Howard Miller Wall Clock Chimes Erratically

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:00 am     Post subject: Howard Miller Wall Clock Chimes Erratically

I have just purchased a second hand Howard Miller wall clock. It has an 8 day key wound movement with 3 winding stems, Westminster chimes (5 chime rods) and while I don’t know how old it is (I’m guessing it's approx 10-15 years old at most), it looks like a brand new clock. Furthermore, the movement has just been completely professionally dis-assembled, serviced, cleaned, re-oiled, and re-assembled.

I’ve had it leveled and running on my wall for almost for about a day and a half now and it keeps time beautifully. The only problem is that the chime mechanism doesn’t always chime when it’s supposed to. For example, it ran perfectly for about 5 hours then stopped chiming completely for several hours. After about 3 hours of not chiming, it then started chiming again but stayed about 1/4 to 1/2 hour behind the actual time (for example, chimed OK at 8 pm, skipped chiming again at 8:15 pm, chimed again at 8:30 pm but chimed the 1/4 hour at that time, chimed the 1/2 hour at 8:45 pm, etc).

Once in a while, it catches up and chimes properly for a number of hours then starts skipping again. For example, it chimed properly for 12 hours from 1:00 am to 1:00 pm, skipped chiming again at 1:15 pm and chimed the 1/4 hour at 1:30 pm. Sometimes it misses chiming on the hour then chimes the full hour that it just missed but chimes it late, at 1/4 hr or 1/2 hr past.

Currently it is chiming again but the chiming is staying 1/4 hour behind. All of the winding stems have been wound tightly during this entire period and I have checked to make sure all packing materials have been removed.

One last point to mention about this clock..when the case is mounted completely level, the “Tick Tock” sound is slightly uneven (but it keeps perfect time in that position). In order to get the “Tick Tock” sound completely balanced and even, I have to tilt the cabinet 2-3 degrees or so off level to the right. I am wondering if that could be affecting my problem at all (I’ve been running it in the completely level position).

It seems as if it can’t be anything really serious (at least I hope not), given the movement’s complete and recent servicing. Is there anything I can/should do about this or should I just wait it out? Returning it to the seller is not a good option since it was shipped a considerable distance and I don’t want to put it through another shipping.

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:15 pm     Post subject:

Whether or not the clock is level should not effect the chimes (at least, not to the best of my awareness). Keep in mind that my knowledge is general at best, but perhaps something went wrong during re-assembly of the movement after cleaning...

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:34 pm     Post subject:

>>Keep in mind that my knowledge is general at best, but perhaps something went wrong during re-assembly of the movement after cleaning...>>

Thanks for the response. The clock was completely test run for a considerable time after re-assembly and running perfectly (including chiming) at that time.

If anything has gone wrong, I would think it is more likely that it happened during shipping (even though it was extremely well packed and all packing has been removed) and not the servicing.

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:46 pm     Post subject:

With what I have seen on the shipping end of things these days, you may not be far off. Although it really seems to vary given where you are located, it could be generally stated that shipping companies are treating packages much more roughly than ever before these days.

As a side note, it may be possible that one of our mechanical movement technicians may be able to help assist with the problem (or possibily identify the cause).

1-800-556-6474 (select the mechanical movement technical support option). If you have to leave a message, please do so. Our technician should be able to get back to you within 24 hours (at maximum). The call and advise are both free - so this may be worth a shot...

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:46 am     Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I will give that a try.