Expert: Martin Meyer - 5/30/2009

Question
When I swing my pendulum it does not engage the second hand, therefore the clock does not run. I have a hermle 1171-850 movement. What do you suggest i do?

Answer
Hi Laine,

The pendulum does not engage the seconds hand at any point (unless you mean indirectly via the whole gear train), so that is not the problem. I'm wondering if you mean that when you start the pendulum swinging, the second hand does not move, or moves very slightly back and forth but does not advance. There are quite a number of possible causes of this.

First, check that the seconds hand is not pushed in too far and is hitting the dial or the small screws or rivets that hold the seconds ring to the dial.

Next, the pendulum could be so far out of beat that the clock does not tick. The 1171 has automatic beat setting, so try starting the pendulum with as wide a swing as possible. If this doesn't help, please browse my previous discussions of setting the beat on longcase clocks.

If none of these suggestions help, something is creating a resistance or blockage in the gear train, and when the pendulum swings the gear train, including the escape wheel and the seconds hand, does not receive enough (or any) power from the center weight, so the gear train does not move and the clock does not run. There are many possible causes of this problem, and describing them all would be beyond the scope of this forum. I would suggest browsing my previous answers for information on bearing wear, lubrication, tangled weight cables and other jamming or stalling problems.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com