"Rough" winding on Calibre 11 when micro rotor installed

[sstakoff]

Have a Breitling Calibre 11-i (Same as Heuer, Buren, etc) - Chronomatic with the micro rotor. Part numbers below reference the technical docs, which can be found here:

https://www.calibre11.com/catalogues/vintage-heuer-catalogues/1969-calibre-11-technical-manual/

 

When the micro rotor is removed, the watch winds very smoothly - as expected. However, with the micro rotor installed, the winding is somewhat "crunchy". With the rotor removed, when the wig-wag pinion (1500) is out of contact with the winding-up wheel (1480) and reduction wheel (1481), winding is smooth. If I engage the wig-wag pinion with the winding up wheel, this will result in the clutch on the coupling wheel (1521) slipping as it should. The heavy feeling comes from the clutch action. The real question here is whether or not the wig wag pinion is supposed to remain engaged or if it's supposed to move out of the way when manually winding. I have tried lubricating the wig wag with the technical manual recommendation of 9020 (visco lube) and also with a more modern D-5. Same results. I have also lubricated the coupling clutch with the recommended KT-22.

It is possible that the feeling I sense is perfectly normal and expected for this calibre - I'm just not certain. Would appreciate any insight.

 

Stu

 

[Watchtime]

Maybe bad ballbearings are the reason for this?

[SSTEEL]

Reverse wheel lubrication dried up?

[sstakoff]

7 hours ago, SSTEEL said:

Reverse wheel lubrication dried up?

Don't think so. This type of watch has an external click for the wind-up and reduction gears. I did a full cleaning and lubrication of all components.

Edited February 19, 2017 by sstakoff

[Marc]

That gritty feeling when hand winding is perfectly normal and is simply a function of the 3 pronged star type ratchet system.

I did a walk through on a Hamilton Cal.92 (Buren 1281) here;

It does feel odd but it is no a fault.