Clock Problems |
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by Blaine Bachman
Albuquerque, NM
+1 505.899.6710
'91 Silver Westfalia Super Chief
I gather from the Vanagon List traffic that the digital clock on the later Vanagons have reliability problems, or maybe they're just easily damaged. Add to this the difficulty in finding "donor" vehicles at your friendly local auto dismantler's (FLADs), and you've got the ingredients for a trip to the dealer (and a corresponding lightening of your wallet). One list member reported a quoted price of $251.00!
The clock in my `91 had a broken area in the crystal (evidenced by an ugly black blob along the bottom edge of the display), and would not respond to any pressure on the "buttons" to set the time (though it seemed to be keeping time in some parallel universe).
A suitable replacement
As I also own an `86 Golf, it occurred to me that the clock module from the Golf II might work; it looked to be the same size and the setting buttons appeared to be in the same place. Well, after much travail, I finally was able to disassemble the instrument cluster from a Golf (not mine!) to see if the modules were interchangeable. They are! So, if you're having trouble with your clock, never mind scrounging the Vanagon section at your FLADs. Head over to the Golf II/Jetta II aisle and start your shopping there. There's plenty!
Wandering around my FLADs, it became apparent that there is some secret "gold" hidden in the dash of most Golf IIs and Jetta IIs; most of them have the instrument cluster dangling or even sitting on a seat in the car. Better for your needs. At this point, I'll point out that Karma dictates a "do no damage" approach to extracting a component at the yard, and that flexible circuit on the back of the cluster is probably the most valuable component to the FLADs guys (and your fellow Vee Dub owners). Finally, ask before you take stuff apart, and it goes without saying, pay for what you get.
Taking from a Golf...
So armed with an assortment of small screwdrivers and a wrench, remove the nuts and screws which hold the flexible circuit to the back of the cluster. Note that there are several plugs embedded in the circuit which have to be carefully pulled from the instruments. Once the circuit is safely out of the way, it's a relatively simple and obvious procedure to separate the center section holding the clock, LEDs and, upshift indicator from the speedo on the left and the tachometer on the right. Remove the two small screws on the front side of the clock, and you should be able to work it loose.
...to put into a Vanagon!
Returning to the Vanagon, remove the instrument cluster cover (you better know how to do this - it's the only way to check your brake fluid level). Remove the four screws that hold the cluster to the top of the dash and open the brake fluid reservoir so you can remove and set aside the plastic cover that protects the wiring from random fluid spills; replace the cap. Disconnect the speedo cable, and unplug the wiring to the brake/seatbelt indicators, headlight switch, rear window defogger switch, and emergency flasher switch (and fog light switch if you have one - lucky dog!). Lift the assembly up and disconnect the big wiring harness below the tach and the smaller two wire connector behind the speedo.
Turn the cluster over and you will see two screws which hold the clock assembly to the panel. Remove them, all the while being careful of your own flexible printed circuit. Lift the assembly out of position and carefully expose the face. See the two screws holding it in place? Note that there's also a clear plastic face piece. Remove the two screws and the face piece and set them aside. Holding the backing plate between the index finger and thumb of one hand, pull the clock module straight out with the other hand. Install the new clock (making sure to fit the two pins in the socket) and the clear face piece, and screw it in place. Reassemble the cluster up to and including the step where you reinstall the two-wire plug and the large harness. Check and set the clock to make sure it's a good one, then finish the reassembly.
When the clock powers up, don't fret if it appears to be trying to communicate to you in Klingon; just push the buttons to set it, and it should clear up. The one difference seems to be the color of the filter that passes the dash lighting to the clock face; my clock now has a green tinge when the lights are on, but it's not at all objectionable.
(By the way, the "L" board which controls the oil "idiot" light on my '91 wasserboxer is the same part as used on the Golf II; if you need one of those, it's hiding inside the Golf's tachometer housing.)
Klaus Pfister passed along a neat hack that changes the clock to 'euro-style' 24-hour time. (This modification has not yet been verified by us here at vanagon.com, so do it at your own risk...)
On the back of the clock's printed circuit board is a slotted-circle type trace arrangement. On one side of the circle is printed '12', and on the opposite is printed 24. If you carefully cut the trace to the 12 and solder a copper wire to the 24, your clock will start displaying 24-hour time.
Make sure you observe static discharge prevention measures during work. This means grounding yourself to the body. A copper wire wrapped around your wrist and tied to something metal should work. Doing so helps the electronic components of the clock to last as long as possible.
Larry Carter writes:
I finally found the time to check out the problem with the digital clock constantly cycling the hours. I took out the dash to get at the clock, one of the little target-like plastic pieces that you push against when you adjust the clock had fallen down and gotten itself trapped under the plunger. (The plunger actually does the electrical work that changes the time.) I just re-aligned the little targets, and re-assembled the dash. Everything works.
