Quartz movement run and stop

[espenbd]

Hello, 

Long story short, my father had an old certina quartz watch lying in a drawer that had not worked for many years. The watch is from his father, and i decided to give it a go, to make it run again.

I replaced the battery, but it didn’t work. It looked like the movement was dead, so i began searching for a replacement. After some time i managed to find the same movement, a ESA 947.111

I replaced the original hands and dial on the new movement and replaced the battery with a new one. The watch keeps tikking for a few seconds, but then stops. The issue is not the glass touching the hands, the same problem occurs when the movement is out of the watch case.

Any suggestions? I have never worked with a quartz before, only automatic watches. I really has no idea what to look for. Please see the video:

 

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by espenbd

[MrRoundel]

I'm not sure about your caliber movement, but many quartz watches are serviceable/cleanable. Of course, some are not. I suspect that yours is just dirty and needs a cleaning and oiling.  In some ways they're easier than mechanical, but in others, like handling the highly magnetic stepping motor, can be a challenge. You will need some brass, or good non-magnetic, tweezers to do so. Good luck.

 

 

[Nucejoe]

Water damage to the EB  or bad electric connection are two main causes.  There is a chance to combine good parts out of the two.

 

[watchweasol]

Sound advice given, If you can lay your hands on a line release tool and give it a short spin and re run the movment , it may just be sticky lubrication not knowing how long it was on the shelf but as mentioned a good clean and lubrication required    all the best

[JohnR725]

The replacement movement was that purchased new from the material house or somewhere else?  Then for the 947 series there appears to be zero technical literature but it looks vaguely similar to the 944 series which came out in 1981. So no matter where you purchase this watch it's going to be need to be serviced. Quartz watches with gears are just like any other mechanical watch at some point in time they need servicing and keep the circuit or the plastic plate out of the cleaning fluid it looks like the watch has a lot of plastic at least for the mainframe.

[yankeedog]

Plastic gives me the creeps.I hate to put a tool to it.you could try flushing the movement out with plastic safe electronic cleaner spray.I have had mixed success doing this...but in my case better success than actually taking ,or more accurately breaking a plastic quartz movement apart.

[espenbd]

On 6/4/2019 at 11:09 AM, JohnR725 said:

The replacement movement was that purchased new from the material house or somewhere else?  Then for the 947 series there appears to be zero technical literature but it looks vaguely similar to the 944 series which came out in 1981. So no matter where you purchase this watch it's going to be need to be serviced. Quartz watches with gears are just like any other mechanical watch at some point in time they need servicing and keep the circuit or the plastic plate out of the cleaning fluid it looks like the watch has a lot of plastic at least for the mainframe.

It was purchased off the bay, so i guess a cleaning and service is needed. Yes, it´s a lot of plastic on the mainframe, but i will try take the movement apart, clean and service it.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! Was hoping it maybe was a quick fix, but i will give it a shot

[MrRoundel]

On 6/4/2019 at 2:09 AM, JohnR725 said:

So no matter where you purchase this watch it's going to be need to be serviced. Quartz watches with gears are just like any other mechanical watch at some point in time they need servicing and keep the circuit or the plastic plate out of the cleaning fluid it looks like the watch has a lot of plastic at least for the mainframe.

I found this out the hard way when I bought an NOS movement for a friend. It wasn't long after changing it out that it started having issues. I suppose it more like a NOOS (New Old Oil Stock).

I have the watch back again, so I'll have to give it a go. Unfortunately, I need new cleaning fluids, as I haven't been happy with the results I'm getting using the mechanical L&R solution in my ultrasonic. Heck, maybe I'll just try the spray contact cleaner on it first. Then I'll use some of that pricey Moebius 9000 quartz oil. Yup, that's what I'll do. Good luck.

 

 

[espenbd]

On 6/5/2019 at 11:27 PM, MrRoundel said:

I found this out the hard way when I bought an NOS movement for a friend. It wasn't long after changing it out that it started having issues. I suppose it more like a NOOS (New Old Oil Stock).

I have the watch back again, so I'll have to give it a go. Unfortunately, I need new cleaning fluids, as I haven't been happy with the results I'm getting using the mechanical L&R solution in my ultrasonic. Heck, maybe I'll just try the spray contact cleaner on it first. Then I'll use some of that pricey Moebius 9000 quartz oil. Yup, that's what I'll do. Good luck.

 

 

Thanks, good luck to you too! Have you tried the contact cleaner yet?

Stripped down the movement today, it’s a lot of plastic. The circut board looks to be inside the main plate, so i can’t run it in the cleaner. Anyway, i have pegged the jevel holes with pegwood and had a clean up with rodico. The other parts will go in the cleaner, except the steppingmotor.

[MrRoundel]

No, I haven't gotten into it yet. I'm investigating a few spray cleaners available for quartz watches, as well as trying to figure out if the product DeOxit will work. It's used to clean electronics like potentiometers on electric guitars and amps, etc. It looks like the active ingredient in some of the quartz cleaning sprays is naptha, which is basically lighter fluid/Coleman white-gas.

You're in there now, so enjoy. It looks like you're being clean enough. One of the problems with my watch might be that my watchmaker's bench isn't as spotless as it may need to be for working on quartz. It doesn't take a lot to stop them. Cheers.

[espenbd]

Managed to put the movement back together after a lot of struggling with the stepping motor and the bridge. It was a nightmare! Now i also understand why some of you can’t stand to work with plastic.. i broke a plastic pivot. Luckily for me, i managed to repair it.

The watch is finally running again! Can’t believe it, my father is going to be so happy.

[watchweasol]

Well done