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Simple troubleshooting???


mcass

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As some here know I am very new to what I hope to be an enjoyable hobby to compliment my love of watches. By trade I am a Master Electrician and so I have to troubleshoot things all of the time. I always follow a fairly standard system to identify and sort through the problems. When it comes to mechanical watches, how do you troubleshoot them? Is there a way to determine the problem without ever actually opening it? Say for instance you can set the time using the crown, however to wind the watch the crown seems very tight and hard to turn. Or, if even possible I don't know, everything appears to be working, movement ticks, winds, sets, but the second hand is not moving. These are totally made up for example. Is there a troubleshooting chart or anything that might help in determining the repair? 

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Actually, there is a general way to go through it like all troubleshooting: First and foremost you need to understand the different systems and what they do in a mechanical watch. You will then be able to pinpoint the problem to a system and from there you go from more likely to less likely to happen...observe all parts, check for worn/broken stuff, estate of lubes, pivots, jewels, and so on...eventually you may find what is wrong...essentially it is the same as with everything electrical, digital, mechanic...it doesn't make a difference as how to go about it...the difference is the concept and how the technology works and is implemented...I'd say, a case of familiarity and experience rather than method if you are already familiar with troubleshooting. IMHO.

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