BX clocks

[Mothman]

Hi all,

Is it me or do all BX clocks just fade away. My BX Estate was an eBay special for 350 quid 3 years ago and is still going strong and when i got her the clock display was quite visible and green in colour. Not long after it seemed to fade away and after 2 replacements its no better. I can see the time with the sun on it but only then and the rest of the time its almost impossible to see. All the clocks work ok jut cant hardly see them. I have thoroughly cleaned all the connections but this dosnt make any difference.
Anyone with any ideas? Will i just have to live with it and buy a seperate clock?

Andy

[Tim Leech]

Andy its probably just the bulb in the back of the clock that needs changing or maybe a bad connection, try that first. Can you see the clock at night, failing that Im sure someone has a spare clock somewhere for one.

[Mothman]

Hi Roverman,

i am afraid i cannot see it at night and all the replacement clocks have been the same. I will have another go at cleaning up all the connectors to see if that helps. A bit fiddly re the female ones but i will give it a go and let you know what happens.

Many thanks,

Andy

[Way2go]

If the illumination is working correctly you should get:

1) Bright backlight when ignition on but no lights selected.

2) Dim backlight with ignition on and side/beams selected

Sounds like connectors and/or wiring may be your problem if you have this problem on 3 units.

[Tim Leech]

No worries Grenman, as way2go says try the connectors first, I do have a spare clock somewhere you can have but I have to find it!

[Mothman]

Thanks Waytogo

have done as you said and it lit up like a christmas tree so there was a loose connection, I will have to keep my eye on it[when i am not scratching them as i did last Friday] as the connection is not perfect.I have missed this not working for the past 2 and a half years and all it was was a simple fix.

Thanks to all of you.

Andy

[Way2go]

You're welcome Andy!

As Hannibal says " I love it when a plan comes together".

[mnde]

I've been mulling over the idea of putting a more powerful LED in place of the bulb. I have difficulty reading the clock display in direct sunlight, and if I need the (side)lights in the morning, forget it! (because of the auto-dim feature).

Mark.

[prm]

Mark

You can carryout a mod on the digital clock to achieve night time illumination during the day, by bypassing the resistor on the clock printed circuit board, connected to the dim circuits.

Dismantle the clock. Looking at the rear of the circuit board with the unit horizontal.
At the top left and above the 4 connection tabs, you should find a diode and a resistor, inline, and running horizontal.

Just bridge the resistor with a small section of 10-20 amp fuse wire.

Regards

[Jaba]

Erm prm
I think you meant day time illumination in the night or with lights on during the day.

Excellent mod though. I have done it on all my BXs.

[Mothman]

Is it difficult to do? Do you solder the fuze wire?
Sorry if i sound a dimwit but i am not particularly technical, especially with car electrics.

Andy

[prm]

Many thanks Jaba, Senior moment !! Glad my wiring is slightly better!!!

Andy

Locate the resistor, tin the ends of the bridge wire and solder onto the points of the existing resistor, leaving the resistor in place.

Not to difficult to modify. A smallish low watt soldering iron works well.

Make a U shaped loop with the bridge wire, bent to line up with soldering points, held in place, and then apply a blob of solder to the original connection points.

All your doing, is bypassing the resistor that normally reduces the voltage for dimmed/reduced illumination.

Regards