FORD CORTINA SLOW CLOCK
Q
I have what is probably to most people a very minor problem in that the clock which is situated in the centre console of my 1974 Cortina 2000E has been steadily losing time over the past few years. At first I thought this was due to a poor battery, but I have now replaced the battery and also purchased a battery conditioner to ensure it is always up to voltage whilst the car is not in use.
The clock can lose around half an hour a week, and it is becoming quite frustrating to put it right every time I go to the car. Over the winter when I don’t use it the time is miles out, but I hadn’t noticed this in the past because before I got the battery conditioner, I just used to disconnect the battery. I was thinking about getting another clock as I have seen them on eBay, but wondered if the problem may be something else such as the wiring or connections.
Rob Keating
AAs you are probably aware, the console will need to be removed to access the clock and this is simply screwed into place with screws at the front and the rear. Once the console is out, you should check the connections to ensure that they are good, but it could well be the case that the clock setting is adjustable on your Cortina. Many of them were made to be adjusted, and a small screw can be found at the top centre of the rear of the clock by small plus (+) and minus (-) signs – these indicate in which direction the screw should be turned to speed up or slow down the clock. This will take a small amount of trial and error to correct the accuracy of the clock, but I am sure that effort will rewarded when you can use the vehicle without having to adjust it before every journey.