Expert: Kenneth Saunders - 2/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: To make it simple, after some service, my cuckoo clock came back just fine except that it now goes cuckoo/gong instead of the way it was before, gong/cuckoo. The repairman isn't sure how this can be fixed. Any thoughts? Thanks.

ANSWER: one thought; you need a new repairman!

loosen the setscrew on the 8 pin star wheel that lifts the arms for the bellows and the gong and index the wheel till it plays properly and retighten the setscrew.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, I got in there this weekend with the highest of hope. But found no screw to allow me to turn the wheel. There is a screw holding the wheel that is notched and has the different spacing for the longer gonging as the hours advance (sorry I don't know what these things are really called) Took that off but still couldn't turn the "pinned" wheel freely.So now I see exactly WHY it cookoos before it gongs, but can't get the pins into a position that will activate the gong arm before the bellows arms. Thanks for the help Ken, maybe I'll get brave and take the works out of the box to see if there's a way that might be more involved, but I'll have to wait until my wife goes out for a day  :-)     Mike

Answer
ok - so yours is an older count wheel design- ignore all I said about the 8 pin star wheel. If your repairman took the mechanism apart, it is possible to put it back together with the teeth of the wheel that lifts the hammers being out of position by a few teeth. I would leave it as it is and not suggest you attempt to fix it yourself. Or take it back or find another repair person. I kinda like the "cuckoo-gong" sequence myself:)