Help With A Seiko 7S026 Diver Watch

[rodralph]

I have an old Seiko Diver watch which I bought over 10 years ago. My oldest son borrowed it for a little while and returned it not working. He never told me what happened, only that it was not working. Very specific and clear the young man. Anyway, I've had the watch sitting in a box ever since he returned it, always planning on getting it fixed.

 

This watch does not hack nor it can be wound manually. It has to be moved to wind. Today I opened the case back to take a look. If I move the rotor with my hand, I can see lever mechanism moving and I am assuming the mainspring is being loaded. The balance wheel, however, is not moving freely. I used the end of a needle and moved the balance wheel and it barely spins. I am assuming that the problem is somewhere with the hair spring.

 

I didn't have time to set-up my microscope to take a better look at the hairspring. But there is something about the spring that just does not look right.

 

My question is: How can I test the hairspring/balance wheel assembly to see if this is the problem? I am considering getting a replacement movement, just in case I destroy this one, but I would like to give this movement a try since it is the original one.

 

Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

 

I am trying to add a small video of the action of the balance wheel.

 

Seiko.MOV

 

[Marc]

Looks to me like the impulse jewel is on the wrong side of the pallet fork.

 

If you are comfortable with handling balances then it could be as simple as taking the balance assembly of and putting it back with the impulse jewel the correct side of he fork.

 

The question is how did it get like that? It must have had one hell of a whack.

[oldhippy]

Looks to me like the impulse jewel is on the wrong side of the pallet fork.

I would say the same thing Marc.

[Geo]

Unfortunately I can't view the video on my IPad. :(

[anilv]

Hi Rodralph,

 

Do this.

 

1. Shake it so the main spring gets wound.. I'm talking a minute of holding the watch in your hand and to/fro motion...2 minutes would be better , in fact 3minutes.. well you get the idea.!

 

2. Put the watch in your front jeans pocket in the morning and forget about it until you take off you pants at night. 50/50 chance the watch will be running.

 

 

On these older Seikos, not being able to wind them by hand is a pain. The problem may simply be a unwound mainspring compounded by old oil gumming up the works. By shaking the watch, you are giving the watch a good head of power. Putting the watch in your pocket warms the oils and is usually enough to get the watch ticking. Once it starts you may find the watch to be wearable on a daily basis but if you find it needs a lot of persuasion to get started then a service is in order.

 

Marc's suggestion has merit, as it is possible for the balance to get out of its groove but it would need to have been dropped ..interrogate ask your son nicely what exactly happened..

 

Also look out for any sign of water..even spotting could could develop into bigger problems.

 

Hope this helps

Anil

[rodralph]

Thanks for the responses. I am fairly certain he dropped the watch. I will ask my son. I will follow up on this over the weekend and see if I can set it back into position.

 

Thanks everyone.

[Blacklab]

Totally agree with Marc & Oldhippy.

[anilv]

Dear Rodralph,

 

missed out the movie attachment,

 

yes look like the balance roller has jumped out of its slot.

 

Anil

[rodralph]

****UPDATE****

 

Today I took the time to take the movement out of the case and work on it. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got the balance wheel in the right position and the old Seiko is working again. It may not seem like much, but I am very happy I was able to get this done and it has built my confidence in tackling other jobs.

 

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

[rodralph]

Here's the video of the balance wheel spinning freely. What a  beautiful sight. After so many years, I get to wear this watch again.

 

SeikoWorking.MOV

[anilv]

Great job....!!

 

Anil

[Geo]

Excellent result, well done! :)

[rodralph]

Great job....!!

 

Anil

 

 

Excellent result, well done! :)

 

Thank you. Somehow I feel really accomplished since this is the first time I've worked on a movement that didn't fall into pieces. Most times I end up replacing the movement but getting this one fixed made me feel great.  

 

Before going to bed I wound the watch and set the date and time. This morning it is still going strong. Today I will be hunting for a new strap for it. Looking forward to getting it on my wrist once again after all these years.