Seiko - Repair or throw

[Tony B2]

I really like the style and legibility of this Seiko, which I have had for about 12 years now. It is basic, legible, functional and the alarm is usable! Unlike the solar powered Seiko that I bough a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately there seems to be a problem with the movement now, as batteries are being consumed at about 2 or 3 week intervals.

So do I throw, or repair? Sending it to Seiko GB will probably cost more than the watch did when new (about £180), so any advice on alternative repairers would be gratefully received.

I am in Southampton, and do know of Cephas McKeogh, but his shop is looking a bit closed at the moment - not sure if permanently.

TIA

[ali_XFR]

the movement number should be stamped on the back- at a guess it looks like a v657- buy a working version of that movement from fleabay for 50quid or so and get someone to transplant it into your watch? Should be cheaper than seiko uk doing the work? If you fancy a new watch in the same style it looks a lot like a Pulsar military chrono to my untrained eye.

[Tony B2]

Looking at the case back the only numbers I can see (apart from the serial number) are:

7T32-7D90

Having searched via Google I can see that this is a pretty common movement - I just need to find someone who can obtain one and do a swap

[mikeveal]

Cephas isn't closed. I was there last weekend to drop off an old quartz Tissot. But he doesn't open on Mondays.
Your best bet is to pop it in to him for a look see.

Edited by mikeveal on Tuesday 15th March 08:44

[Variomatic]

It's pretty unlikely that it'll be genuinely killing batteries that fast - more likely is either an intermittent mechanical blockage or tarnish / corrosion on the battery contacts.

Has whoever changed the batteries actually tested the one coming out to see if it's got any power left in it, or have they just put a new one in and it's worked again? If it's "just worked" with a new one then take the battery out and carefully scrape the lower battery contact with something like a watchmaker's screwdriver to make sure it's clean.

It's quite common to develop an almost invisible layer of tarnish that gives intermittent electrical contact. If there's been any previous battery leakage that hasn't been cleaned out properly then it makes it even more likely. When you take the battery out and put a fresh one in everything gets disturbed and it works, then the contact breaks down again after a few days / weeks, and it stops.

[Tony B2]

Visited Cephas today and he could not see any problems

Fresh battery fitted and things appear fine so far. And this alarm I CAN hear, unlike the alarm in my recently purchased Seiko solar chronograph

Let's see how things go over the next few weeks.

Many thanks for the responses, chaps.

[Tony B2]

An update.

The watch has been working fine - until I used the chronograph function.

Whilst the chronograph is running, the main second/minutes hands stop. When the chronograph is stopped, the main seconds/minutes hands continue.

Any ideas on fixability?

[Variomatic]

Slight possibility of a bad connection between the battery lower spring contact and the circuit board.

Any resistance here will reduce the power available and it may be unable to run the two separate motors at the same time. Usually it'd cause both to stop but I guess it might be right on the edge and allow one or the other. It could also explain the apparent short battery life.

If not then it'll be a circuit fault but the circuit (and complete movement) are both obsolete so you'd need to find a good used somewhere.