Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello Guys,

Some time ago a friend of mine told about his watch that he wasn't wearing much because he felt it wasn't keeping charge as expected. A Maurice Lacroix with a 2836 mouvement (Élaboré or Top, not sure) that would stop within a day after been wear. He changes for an Apple watch for work reasons. I used it for bit to see how it behaves and on regular use it was Ok (as I can say with my short experience).

 

Being an expensive watch and because of my little experience I didn't feel like servicing it myself, to much of a risk. So I advice him to take in for service (apparently he had it for ten years without one... So it couldn't be harmful) We used a workshop where I repaired a vintage Omega before. Everything went as expected and the watch seemed to work as expected afterwards. However he told in the last couple of days that it is behaving as before - stoping apparently within a period of 24h.

 

Well I cannot say I have seen it myself so.... But as I am learning I come to you for information. As I understand the problem might come from the mainspring - insufficiently cleaned/oiled, maybe one that need to be changed?. Second supposition the watch is not charging as intended while being wear. But what may cause that? Would not attack it myself .... But I would.like to help my friend to point the possible problem to the workshop.

 

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

David 95b6d620f03f5bfd62a71a37c1a871d6.jpg796f68a13759a8fb32aa94a632d4c9df.jpg

Posted

In my limited experience power reserve problems are usually mainspring related. When it was serviced, the mainspring should have been replaced. If it was and it's still exhibiting this problem, I would suspect an issue with the automatic winding mechanism.

Does it exhibit the same problem if it's manually fully wound and then left alone?

Posted

Hi,    Parts for eta2836 are available. So strip down and service is not too risky.

Manually wind full, observe if it runs longer. How long it runs tells you how strong the mainspring is also tells you if the winder is weak.

Good chance you may need to change rotor bearing or just the balls of the bearing.

Otherwise good thoroug cleaning and use of proper oil and grease seems to be all you should be concerned with.

Pix at all stages of strip down and parts may come useful in case unexpecfed faults exist.

Regards joe.

 

 

Posted

Thanks guys for the infos. I am currently servicing a 2834 that I got for around 25 bucks in a flea market. I can source parts so I feel.more confident now.... However that watch is a 2000 dollars one....(more expensive one I have might be 120) ... And being an Élaboré or top movement I didn't want to take the risk.

Out of curiosity. During a service they systematically change the mainspring?
Gonna see the updates and will let you know. As for now..... I think it maybe a problem with a weak automatic mechanism.
I've seen sources for the bearing of the rotor..... May I ask you on how to change it?
Thanks again.

Posted

Some useful sites in case you havn,t visited so far.

Julesborel.com

Eternaltools.com

OldSwissWatches.com

Most recommended source is cousinesuk.

Yes manufacturers recommend routine M/S replacement. Manual winding gives you an idea how well the spring feels, to say the least eliminates selfwinding mech form diagnostic guestimation.

Joe

 

Posted
Some useful sites in case you havn,t visited so far.
Julesborel.com
Eternaltools.com
OldSwissWatches.com
Most recommended source is cousinesuk.
Yes manufacturers recommend routine M/S replacement. Manual winding gives you an idea how well the spring feels, to say the least eliminates selfwinding mech form diagnostic guestimation.
Joe
 
Thanks a lot Joe for the information.
I've come by those websites once in a while but I keep forgetting to go back and check for infos. I need to bookmark them. Sometimes the problem is also knowing what I am looking for (lol) .... Still a beginner.
Anyway.... I think they will come in handy with my latest project a 2834 I am trying to save..... Followed the technical sheet, I learned a lot but I have some trouble with the Quickset feature, the keyless work and the power reserve. However is running beautiffully when worn. I think the movement was a bit abused and some parts are a bit tired. Will start all over again after looking for the parts I think are faulting.
(With my impatience it is a bit upsetting, but I know it is a good practice and learning process)
Posted

Hi. Back again with my questions. @Nucejoe. I checked the websites and yes I know they are good sources for parts. However living currently in China makes deliveries a bit complicated. Will see.
As for my questions..... I am currently checking the behaviour of the 2834 after service. When worn it runs fine.... But when I put it back in the shelf it stops after a couple of hours. I manual wound it to check and it has been running for more than 30 hours sitting on a shelf dial up. So it tells me that mainspring is keeping energy....
So the problem might come from the automatic mechanism. I tried to check it and it seems to engage the ratchet wheel as expected so I do not know where the problem might come from. Can it be the rotor bearing or maybe the reduction wheels that are just tired and need a change? How can I estimate the probable cause to buy the right parts.... Without buying all'of them!
Thanks for the help!

Posted

Hi David,  Did you see the video johnR provided the link to, showing the thirty seconds test for Eta rotor bearing?  Kinda proved invalidity of my test, I use to think if the winder winds falling under own weight, it is doing its job. The new question is, How well the performance is? How long it winds ?  Surely you agree, apart from bearing, is the winder module and the auto power transfer to the MS and not just parts which are to be  in good working condition but type of lubricant plays an important role, how viscus is the oil?

I encountered as case of barrel lid barely rubbing on barrel bridge, the movement Run for a couple hours and came to stop as friction got to max. So we just got to look for the fault till found. 

Regards joe

 

Posted

Hi Joe. Thanks for your answer. I haven't see that video and it seems I cannot find the link. What thread did he posted it in?
And thanks for sharing your experiences as well. That's the kind of issues I would not expect..... As soon as I finish moving to my new place I will work on it I am looking forward to see it working fine.
As for the oils I followed the procedure described in the 2836 technical sheet from ETA and Mark's video for the 2824 mvt. I am using Molykote DX, Moebius HP1300, 9415 and 8000
(On an old moebius chart I found the 8000 was cited along the 9010) I recently bought the HP1300 and 9415 but tried to keep the facture controlled. The 8000 I bought it when I first started and I moving slowly to a more serious approach. So for the automatic module I used HP1300 (D5) for the transfer wheel and the 8000 for the jewels of the reverse wheels and the reduction wheel. Note that I did not clean the Reverse wheels as advice.... So maybe the oil inside is not doing a proper job either.

Anyway. I keep on looking....just know I keep checking the reserve after a 60tour manual wind.

PS. Let some photos of the beast! Before and after. I'd did not buy because I liked it the look but mostly for the movement. So I modded it and will have more changes in the future. bef0b63817579cf6f10fd2bf8136fcf6.jpgfaaf72fb63220ee687086f5fa601685f.jpgad31ec44b7ded27a3038430e85dcaba1.jpg9b2778702cce30224f1ce73e882d1f62.jpgb10c79fd772b577b71b5e9cb2da74975.jpg

Posted

The thread title is 

Eta 2892-A2 automatic works - what else van I do

Posted by cmmb8519

The video itself is posted. Shows 30 second test.

Joe

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • If a runner, I usually let the movement run in naphta for a minute, some movements need a bit of encouragement to run in liquids, so a quick dip of the movement in naphta then remove and encourage the oscilator with puffer, repeat several soaks.  Or if you don't want to soak or dip the movement in cleaning solution ,   keep putting naphta on jewel holes as the movement runs on bench. A pre-clean of some sort  helps.  Avoid lifting out the fork with tweezers or any tool.  Try blowing fork pivot out  with strong puff of air from jewels holes back side. Good luck .      
    • 60! Wow, that's a lot. Can't say I understand the problem because disassembly is usually quite uneventful, except for springs launching into space. Most people break pivots during assembly. I use a homemade brass pry tool to loosen parts. It's just a short length of hard brass wire sharpened to a chisel point. Don't pry at just one point and crowbar it out. Pry at the notch and when a crack opens up, slip the pry tool in and loosen it at a few more points until the bridge is free.
    • Beginner here. Of about 60 watches I’ve serviced and repaired, I’ve broken a pallet pivot on three, always during disassembly, and usually when the old oil has transformed to glue. Each watch was Swiss, in case that makes a difference. Here’s what happened in each case: - unscrewed the pallet bridge or cock - gently inserted a screwdriver in the  slot under the pallet bridge or cock - gently but firmly rotated the screwdriver, avoiding a forwards force on the screwdriver. If alignment pins stick, the cam action is alternated back and forth between back corners of the plate. - heard a small but horrible click. Is there a special tool or technique for safely lifting the pallet bridge? Should everything be soaked in naphtha before beginning disassembly if there’s any sign of old oil gluing parts together? Thanks! Rob
    • You shared this test with me a few months back on a Hamilton project and so I had checked this watch to find the pins were still equally spaced. Their screw slots were undamaged and very tight hard to move so maybe no one has messed with them before. I can't work on it much today but I did measure the fork slot again and it seems like 0.44 is the right size. I measure the jewel that had been installed at just 0.42. would an undersized too narrow impulse jewel impact the impulse drastically? I ask because I have had it at a state where flipping the fork manually with a tool would unlock some of the time, but the balance was never capable of unlocking.
    • This was what I was afraid of. The movement is not one of the generic black square modules. Remove the movement from the clock and try prying it open very carefully, without breaking the plastic tabs. The plastic might be brittle from age. Clean the wheels and check the battery contacts for corrosion. Check the PCB for bad solder joints. Take plenty of photos along the way.
×
×
  • Create New...