Search the Community

Hi WRT's, I'm new to watch repair but am pretty hooked on the problem solving and the detailed work! I can't stop! but this mystery is killing me; I have a 1946 Mido Multifort with a 816 bumper movement that stops randomly without provocation. When I opened it up, disassembled, then reassembled to test out the power train (without mainspring), everything spins and moves smoothly. So I continue to install the mainspring & bridge, give it a wind, and it runs smoothly --until I mount the bumper winder assembly and it stops. Dismantle, recheck, reassemble and it runs smoothly --this time, until I mount the bumper weight assembly when it stops. ... ...dismantle, recheck, reassemble. And it runs smoothly ( I even got the caseback on!) --until a few minutes later when it mysteriously stops. ... ... ...dismantle, recheck, reassemble but this time without the escapement. I apply a little wind, it spins and whines down. <repeat> it spins and whines down. I apply a little wind a third time but this time it stores the wind and doesn't automatically spin and wind down. So I jiggle the gear train and then suddenly it releases the wind (thank God I was careful not to give it too much wind on the 3rd test!) So I take the face and hands off, check the hour & minute gears and they look fine. Reassemble... Long story short, its all back together and it still stops randomly. --I know something is obstructing the power train but I have no clue where to specifically look (my eyes are still learning to differentiate the minutia). Anyone and everyone, I gladly welcome your ideas. Further, as I received the watch, non-working (it wouldn't even wind; possibly because it was stopped/ obstructed and wound to the fullest), when it does run, it runs fast. We're talking about gaining hours in a day (p.s. no, it didn't run for 24 hours continuously; I just did the math during the minutes that it did run). I'm venturing a guess that this is a separate problem but just to be sure, ...are they related? Thanks in advance, Ray