Heuer Senator that Needs More than TLC

[laptop]

Hi guys,
I got this Heuer Senator not too long ago and I'm definitely in love with it. Unfortunately, all my love is not been retributed
I got it as described on-line, the analog movement is working perfectly but the LCD part refuses to fire up.
I cleaned it carefully but I believe that it needs more than TLC. (I will polish the crystal, band and case after).
Any suggestion? I wouldn't mind "adapting" another LCD module just to see it working again and keeping it for my personal use (as I mentioned on this forum previously I don't sell my watches anyways).
Also, it is missing one button (replaced with the wrong one) and the clasp any idea where I could find it?
Any help, advise, tip, etc etc is more than welcome.
Thank you

Heuer.JPG

[elceedee]

I owned a manhattan recently with a dead LCD movement. I have disassembled it to find that the chip was loose and the bonding wires were all gone (some were floating around in the space between pcb and lcd panel).
The chip with its bonding wires is NOT protected by a dot of resin or glue, which makes it extremely (!) vulnerable. Be véry carefull when disassembling the movement.
Judging your picture i think your lcd panel should be functional but the chip or a few bonding wires came loose after one or several falls of the watch. Most senators and manhattans have dead lcd movements.
Goodluck, you do have a valuable watch despite its damage of movement, crystal and pusher. Would probably do between 175-400 usd on the bay.

[laptop]

Hi seicitizitch,
But just thinking about opening and removing the LCD to have access to the chip and its bonding wires makes me nervous already and even if I can see and/or diagnose the fault I will not be able to weld/glue it. Isn't the wires the ones that need to be welded with micro-ultra-high-super-dooper-very-tine-small-microscopic ultrasonic machine?!
So, for now I need more time to think about it (and get more confident to open it)
But it sounds very plausible your comment.
Thank you very much for your advise/diagnostic.
I will let you know whenever (if ever) I open it the end result

[gjlelec]

As mentioned in another thread, Peter Wenzig is the man on these, he is also the only person i'm aware of that has spares

[laptop]

Hi,
I contacted Peter Wenzig last year and he told me that he would not be able to help me on my Heuer Chronosplit (watch that I requested to be repaired at that point) because the parts he had was getting scarce and he will reserve it for his own clients. Maybe he doesn't want me as a new client?!
Thru the years I have met a few people on the LED/LCD watch collection and repairs and unfortunately I had no luck so far (as far as repairs and/or parts). Hunting for opportunities on Ebay has been my mainly source for parts. I would like to open exceptions for Joe George (US) and John Perry (UK).
Thank you for your attention and good intention in helping me

[retroleds]

Hi,
I contacted Peter Wenzig last year and he told me that he would not be able to help me on my Heuer Chronosplit (watch that I requested to be repaired at that point) because the parts he had was getting scarce and he will reserve it for his own clients. Maybe he doesn't want me as a new client?!

Maybe he wants to save those to assemble pieces he gets and wants you as a sales client, just not a parts sales client. I fall into the same problem frequently - someone contacts me for a rare part but the part is rarer than the odds I will come across that watch needing that part. Sometimes it takes years to get the correct parts to put a nice piece together, I think my personal time limit is 5+ years on one I got together and I have another item here I have been trying to complete for about 8 years. And I don't even wear or collect watches. Occasionally I have sold a rare part to someone, only to have them ruin it - not that I don't ruin some things myself . I remember a situation where a gent in UK bought a DSM watch in USA off Greg Zanoni but it needed the rare band to be notched in 2mm to fit the case. Greg had recommended me for the alteration but the buyer wanted someone in Europe. I recommended "a guy in Poland" who talks a good game.. Person in Poland returned the band to the customer - "nicely" blued where they had obviously taken a grinder to it. And the fit was terrible - the band was absolutely ruined. Customer had to buy ANOTHER band off Zanoni and then I did the work for free to "make good" on my flawed referral.
The one with the part gets to make the decision - it's nice when rare parts are viewed as more than just commodities but rather as limited opportunities to get things right again. A position rarely appreciated by strictly collector/wearer types.

[laptop]

Hi Ed,
I understand and I agree with you on your point of view. In Brazil we have a saying "Putting gold rings on the pigs nose", I believe it would better picture the situation. I also save some parts also, and I believe that everybody does. More knowledge we start to get more conscientious we become. I never wore any of my watches from my collection nor sold (except to two when I just started my collection, one pulsar P2 and one bulova big block; I could never forget). Maybe one day I will be able to part from collection but for now, I enjoy the hunt, the challenge, the trill (even though most of the time it requires monetary sacrifices), Oh well, It also brings the motivation and the joy to continue.
But to tell you the truth this Heuer (Senator) is the only watch that I liked the way it fits my wrist and the classic and elegant look it brings. I would wear it if I could as my everyday watch.(and I have approx 200ish in my collection).
I believe that I misunderstood Peter Wenzig words when he phrased like that. I will contact him to see if he could work on this watch (before i request the repair on a Heuer chronosplit lcd/lcd).
I appreciate your words Ed, sharing your opinion and showing us another side of the oddities, rarities and nostalgically made world of LED watches.
Thank you.

[laptop]

I contacted Peter Wenzig again and he will help me out fixing a few pieces of my collection (Heuer).
Thanks guys

[azimuth_pl]

Hi,
...I recommended "a guy in Poland" who talks a good game.. Person in Poland returned the band to the customer - "nicely" blued where they had obviously taken a grinder to it. And the fit was terrible - the band was absolutely ruined....

Hi there Ed,
found your old thread and couldn't resist to post a response.
As you mentioned yourself we all tend to screw some things up...we're only human beings.
But I still have many return customers who keep on coming and my website provides free hints on repairs.
I recall that bracelet being provided for narrowing and I believe I did it for free and the outcome was acceptable for a quick fix.
As long as the scope of work is not defined in detail as "please be gentle, this is the last bracelet of this type on the planet and it cost a million bucks" I will apply a quick fix and use a dremel and finish the edges with a jewelers file and rebrush to match.
You described the story as if the bracelet would be ruined, smashed in pieces, blued on the entire surface and disgusting to look at.
Nope, that's not what happened as I don't ruin things and pretend I did a great job.
The outcome was as ordered and simply might have not been up to customer's expectations especially if the expectations were not defined in detail "as factory finish".
Scope definition is subjective and should be defined in detail to prevent disappointments. Moreover I didn't get a claim back or any notice of any disappointment.
If that would be a Patek I would apply a manual process, charge a few hundred bucks (instead of doing it for free) but that was simply never requested.
Hope that clarifies the situation.

best regards
Piotr, the guy from Poland