# Casio ARW-320 battery replacement problem



## time4d (Jan 1, 2011)

Hi. I recently acquired a Casio ARW-320 and I had to take it apart to check the 
battery of the analog movement, as only the digital display was 
functional.

After removing both the batteries (new) and putting them back 
in, both wouldn't work. I tried to do a short circuit by touching (what I 
believed to be) the AC contact and the + side of the battery at the same time, 
but it still doesn't work. 

After numerous tries and numerous adjustments 
to the orientation of both batteries, both the analog and digital displays still 
refused to work, to my frustration. 

I have included a picture of 
the back for the reference of all you kind souls 

Do you have 
any advice for me on how I may fix this? I read somewhere that putting a piece 
of paper somewhere when doing the short circuit helps, but I've no idea where 
and how to put it in.



Sorry if you've answered a question like 
this 283 times already, and thanks in advance!


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## davebales (Nov 20, 2011)

I've discovered that the batteries are in series, not parallel, meaning they produce 3 volts. If you neglect to put the cover on one of the batteries it will not work. See the attached image showing the white battery cover on the correct battery, just one not both. I left my watch sitting for years not realizing this is what I had done incorrectly. Make sure the outside casing doe not touch the battery + in the picture. You may have to rotate it slightly so it works properly. I'm back in business after several 
years, yahoo...


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## time4d (Jan 1, 2011)

Thanks! That is one interesting watch..... I've never had to do anything like that to any of my other watches to make them work!


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## JakeTheSnake (Feb 14, 2012)

davebales said:


> I've discovered that the batteries are in series, not parallel, meaning they produce 3 volts. If you neglect to put the cover on one of the batteries it will not work. See the attached image showing the white battery cover on the correct battery, just one not both. I left my watch sitting for years not realizing this is what I had done incorrectly. Make sure the outside casing doe not touch the battery + in the picture. You may have to rotate it slightly so it works properly. I'm back in business after several
> years, yahoo...
> View attachment 561689
> [/Dave, thanks for the pointer. I too was having a problem getting my AWR-320 to work after a battery change out. I now have the analog working, but the LCD portion is still dark. Any ideas?


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## JakeTheSnake (Feb 14, 2012)

I too have an ARW-320 that was laying around after a battery change that did not seem to work. I tried the fix above and now the analog hands work but I still do not have the LCD display working. Does anyone have any ideas what I can try to get the rest going? By the way, I did not have the plastic to go over the battery so I used a small piece of surgical tape. Is it possible that the plastic covers something on the sides of the battery that I may need to cover in order to get the LCD working?

Thanks in advance.

JakeTheSnake


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## ckot (Oct 6, 2010)

The person who generously posted the picture and info about the batteries being inseries doesn't appear to have ever posted again. Just the same, I wanted to thank him and everyone else who helps out here. I just performed a movement transplant and battery change. Now my ARW 320 looks and acts brand new!


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## ARW-320 (Jan 19, 2013)

Just got my ARW-320 working again after years of sitting with dead batteries. Was a little nervous about the reset as I had forgotten which part to touch but after a little of trial and error, I figured it out. Not all the buttons worked at first but after looking at it under a microscope, discovered the mechanism was not properly seated inside the case. Now I just need a band and I will be enjoying a retro-watch day every once in a while.


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## rationaltime (May 1, 2008)

ARW-320 said:


> Just got my ARW-320 working again after years of sitting with dead batteries. Was a little nervous about the reset as I had forgotten which part to touch but after a little of trial and error, I figured it out. Not all the buttons worked at first but after looking at it under a microscope, discovered the mechanism was not properly seated inside the case. Now I just need a band and I will be enjoying a retro-watch day every once in a while.


Welcome to watchuseek and congratulations on a successful
battery change. For this watch it seems to be a complicated
process. I don't see a photo of the watch display here. If you
get a chance perhaps you could post one for us.

Thanks,
rationaltime


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## INDIGO JONES (Mar 24, 2013)

THANK YOU to all of you that posted on the ARW 320 not working after a battery change. I had the same problem. I last changed my battery on 3/30/03 and since had not used my watch. I finally decided to resurrect it again after this many years.

Bought my Energizer 395 battery and installed it. Nothing happened. I thought that this watch was just so old that it probably was just plain dead. Luckily, I stumbled upon your website.

I decided to try the Johnson and Johnson First Aid Waterproof Tape I have on hand and stuck that to the + side of one of the batteries. I also used a paper clip and touched the + end of the battery to any contact where the outside button contacts with the inside.

I am just so happy when the word HELP started blinking and the hand of the watch started turning again. 

You all made my day.

Thanks again for all the contributors.

Indigo


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## dmmartindale (Mar 26, 2010)

rationaltime said:


> Welcome to watchuseek and congratulations on a successful
> battery change. For this watch it seems to be a complicated
> process. I don't see a photo of the watch display here. If you
> get a chance perhaps you could post one for us.
> ...


Google Images finds a photo of it sitting in another thread on watchuseek: https://www.watchuseek.com/f296/i-need-help-used-casio-watch-749801.html

Another tidbit about the ARW-320: it is old enough that it includes a trimmer capacitor to adjust the internal quartz oscillator frequency. If its timekeeping has drifted in the ~30 years since it was manufactured, you can tweak the trimmer to bring it back into line. I checked mine a few years ago, adjusted it a bit, and its error is now less than 30 seconds/year. In fact, I just checked mine now, and it is 1 hour and 3 seconds slow. The hour is because I didn't set it forward for DST this March, so I likely set it most recently last October. 3 seconds of error in 6 months is really quite excellent timekeeping).

(That is with it sitting in a box at room temperature. It's not thermocompensated, so it won't be that accurate if I wear it).

My 320 still works OK mechanically and electronically, and the altimeter is still accurate. But I moved last summer, and all of my watches got wrapped in bubble pack to protect them. The ARW-320 got wrapped too tightly, and the original rubber strap broke in half. So I need to replace the strap with something else before I can wear it again. The original strap fits into the case edge in a particular way, so I'm unlikely to get anything new that fits in quite the same way. But it does appear to use normal spring bars to hold the strap, so it should be possible to find a new strap that will work. The spacing between lugs appears to be 16 mm, rather narrower that what would be normal for a watch of its size.

- Dave


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## ckot (Oct 6, 2010)

I did some surgery on a nato and got it to fit. Since I'd lost my first ARW-320 due to pin/strap failure, I wanted a nato this time. Plus it looks cool.









Unfortunately, the analog portion of mine stopped working. With batteries that are only 9 months old, I'm concerned about the cause. Time to open it up...


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## Calimara Claudiu (Mar 23, 2014)

davebales said:


> I've discovered that the batteries are in series, not parallel, meaning they produce 3 volts. If you neglect to put the cover on one of the batteries it will not work. See the attached image showing the white battery cover on the correct battery, just one not both. I left my watch sitting for years not realizing this is what I had done incorrectly. Make sure the outside casing doe not touch the battery + in the picture. You may have to rotate it slightly so it works properly. I'm back in business after several
> years, yahoo...
> View attachment 561689


 hello . could you tell me please what the cause, after I caused that short circuit, digital starts, and after taking the needle there out,nothing happens, he dies. thank you an sorry for my bad english


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## whatzawatch (Jul 17, 2016)

davebales said:


> I've discovered that the batteries are in series, not parallel, meaning they produce 3 volts. If you neglect to put the cover on one of the batteries it will not work. See the attached image showing the white battery cover on the correct battery, just one not both. I left my watch sitting for years not realizing this is what I had done incorrectly. Make sure the outside casing doe not touch the battery + in the picture. You may have to rotate it slightly so it works properly. I'm back in business after several
> years, yahoo...
> View attachment 561689


I need help of a more basic sort. I've taken the back off of my ARW-320, but so far have not been able to access the batteries. I can't figure out how to move the plate that covers the batteries. How do I do this?


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## GaryK30 (Dec 14, 2014)

whatzawatch said:


> I need help of a more basic sort. I've taken the back off of my ARW-320, but so far have not been able to access the batteries. I can't figure out how to move the plate that covers the batteries. How do I do this?


As I recall, you release the latch near the center of the watch, then the metal plate can hinge up enough the extract the batteries from the latch side. Usually a small screwdriver or pin can be used to release the latch. Don't forget to put the insulator sheet back over the correct battery. Also, you'll need to do an AC reset to reboot the watch (short the AC point to the top -- positive side -- of the exposed battery for a couple seconds).










The picture is from this thread:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f296/casio-arw-320-gasket-replacement-problem-724570.html


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## whatzawatch (Jul 17, 2016)

GaryK30 said:


> As I recall, you release the latch near the center of the watch, then the metal plate can hinge up enough the extract the batteries from the latch side. Usually a small screwdriver or pin can be used to release the latch. Don't forget to put the insulator sheet back over the correct battery. Also, you'll need to do an AC reset to reboot the watch (short the AC point to the top -- positive side -- of the exposed battery for a couple seconds).
> 
> The picture is from this thread:
> 
> Thanks. I thought that might be it, but didn't want to break something. I found 'AC' stamped on the metal, and according to my info the actual AC point is the brass contact next to it. Does that sound right?


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## GaryK30 (Dec 14, 2014)

whatzawatch said:


> GaryK30 said:
> 
> 
> > As I recall, you release the latch near the center of the watch, then the metal plate can hinge up enough the extract the batteries from the latch side. Usually a small screwdriver or pin can be used to release the latch. Don't forget to put the insulator sheet back over the correct battery. Also, you'll need to do an AC reset to reboot the watch (short the AC point to the top -- positive side -- of the exposed battery for a couple seconds).
> ...


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## teo_cr (Sep 6, 2017)

hello,

What are the types of batteries used in this watch?
Here, in the photos it looks like a 395/399 battery but on this site it is a 370/371 battery. Witch one is it?

I just got one of this watches and it has no battery inside

Thank you!


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## J.D.B. (Oct 12, 2009)

395/399 x 2.


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## boga (Jun 14, 2011)

J.D.B. said:


> 395/399 x 2.


That's right.

Also coded as SR927W.

Two of them.


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## teo_cr (Sep 6, 2017)

Thank you;
I've ordered 2 renata 395 batteries.

Now, all I have to do is to wait for the watch and the batteries to arrive and see if the watch works or not
I'll keep you all posted with new informations


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## teo_cr (Sep 6, 2017)

Thank you;
I've ordered 2 renata 395 batteries.

Now, all I have to do is to wait for the watch and the batteries to arrive and see if the watch works or not
I'll keep you all posted with new informations


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