Battery woes !
Discussion
Found my wife's old tag f1 in a draw. Thought I'd try and replace the battery and let my daughter use it. Ordered an SR626 battery as per the one that came out, but where the old one was quite tight, this one is loose. When pressed in the movement works fine, but when I try to secure it, it starts jumping every 5 seconds.
are there different types of this battery - they look the same but they are very small obviously so there may be subtle differences ?
any help appreciated
are there different types of this battery - they look the same but they are very small obviously so there may be subtle differences ?
any help appreciated
There are two types (SR626SW and SR626W). The SR626SW (UCAR 377) is the correct one for that watch but both should work. the difference is in the chemistry of the electrolyte and affects how they react to things like backlights and alarms that put a relatively high drain on them.
The 5 second step is simply the low voltage (flat battery) voltage)
Three things to check:
How fresh is the battery and what brand? If it was an EBay order then the chances are it's old stock and past it's use by date. It may also have been stored badly. Some brands mark the date on the cell or its packet, some only mark it on the outer packs that they're supplied in. Some use a code that you need to decypher to work out either the manufacturing or use by dates. Watch batteries do lose power if they're stored too long or in bad conditions (especially heat). You really need a proper watch cell tester to check its power because it needs to be checked under load - an ordinary multimeter or "cell tester" only gives the open circuit voltage which can seem fine even with a faulty cell.
Next, take the cell out and lightly scrape the lower contact in the watch with a small screwdriver or similar. You can get virtually invisible corrosion / tarnish on there that will affect the quality of contact to the cell and can either stop the watch or give low voltage.
Finally, if it's the old ETA movement version, there should probably be a small round battery retainer (like a washer, with 3 tags round the outside and 3 "spikes" pointing into the centre) that sits over the battery. Depending on the case dimensions, if that's missing then the battery won't be held down properly when you put the back on. Make sure you haven't dropped something like that, but it may also have been lost on a previous battery change.
Other than those three there's not a lot you can check yourself because it's likely to be a problem with the circuit itself which would need test gear that's going to cost you far more than having the watch looked at!
The 5 second step is simply the low voltage (flat battery) voltage)
Three things to check:
How fresh is the battery and what brand? If it was an EBay order then the chances are it's old stock and past it's use by date. It may also have been stored badly. Some brands mark the date on the cell or its packet, some only mark it on the outer packs that they're supplied in. Some use a code that you need to decypher to work out either the manufacturing or use by dates. Watch batteries do lose power if they're stored too long or in bad conditions (especially heat). You really need a proper watch cell tester to check its power because it needs to be checked under load - an ordinary multimeter or "cell tester" only gives the open circuit voltage which can seem fine even with a faulty cell.
Next, take the cell out and lightly scrape the lower contact in the watch with a small screwdriver or similar. You can get virtually invisible corrosion / tarnish on there that will affect the quality of contact to the cell and can either stop the watch or give low voltage.
Finally, if it's the old ETA movement version, there should probably be a small round battery retainer (like a washer, with 3 tags round the outside and 3 "spikes" pointing into the centre) that sits over the battery. Depending on the case dimensions, if that's missing then the battery won't be held down properly when you put the back on. Make sure you haven't dropped something like that, but it may also have been lost on a previous battery change.
Other than those three there's not a lot you can check yourself because it's likely to be a problem with the circuit itself which would need test gear that's going to cost you far more than having the watch looked at!
With those pound shop cells be very careful to remove them at the first sign of problems (slowing down / stopping etc). They have a nasty habit of leaking before they go flat, leaving a nasty mess inside!
Not usually a problem unless you're slow in getting them out once any problems show, but can get expensive if you leave them in!
Not usually a problem unless you're slow in getting them out once any problems show, but can get expensive if you leave them in!
Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff