[OldHippie1968]

The only thing I've ever had to do was swap batteries, clean the contacts and blow out the debris, if any. Reset the movement, depending on the watch. The reason I ask, is my 5y23 diver is acting up after I swapped the battery. I seems to be O/K now, but the second hand was getting hung up and would sit there and twitch for a little before running again. Does it need to be oiled? If so, where are the lube points? Thanks in advance.

Cheers!
Mike

 

[KenS]

Mike,
Actually, servicing a quartz is easier than a mechanical. No mainspring, escapement and hairspring.
First thing to remember is that there are two sections to a quartz movement; the mechanical and the electronic.
If the watch is running you can rule out the electronics and concentrate on the mechanical.
You disassemble the watch as you would with a mechanical. One thing to keep in mind is that you have to be careful around the coil (copper colored thingy). Easy to slip with a screwdriver and break one of the wires.
Another thing you want to watch for is the rotor, which is magnetic and will pick up any metal particles in your cleaning solution.
I clean the mechanical parts in my regular cleaning solution and oil with a very light weight quartz oil after reassembling the movement. Keep in mind the pivots on the wheels are tiny and easy to break. I assemble by seating the wheels' lower pivots in the main plate and loosely put the top plate on. Hold the plates together with one hand and gently move the wheels with a small oiler or needle to seat the upper pivots. Before tightening all the screws down make sure the wheels turn easily and aren't binding.
Clean the contacts in the electronics with a pencil eraser, gently, and reassemble. Watch for the hacking lever. before assembling the electronics.


Ken

 

[OldHippie1968]

Mike,
Actually, servicing a quartz is easier than a mechanical. No mainspring, escapement and hairspring.
First thing to remember is that there are two sections to a quartz movement; the mechanical and the electronic.
If the watch is running you can rule out the electronics and concentrate on the mechanical.
You disassemble the watch as you would with a mechanical. One thing to keep in mind is that you have to be careful around the coil (copper colored thingy). Easy to slip with a screwdriver and break one of the wires.
Another thing you want to watch for is the rotor, which is magnetic and will pick up any metal particles in your cleaning solution.
I clean the mechanical parts in my regular cleaning solution and oil with a very light weight quartz oil after reassembling the movement. Keep in mind the pivots on the wheels are tiny and easy to break. I assemble by seating the wheels' lower pivots in the main plate and loosely put the top plate on. Hold the plates together with one hand and gently move the wheels with a small oiler or needle to seat the upper pivots. Before tightening all the screws down make sure the wheels turn easily and aren't binding.
Clean the contacts in the electronics with a pencil eraser, gently, and reassemble. Watch for the hacking lever. before assembling the electronics.


Ken

Thanx for the advice Ken! She's running fine for now. I'm not going to worry about it unless I have to. Other than that, I'll wait until the next battery change to do a tear-down. That gives me about three years.

Cheers!
Mike

 

[Mike]

I just have to say it's great hearing from Ken, it really is. He is a wealth of information and a valuable resource here at SCWF.

Mike

 

[OldHippie1968]

I just have to say it's great hearing from Ken, it really is. He is a wealth of information and a valuable resource here at SCWF.

Mike

Yes it is. You may want to check out the watchmaking school section of the forum. He's going to start May 1.

http://www.thewatchsite.com/index.php/topic,1401.0.html

Cheers!
Mike

 

[junlon]

...One thing to keep in mind is that you have to be careful around the coil (copper colored thingy). Easy to slip with a screwdriver and break one of the wires...

What would happen if we break one of the wires? The watch dies?

 

[Mike]

The watch dies and you send it to Ken to see if he can work a miracle on it.

Mike

 

[KenS]

If you break one wire it is possible to use some conductive epoxy (I use circuit maker) to repair the break. If you break too many of the wires, even though you repair the break the watch might not work because you have changed the number of windings on the coil and it might not produce enough energy to turn the rotor.
Usually will have to replace the coil.

What would happen if we break one of the wires? The watch dies?

 

[doctorc]

If you break one wire it is possible to use some conductive epoxy (I use circuit maker) to repair the break. If you break too many of the wires, even though you repair the break the watch might not work because you have changed the number of windings on the coil and it might not produce enough energy to turn the rotor.
Usually will have to replace the coil.

And if you are really lucky, the coil is a stand alone piece rather than soldered in.
On this one I had with the Seiko 8123 movement, one of the coils was broken. (I don't want to admit it, but I'm pretty sure I broke it :-[ ) I sourced a donor movement that I had hoped to swap out but there was some battery leakage and the new movement was DOA. The coil looked good however, and in playing with it I discovered it was easily swapped to my original movement.

[IMG]
[IMG]
[IMG]
[IMG]

Hard lesson learned for $9.99 shipped. :)

 

[OldHippie1968]

And if you are really lucky, the coil is a stand alone piece rather than soldered in.
On this one I had with the Seiko 8123 movement, one of the coils was broken. (I don't want to admit it, but I'm pretty sure I broke it :-[ ) I sourced a donor movement that I had hoped to swap out but there was some battery leakage and the new movement was DOA. The coil looked good however, and in playing with it I discovered it was easily swapped to my original movement.

[img]
[img]
[img]
[img]

Hard lesson learned for $9.99 shipped. :)
[/quote]

Thanx for the info Doc!

Cheers!
Mike