 3&1 locally was a bit of an ordeal,but baking the rotor over the bulb of a lava lamp base and adding the oil around the pinion gear did the trick.now time to get back to the kit cat motor problem...

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, the Telechron was the easy one. 

 

[cfz2882]

another one going again:

-a 1975 GE flip clock radio: thought it would have a telechron motor,but it was a Copal-similar to a Spartus motor, but much smaller-a couple drops of oil got it going,the neon bulb a little "silvered up"but still lights the display well.Might place into DD use for a while,displacing 1969 GE with it's bluish glowing electroluminescent clock dial Radio,AM/FM,is actually halfway decent on the '69 GE.only fair on the '75 Singapore made GE.

 

[rp2813]

I had an early '70s Panasonic AM/FM digital (flip card type) clock radio that I absolutely loved.  It had day-glo chartreuse numbers on the usual black background that were illuminated by a black light.  As one mail order catalog's copy stated, the display could be read "from across the room" and yet with the black light, the room stayed dark.

 

 

[sudsmaster]

If a Kit Kat is the one with the cats eyes and tail moving...

 

Those things absolutely creep me out.

 

If it were mine... I'd take a sledge hammer to it... LOL...

 

 

[rp2813]

I've had a battery operated Kit-Kat Clock in continuous silent operation since 1984, when I received it as a gift.  I'm amazed it still works and keeps time, considering that except for the battery connections and related tiny wires for the electromagnetic tail wagger, there's no metal to be found on it anywhere.

 

My sister ended up with an old '40s or '50s electric model sometime in the '80s.  The mechanism was loud and the motor eventually failed.  Several years ago I got a new motor for it (IIRC it was not an Intermatic) and tried to resurrect it for her.  It was still loud and the motor got fairly warm.  The drive gear on it didn't want to remain meshed with the movement, so we gave up on it and put the thing away.  It's too bad, because what I like best about the electric models is that their mechanism is designed so the tail and eyes move in opposing directions, which makes the animation all the more nutty.

 

If I had a noisy electric model, I'd probably want to take a sledge hammer to it, too!

[this post was last edited: 12/7/2015-14:16]

 

[delaneymeegan]

 

"If a Kit Kat is the one with the cats eyes and tail moving...

Those things absolutely creep me out.

If it were mine... I'd take a sledge hammer to it..."   Seriously ROFL!

 

 

 

"If I had a noisy electric model, I'd probably want to take a sledge hammer to it, too!"  lol,

I think Sudsy's issues are some unresolved childhood incidence, but who can say?

 

 

 

Personally, my parent once bought an electronic bird sounds clock that would play a different bird sound, on its crappy 1989 built-in mini speaker, every hour.    It was horrible, generally a screeching sound.   I learned that a heavy sledgehammer can solve many 'problems'.

 

 

It would be cool to see a kit kat clock , as you'd traditionally expect it to look, but someone puts a separate motor on each moving part with a computer board and program randomly moving the parts.  Sometimes the parts move as they traditionally would other times the eyes are crossing, sometimes the eyes are looking up, sometimes just one eye looks up, etc.  And moving at different speeds at different times, sometimes ever so slow. 

 

I think this would give Sudsy permanent night-mares.    LOL.