Quartz Watch Not Starting After Battery Change

[watchweasol]

Hi as John said its ronda 517, these usually are self starter as soon as the battery is put in. They are workhorse movements used by many and are classed as repairable. If you can remove the coil and check it out for resistance, no reading it toast  O/c.

i Have attached the service sheet fir your interest.  The coil will be available at cousinsuk but if the replacement unit is £7.14 Thats the way to go.

562_Ronda751,751E,753,751.24,762,762H,763,763.24NEW0114_Smaller.pdf

[GlasWolf]

6 hours ago, philipk5 said:

Surely if the second hand is "pulsing" then the coil / circuits are OK, and the problem is a mechanical one?

For what it's worth, the pulsing hasn't returned after I reseated the battery again this morning.

Looks like I'll need a hand puller and press and some precision screwdrivers as well as the movement itself.  £20 gamble for a £80 watch?  Probably worth it to stop me buying another one!

Thanks watchweasol for the info.

[watchweasol]

Hi  dont be disheartened,   The Ronda movement is a robust movement and capable of good service. Are you in the UK if so where about. If the brown stuff is in the fan and you dont want to tackle it may be we can work so maybe we can work something out, I have the kit to test the watch, The coil the module and the mechanics. PM me if you need my help.      Cheers

[watchweasol]

Hi  dont be disheartened,   The Ronda movement is a robust movement and capable of good service. Are you in the UK if so where about. If the brown stuff is in the fan and you dont want to tackle it may be we can work so maybe we can work something out, I have the kit to test the watch, The coil the module and the mechanics. PM me if you need my help.      Cheers

[watchweasol]

Hi Whats the lastes position with the Wenger/Ronda    any luck?

[yankeedog]

I looked  the watch up..apparently  it's a ronda 715..which you can buy for about 10 bucks.Isnt worth  it to fiddle  with old movement. Replace  it with  a new one.the watch will last  you another  10 years.

[yankeedog]

I was wrong  it's more like 15 bucks..sue me. 

[GlasWolf]

12 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Whats the lastes position with the Wenger/Ronda    any luck?

I'll have to make a few eBay purchases before I can do anything, including the movement itself.  I'll update the thread once it's all in place, and if I need a hand (if you'll pardon the pun).  And thanks for the offer, btw.

[watchweasol]

Thats great     we try to help on the site   good luck

[dmader48]

I'm replacing a Renata battery in a Frederique Constant quartz watch. I've tried several new batteries and finally tested them, they're all good. But the watch isn't working. I've now learned from this site about the yellow transparent "isolator", which I've found, Mine has a tab that aligns it but I don't know top from bottom. There are two small slots cut out of it. How do I know correct orientation? And if I didn't use the isolators at first, is shorting a serious problem, does it "kill" the watch? If not, is there anything else I need to do once the isolator and battery are installed? If it still doesn't work, then what? Thanks for any help/advice provided!

[jdm]

1 hour ago, dmader48 said:

If it still doesn't work, then what? 

The insulator is there just for extra safety, if the battery is still above 1.55V it has not been shorted. Try giving it a pulse with a "line free" device or demagnetizer. Failing that the complete quartz module needs to be replaced, that is best done by a watch repairer. 

[patrickej]

I managed to start a quartz wrist watch by getting a big magnet, and moving it clockwise around the face of the watch.

It was about to return it and try to get a refund.

Was it a fluke? it has been working for a week now!

[HectorLooi]

Have you guys watched a video on YouTube titled "How to change a watch battery"? It's been out there for 2 years already. 

That guy grips the new battery with metal tweezers and when viewers point that out to him in the feedback, he claims it's ok, it's harmless. His tweezers are zircon coated.

Yeah. Right. 

[watchweasol]

Hi Patrick welcome to the forum.  what you were doing was the same as the line release tool, Inducing a magnetic field which acted on the rotor , which is also magnetic . Like poles repel unlike poles attract.

[Timebird]

Hi all my name is and I need some help.

I have replaced the battery on a Gucci 8300 and it will not restart.I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if they could advise on what I need to do to get it running.can’t find anything on line.Your help would be appreciated.

[Nucejoe]

Welcome to WRT forum.

 

[oldhippy]

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum.

[watchweasol]

Hello and welcome to the forum.   What you could try is putting it on a line release tool.  (available online,  Ebay,   this is essentially a coil and as current is passed through it it creates an electrical field and spins the watch at speed and frees any particals jamming the train. If this fails to restart the watch It wtll need further action, dismantling and repair (if possible or replacement).

Best to post some pictures of the back of the movement with the cover offo determine its make and caliber.

[LittleWatchShop]

1 hour ago, jdm said:

I would suggest to give it a quck shot with a demagnetizer before buying anything.

Demag a quartz watch?  The rotor is magnetic for a reason, no? 

[HectorLooi]

1 hour ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Demag a quartz watch?  The rotor is magnetic for a reason, no? 

Not to demagnetize it but to free up the wheels like when using a line release tool. When the watch is placed at the right spot, the hands will run rapidly and loosen up any dried lubricants. 

Try it. Use a non working watch if you are still skeptical. 

[LittleWatchShop]

52 minutes ago, HectorLooi said:

Not to demagnetize it but to free up the wheels like when using a line release tool. When the watch is placed at the right spot, the hands will run rapidly and loosen up any dried lubricants. 

Try it. Use a non working watch if you are still skeptical. 

I am not a skeptic, but using magnetically coupled instrument to spin the stepper motor is different than demagnetizing--very different.

Here is the tool I use for doing what you are describing.

Before I acquired this tool, I did use a demagnetizer in an unconventional way to spin the rotor, but again, it is not demagnetizing.

[HectorLooi]

4 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I am not a skeptic, but using magnetically coupled instrument to spin the stepper motor is different than demagnetizing--very different.

Here is the tool I use for doing what you are describing.

Before I acquired this tool, I did use a demagnetizer in an unconventional way to spin the rotor, but again, it is not demagnetizing.

Ok, I hear you. I use a line release tool too.

But I'm curious... Can a demagnetizer really demagnetize a neodymium magnet? Do you have a gauss meter to measure the effects of demagnetizing a neodymium magnet?

But I have come across a couple of Timex electric watches with magnetic pallet forks that seem to have lost their magnetism. I believe they were run through a demagnetizer.

[jdm]

9 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

using magnetically coupled instrument to spin the stepper motor is different than demagnetizing--very different.

I wrote demagnetizer instead of "line free device" just to be concise and practical, since it has become quite a common tool even for watch owners. Based on your observation I went back to the other topic and edited my answer to a longer sentence.

Then for the casual reader we should mention that an electromagnetic field is always that, no matter what is the designation on the box or device that does it (an electric coil). The field will make the rotor of a quartz watch spin with more force and speed that what its circuit board can do, thereby "releasing" dried oils or microscopic debris, and making it work again.

Again in this context, note that the action of demagnetizing involves moving away the object from the emitter at moderate speed, say start from 5cm and going to 50 in 3 or 4 seconds.  But one would not do this when using the demagnetizer as a quartz line realize, one shot of one second from 10cm away is all it takes. More than that and you risk to break the delicate plastic wheels which are not designed for that.

 

5 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

Can a demagnetizer really demagnetize a neodymium magnet?

No, one can't demagnetize permanent magnets (neodymium or traditional) using the weak EMF from the small emitters discussed here. They are called, after all, permanent magnets. That being said, with enough EMF one can do strange things and terrible damage.

Also, on the old "magneto" which was used to provide electricity for early spark engines, the (not really permanent) elements would lose field slowly over the years. On these it's possible to magnetize them again.

[LittleWatchShop]

I think we are all on the same page. I was sure that @jdmdid not intend to demagnetize but to apply turbo,  but wanted to clean up the record for future thread readers.

i am curious about the rotors. Are they neodymium? I truly do not know. I don’t think they need to be.  Can they be demagnetized? This is an easy experiment. I have both types of demagnetizers...I will do a test.

Regarding “permanent “ it is very easy to demagnetize a neodymium magnet...just heat it past the Curie temperature. I have done it...unintentionally LOL.

I will try to demagnetize a neodymium magnet with my tool and report back.

 

[Craig2022]

John D. is right does appear they moved the battery clamp over or used something that nicked the coil where the battery clamp swings over it. You can see a mark on the coil if you zoom in. If it is a coil break either silver epoxy or solder on this nick could bring the coil back to life if it is dead.