CAUTION!!!  These motors were not meant to be taken apart by Consumers. You risk electric shock by improperly handling the motor. If you are comfortable taking things apart, then proceed, otherwise I suggest sending the motor to me for repair.

     The below procedures will show you how to replace the gears in your Ball Clock motor (WG-1420, WG-1420-2, WG-1420-3, WG-5094).   This motor is used in both the original Arrow Handicraft Ball Clocks as well as the Domino Clocks. In most cases the reason your motor is no longer working is because the plastic armature gear and or idler gear have crumbled or decayed from age. Even if the motors were never used these gears need to be refreshed due to their age. Keep in mind there are subtle differences in the motor housing from one clock to another so use this information as a general guide to perform the repair. The procedure is effectively the same for the Domino Clocks but the plastic motor casing has to be cut open in order to get at the Intermatic motor.

Motor Repair Procedures

(Click thumbnails for enlarged view)

1. Determine how the faceplate of the plastic motor housing is held in place. Some versions of the motor housing have 2 Phillips head screws that hold the plate on. Others need to be carefully pried apart. Your motor may also have a mounting screw with a silver metal locking clip. You will need to carefully remove the clip so you can get the Phillips head screw out. Don't worry about breaking the silver clip. It is not needed and was only installed to keep people from opening the motor. (See figure 1).
   
    
     Figure 1
    

2. Remove the face plate from the motor housing. Take note of how the motor sits inside the casing and also note the orientation of the electrical cord. Be careful not to pull on the wire leads that go into the motor. There is no need to remove the wires (See figure 2).
   
   
        Figure 2
    

3. Carefully lift the motor out of the casing and position it as shown in figure 3. Using a pliers, very carefully bend the 2 pins circled in red as shown in figure 4 and figure 5. From my experience I only needed to bend these 2 pins outward a little bit to lift the metal cover off. You should not need to touch the center pins (circled in blue) to remove the cap. 
   
    
   Figure 3     Figure 4     Figure 5
    

4. Carefully lift the metal cover off the motor as shown in figure 6.
   
   
     Figure 6
    

5. Remove the Armature, Idler and spacer as shown in figure 7. The spacer is no longer required with the replacement gears. Remove the spacer and discard it as shown in figure 8. The new gears will not fit properly if you fail to remove the spacer. Figure 9 shows the motor with all 3 old pieces removed. With the gears now removed, it would be a good opportunity to apply some lubricant to the 2 shafts. I used Dielectric grease on mine.
   
     
    Figure 7     Figure 8    Figure 9
    

6. Install the new armature gear onto the shaft as shown in Figure 10. Install the new Idler gear as shown in Figure 11. See the cut-out in Figure 12 for correct orientation of the arm on the idler. In order for the motor to run clockwise, the Idler gear must be installed as shown.
   
        
     Figure 10    Figure 11   Figure 12
    

7. Now simply replace the metal cover on the motor. It should snap back into place. Use your pliers to push on the 2 pins that were bent in step 3 (See Figure 13).  Place the motor back into the plastic casing (Figure 14).
   
    
    Figure 13  Figure 14
    

8. Close up the plastic casing and replace the screws. If your motor casing was pried open, you will have to glue the faceplate back on. I suggest rubber cement so you can easily open the motor again for future repairs.
   
   
   
   
    

9. You're done!  Your clock will run perfectly for a long time to come!
    

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Copyright 2008 Stuart Singer