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Battery replacement procedure

PeterS

By PeterS
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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PeterS WRT Addict

PeterS

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I've been pottering around with mechanical watch movements never paying any attention to quartz watches.
Now I have ladies Tag Heuer Aquaracer here, pretty little watch with diamonds and I certainly don't want to mess it up. I'd imagine it's straight forward, remove the caseback, take the old battery out and put the new one in, not touching anything in the process.
Is there anything I need to watch out for? I'm wondering whether I need to pull the crown out to disconnect the circuit etc.

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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Posted (edited)

There is always a better way to do a simple job. You may take the steps that better apply to your situation

  • Remove the band and clean it separately. If leather apply a specific product.
  • Clean the case carefully before opening it
  • Use a good and proper opener so to have zero chances of the tool slipping
  • Clean the gasket groove and any other trace of dirt around
  • Check voltage on the new battery,  you want a bit more that 1.55V
  • Check well if any screw need to be losened to ease the battery out 
  • Handle the battery with plastic tweezers or finger coats only
  • Some modules have an AC pad to be shortened to battery to get restarted
  • Some modules require a lot of button pressing and perhaps reading the manual to reset sundials correctly
  • Set date one day earlier, then set time so to be sure that it changes at midnight 
  • Check the gasket, if any wear of deformation replace it with a new one which fits perfectly even if you have to order it
  • Mark the date on the caseback
  • Apply a little silicone grease before reinstalling the gasket
  • Remove stem, clean it all carefully, apply hp-1300  to all  contact areas and silicone grease to its gasket
  • Blow air to module before closing it
  • Do a pressure testing
  • Brighten the case by hand with cloth and a touch of Dialux bar more suited to the case material
  • Present to owner with a proud smile

Now you  know how to turn a 2 minute task into a one hour one.

 

 

Edited by jdm
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VWatchie Distinguished Member

VWatchie

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24 minutes ago, jdm said:

There is always a better way to do a simple job.

Well, better proof of that idea will be hard to find! Great post!

Makes me remember a discussion where someone claimed a mechanical watch typically takes about 1.5h to service from start to finish by a professional. Guess you would have to skip "Blow air to module before closing it" and some of the other steps to be that "productive".

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PeterS WRT Addict

PeterS

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Thank you for the tips.
I'm more than happy to turn it into one hour job, it is a hobby after all.
All clear to me with cleaning, gaskets, greases, plastic tweezers etc.
It's as you say, shorting something, no buttons here but I'm not sure whether the crown needs to be pulled out into a certain position etc. I've been trying to find the service manual but I can't find it. It is a Tag Heuer WAY1413 if anyone knows where to find the service sheet.

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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10 hours ago, PeterS said:

 It is a Tag Heuer WAY1413 if anyone knows where to find the service sheet.

TH is just the watch manufacturer. Once you remove the back you can identify the quartz module being used or post its picture here for others to tell you about.

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PeterS WRT Addict

PeterS

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17 hours ago, jdm said:

There is no need to remove the stem (except for optional cleaning and lubrication) when changing the battery on the above or any other quartz module. 

I will remove the stem. I'm not going to do much with this watch but I want fresh grease on the gaskets while I'm replacing the battery.

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