6 Steps to Replacing Your Clock Movement

1. When do I need to replace my movement?

Most clock movements will last about 20-25 years if properly maintained, but the first thing you can try if your movement suddenly stopped working is oiling it with a synthetic clock oil. If that doesn’t work, your movement likely needs to be replaced.

2. Is this something I can do myself, or do I need to hire a professional?

Your local clock shop could help you repair it, but for the mechanically savvy Do-It-Yourselfer, replacing your clock movement with a genuine Emperor Clock movement is simple to do. Most clock shops will offer to repair your movement, but once parts and labor are included, it may be more cost effective to just replace your movement. Additionally, replacing your movement will give you new product warranties that you won’t have through repair, meaning that your investment in your clock will go farther with added protection in case something else happens within the next few years. To do it yourself, all you need is time, patience, a simple pair of pliers and a flathead screwdriver, plus the correct replacement movement from Emperor Clock.

3. Is it difficult to do?

If you’re mechanically inclined, or have a handy friend or neighbor, you can save money by purchasing an Emperor Clock replacement movement and fixing your clock yourself. This is a project, however, and should take about an hour to complete from start to finish, so do keep this in mind. Emperor Clock includes detailed instructions in most of our movements and movement kits, plus we have free technical support from our own clock and movement experts (they’ve been to clock school!) at Emperor Clock available for you to call with any questions as you go. Just call our office between 8am and 5pm Monday thru Friday at 800-642-0011, and ask for Tom. We suggest taking pictures as you go about removing your old movement so that you can follow your process and remember where to set the new movement in place.

4. What do I need to watch out for?

Clock movements aren’t necessarily extremely fragile, but as they do have small pieces like the exposed gears and levers, you want to make sure you’re always handling the movement by the edges to avoid accidentally breaking or damaging the movement. In addition, once the movement has been placed in the clock, you’ll need to synchronize the minute hands to the chimes according the directions included with your movement and bend the hammers into the correct position to align with the chime rods.

5. What do I do with the old movement?

You can dispose of your old movement however you’d like! However, we would recommend recycling the movement whenever possible through your local recycling center, or even contacting a local clock shop to see if they would be interested in rebuilding the movement and selling it as a refurbished piece.

6. How do I know what movement I need?

Knowing exactly what you need can be a little tricky, but we’ve spelled it out for you to help simplify the process. If you know your Emperor Clock movement (such as the 301M), then you can simply find the replacement part that you need by searching on our website for the replacement movement. If you don’t know the model number, however, you can look on the back of the clock movement and find all the information that you need. Most clock movements have the information included in the same general places. This photo explains where to find the number you need to replace your movement. The purple box shows the movement number and the date code for the movement. This says “77”, so we know that this is a Jauch 77 movement, or an Emperor 100M. The box in blue is a production code, and simply tells those in the factory when it was made who made it, so it isn’t necessary for our purposes, and you can ignore that.

It is important to note that if your movement has a measurement such as “43 cm,” then you’ll need to know that as well when finding the right replacement movement. This measurement number corresponds to the pendulum gearing (not to be confused with length), so you’ll need to make sure that you’re getting the specific movement for your clock.

As always, if you get stuck, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. Is there something we’ve missed? Are there any other clock repair topics you want to hear more about? Leave a comment and let us know!