A few Seiko LC's....and a question...

[stophmaster]

Hi,
New member here, hoping to gain some knowledge on this great forum! I just recently got into vintage digitals, although I've been collecting watches for a while now. Huge fan of Seikos, and I've really become smitten with the early Seiko Quartz LC's.

I lucked out (kind of) on my first vintage digital, scoring a cosmetically mint 0624-5009. Unfortunately the module was toast, but with some advice I was able to procure a NOS Seiko module and swap them. This is such a beauty, it is fast becoming my favorite watch!









Next I picked up a vintage CompuChron which I posted on the LED forum, very Battlestar Gallactica Cylon looking.

My next one was another really nice Seiko, an 0532-5009 crown set. Really chunky one with a nice thick glass crystal. Again, it was in great shape. It even worked just fine when I got it. I took it apart to check it out, and there is a little evidence of battery leakage, but not much. Today I went to wear it, and the screen flickered a bit and died. I figured the battery (Duracell 384/392) was dead, so out I went to get a new one. As soon as I put it in, it worked, but as I was setting it, the LCD got erratic and faded out. The back lite still works, but can't get the screen to work. I took it apart and cleaned the contacts till nice and shiny. Still it only works for a sec, and seems to putter out when setting it. Is the module dying, or is it something else? Borel has Seiko modules for a reasonable price, but I'd rather keep it original if possible. Any advice/tips you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated!



(The hack marks on the back were already there when I got it)


Cheers,
'stoph

[quietman]

I just got through rebuilding an identical 0532 and can think of a couple of possibilities (depending on how far "I took it apart to check it out" you went).

1/ There is a little white plastic spacer that fits on the west-side of the LC panel above the bulb. If it is mis-aligned or missing then the LC panel contacts can be offset from the PCB contacts and cause such mayhem.

2/ Power supply common runs through the keyless works - a slack screw or excessive dollops of lubrication could interfere with electrical continuity.

3/ Mode selection is done through some little spring contacts and rockers in the keyless. If they're bent or making poor contact then the module may be dropping into an undefined state if too many or the wrong ones are contacting at the same time.

4/ Grot in the case tube may mean the crown stays in with the light on causing battery voltage to droop and kill the display.

[stophmaster]

I just got through rebuilding an identical 0532 and can think of a couple of possibilities (depending on how far "I took it apart to check it out" you went).

1/ There is a little white plastic spacer that fits on the west-side of the LC panel above the bulb. If it is mis-aligned or missing then the LC panel contacts can be offset from the PCB contacts and cause such mayhem.

2/ Power supply common runs through the keyless works - a slack screw or excessive dollops of lubrication could interfere with electrical continuity.

3/ Mode selection is done through some little spring contacts and rockers in the keyless. If they're bent or making poor contact then the module may be dropping into an undefined state if too many or the wrong ones are contacting at the same time.

4/ Grot in the case tube may mean the crown stays in with the light on causing battery voltage to droop and kill the display.

Thanks for the detailed information quietman! When I got it, it worked fine except the light was not functioning. I opened the case, removed the crown and took the whole module/lcd/keyless works out. Didn't really do much but look around to see if there was anything obvious. When I put it back together, the light was now working. The crown gasket was of course rock hard and had been sticking in the tube. I took a razor and shaved a tad off the gasket so it would move smootly in the tube while I await a new gasket that's been ordered. Other than that, I haven't done any work. I find it interesting that it was working just fine, then just all of a sudden went erratic. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the keyless works. When I put the fresh battery in it, the display lit up perfectly. It was when I began to set it that the display started to flicker and fade out. There isn't any excess lube that I can see, but there may be some unwanted/poor contact in there somewhere that I couldn't see. Now when I put the battery in, nothing happens. I'll have to take a closer look....

thanks again!
'stoph