Friday, November 30, 2012

Troubleshooting: Grandfather Clock Weights are not Moving

If you have three weights on your grandfather clock and none are moving, the clock is not going to chime or keep time.  Let’s look at the purpose of the three grandfather clock weights:
  • Left Weight: powers the hour strike and count
  • Middle Weight: powers the time train and keeps the pendulum swinging
  • Right Weight: powers the Westminster chime melody
If the weight in the middle is moving downward and the left and right weights are not, this simply means your chimes are turned off. There is usually a lever on the side of the dial for chime on / chime off. Set this to “chime on” and your left and right weights will start moving downward over the course of a week. If your grandfather clock doesn’t have a chime on /off selector on the dial, look just below the dial for a rod hanging down which you may push up or pull down to start the chimes.

If your chimes are starting for the first time in a while, it may take an hour for the chimes to sync properly so the chimes are correct to the hour and quarter hour.


Merritt’s Antique Clock Shop offers fine American and European wall clocks, shelf clocks and grandfather clocks at reasonable prices. As a well established Clock Parts Supplier, Merritt’s offers any hobbyist or experienced repairman an extensive selection of clock and watch repair tools, supplies, parts and books

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