# Is my Seiko Solar dead?



## jmartin1985 (Jul 21, 2012)

I have a Seiko Solar which I had put away in its box for quite a long time (perhaps between 4-6 months). When I finally brought it out again, it had stopped completely. I've been trying to recharge it, but all it will do is the 'double tick'. The hour and minute hands also progress, but it cannot get a full charge. I have been leaving the watch at a window all day for many days, so it is getting plenty of natural light, albeit not direct sunlight (mainly cloudy where I am at the moment, and daylight is roughly between 7:30am-6:30pm). It just stops again when it gets dark.

Have I drained the watch by keeping it out of light for so long, and if so, what are my options, or is it just the short days/lack of direct sunlight?

Thank you


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## sirgilbert357 (Mar 21, 2012)

It's going to need direct sunlight for quite a while to get it charged back up. In the meantime, at night, I would put it under a lamp or other source of light so it can at least keep getting enough light to run the movement. Keep in mind this will do almost nothing for charging it back up, but at least it won't be draining the battery either. Just don't put it so close to a light source that it gets hot from the light bulb...


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## narcosynthesis (Dec 28, 2009)

If it is stopping when it gets dark after a day in the sun (even indirect light) then it sounds like you may have a problem. I wouldn't necessarily expect a watch to be off the two second 'low battery' tick, but I would have hoped it would have kept going for a few hours at least.

Has it done this every evening after you have charged it? and for how many days?

What I would expect as 'normal' would be after a day of cloudy indirect light for it to be still on the two second tick, but working steadily, and after a few days starting to regain a 'proper' charge - noting that to get a proper charge with poorish lighting will take quite a long time.

Give it a few days sat on a windowsill and see where you are then, if it is running steadily then presumably this was it just not getting enough light, if there is still a problem then I would be looking at a repair (hopefully just a replacement battery, and not too expensive).


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## hendry70 (Mar 20, 2012)

Pull the crown out while it charges to save power. Let it charge for a few days this way, it should be fine.


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## sticky (Apr 5, 2013)

The little cells used in solar watches don't like been completely discharged and have been know to give up the ghost when this happens. Let the watch charge up for several days to be certain of it and if it's still in limp mode you look like investigating getting a replacement cell for it.


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## Surfrider (Jun 14, 2012)

Sounds like it. I have an SSC 017 that I already had to send in for warranty work for this issue. Only seemed to fix it temporarily, so I'm about to send it back and request they put an entirely new movement in it. It's pretty frustrating, and now I don't feel that I can trust the watch. It worked very well for me for about a year, though. I have two Eco Drives that seem to work much better. I don't mean to come across as negative. I'm just a little disappointed. It's very possible that I just got a lemon and I don't apply this criticism to Seiko or Seiko Solar, in general. Hopefully, they'll get me sorted out because it's a cool watch. Good luck with yours too, OP.


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## BDC (Dec 29, 2010)

I had a SSC017 that would not hold a charge. It would run only while there was a direct light source. It would stop nearly as soon as it did not have direct light, either sunlight, or a lamp. At least a week of constant charging, did not help. I sent it back, and did not like the watch enough to get a replacement. I don't know if more charging would of helped, but I'm pretty sure mine was defective, maybe it sat in the box to long before it was purchased? I've had two SNE107's that haven't missed a beat, and both were ticking properly right out of the box. I also purchased a Seiko Solar ladies dress watch for my MIL, which was not ticking at all upon arrival. It started doing the two second tick very quickly, and went to regular operation within the day of window sill charging.


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## mcnabbanov (Feb 21, 2014)

i hope it will be ok OP! but I've read many times online and in solar watch manuals not to let them completely drain as it could really screw up the battery. i'm sure they've got a reason for writing it into the manual. i would imagine a battery replacement could do the job if you can't get it fired back up on your own by leaving it in the sun for a few days


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## timetellinnoob (Sep 23, 2010)

I remember hearing recently that the Seiko manual also suggests not covering the watch with your sleeves, so leaving it in a box or drawer or otherwise in an absence of all light would definitely go against Seiko's recommended usage...

I've only had mine since just before New Years and leave it in my room where I get indirect sunlight the whole day. Obviously, no issues yet, but I'm hoping on not running into any.


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## jmartin1985 (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks for all the responses, very helpful. I pulled out the crown and have been keeping it at the window sill since my original post. It didn't seem to be getting any better, as it was still on the low battery double tick after a few days, however, we have had a couple of brighter days and today after work, I pushed the crown in and it appeared to be ticking away as normal! I just pulled the crown back out and I'll give it a few more days then maybe wear it for a bit to see how it goes. I'll be sure to update, thanks again everyone!


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## N.Caffrey (Dec 29, 2011)

hendry70 said:


> Pull the crown out while it charges to save power. Let it charge for a few days this way, it should be fine.


When i charge my citizen Eco drives I should defiantly pull out the crown this never occurred to me good tip


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## Topher1556 (Aug 22, 2007)

Pulling the crown out will actually increase power usage for many solar movements (citizen and seiko) so it's generally not advised. I've never seen it as a suggestion in an owners manual yet, so I never do it.


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

Topher1556 said:


> Pulling the crown out will actually increase power usage for many solar movements (citizen and seiko) so it's generally not advised. I've never seen it as a suggestion in an owners manual yet, so I never do it.


I've read this before, and just out of interest, why is that? I'm not disputing it, I'm genuinely interested because it does seem rather non-intuitive.

My recipe for looking after solar watches is always leave them out where they can get ambient light. I suppose that might be a challenge if you own, truly, lots of them - but then perhaps they are not the best choice of watch if you want to hoard loads of them.


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## gaijin (Oct 29, 2007)

Wongsky said:


> I've read this before, and just out of interest, why is that? I'm not disputing it, I'm genuinely interested because it does seem rather non-intuitive.
> 
> My recipe for looking after solar watches is always leave them out where they can get ambient light. I suppose that might be a challenge if you own, truly, lots of them - *but then perhaps they are not the best choice of watch if you want to hoard loads of them.*


Seriously? Don't be a Debbie Downer ... we hoarders always find a way:










Three 10,000 lux light sources on a timer which provides 25 minutes/day of light in five 5-minute doses keeps everything happy 

And I agree with Topher1556 - pulling out the crown while charging is not a good idea


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## Topher1556 (Aug 22, 2007)

Wongsky said:


> I've read this before, and just out of interest, why is that? I'm not disputing it, I'm genuinely interested because it does seem rather non-intuitive.
> 
> My recipe for looking after solar watches is always leave them out where they can get ambient light. I suppose that might be a challenge if you own, truly, lots of them - but then perhaps they are not the best choice of watch if you want to hoard loads of them.


I think the easiest way to think of it is like this: on a solar powered watch (BTW, this is usually is true for kinetics) the crown is not an on/off switch. Maybe pulling out the crown is like telling the chip to stop everything and wait until I push it back in...which is more thinking it does than just ticking the hand 60 times a minute.



gaijin said:


> Seriously? Don't be a Debbie Downer ... we hoarders always find a way:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's an awesome setup there. Fluorescent light boxes?


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

Topher1556 said:


> I think the easiest way to think of it is like this: on a solar powered watch (BTW, this is usually is true for kinetics) the crown is not an on/off switch. Maybe pulling out the crown is like telling the chip to stop everything and wait until I push it back in...which is more thinking it does than just ticking the hand 60 times a minute.


I'm still not getting it - I'm not disputing whether, or not it's true - I don't understand enough about it, I just don't get why - why would it be, telling the chip to stop everything and wait until the crown is pushed back in - why would that require more work for it?

Are you saying it polls the crown "switch" very frequently, to more of a degree than it would by cycling to do all the other things it does when running as a "clock"?

It's still not making sense to me?


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## mcnabbanov (Feb 21, 2014)

gaijin said:


> Seriously? Don't be a Debbie Downer ... we hoarders always find a way:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


good heavens! that is awesome.


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## Mister Spock (Dec 14, 2012)

Imagine that, folks - yet another "dead" solar watch that wasn't actually dead.

When are people finally going to realize that the current solar technology in Japanese watches is as close to an idiot-proof technology as exists on Planet Earth?

Just read the manual and do what it says in the manual. That's all you have to do.

For every 100 solar watches presumed dead, 99 function normally after sufficient exposure to light. Yes, that's right - solar watches occasionally need some exposure to light in order to function. Astonishing!


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## gaijin (Oct 29, 2007)

Topher1556 said:


> That's an awesome setup there. Fluorescent light boxes?


UV-filtered, 10,000 lux, broad spectrum (4,000* Kelvin) compact fluorescent: Amazon.com: Day-Light Classic 10,000 LUX SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Lamp (DL930): Health & Personal Care

I calculated the electricity cost once a long time ago and it came out to about US$20/year total for all three lamps combined.

And ... thanks


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## Topher1556 (Aug 22, 2007)

Wongsky said:


> I'm still not getting it - I'm not disputing whether, or not it's true - I don't understand enough about it, I just don't get why - why would it be, telling the chip to stop everything and wait until the crown is pushed back in - why would that require more work for it?
> 
> Are you saying it polls the crown "switch" very frequently, to more of a degree than it would by cycling to do all the other things it does when running as a "clock"?
> 
> It's still not making sense to me?


I think you're on the right track. Sorry I can't provide more details, but I didn't make the control boards or program them. The only watches I've ever seen benefit from a crown fully out were traditional battery powered quartz Timex pieces (I'm sure there are other brands though). Every solar/ecodrive and kinetic manual I've read mentions to _not_ leave the crown pulled out to attempt to save the charge as the opposite will happen. So, logically it stands to reason that when the crown is pulled out fully the circuit is using more energy than simply driving the electric motor to turn the hands.


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## gaijin (Oct 29, 2007)

Here are more bits of info as to why I do not support pulling out the crown when charging:

-On simple Citizen Eco-Drive watches like the EcoZillas, pulling the crown out to the time setting position, waiting 30 seconds, and then pushing the crown in resets the watch. This indicates to me that ALL electrical functions, including the charging circuit, are disabled when the crown is pulled out. So charging with the crown out would be ineffectual.

- I read somewhere, don't ask for a link because I don't know it, that there are basically two behaviors exhibited by quartz watches when the crown is pulled out to the time setting position: 1. All electrical functions cease and 2. A clutch is engaged which interrupts the movement of the hands, but the watch continues to run. In the case of 1, then the watch would probably not charge. In the case of 2, leaving the crown pulled out for an extended period of time could result in damage to the watch's clutch mechanism. In either case, leaving the crown out while charging would not be a good idea. One telltale hint as to whether it would be safe to store a quartz watch with the crown pulled out is whether or not the watch was shipped from the manufacturer with a little bit of plastic holding the crown out. If yes, then go ahead and store the watch with the crown out, if not, then better to leave the crown in. But even in this case, if the crown were out, I would not expect charging circuits to work.

- I have never seen or read it suggested in any Owner's Manual to leave the crown out while charging. Citizen manuals mention that if the watch is still doing the two-second jumping seconds hand after some period of charging, then pulling the crown out, waiting 30 seconds, then pushing the crown in should result in normal seconds hand movement if there is sufficient charge.

HTH


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## serge70 (Nov 16, 2010)

Hurrah! It lives again.

Please don't put it back in a drawer.

Thanks!


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## GlennO (Jan 3, 2010)

Behold, another Seiko has seen the light and is resurrected!!

sorry.....


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## gaijin (Oct 29, 2007)

jmartin1985 said:


> Thanks for all the responses, very helpful. I pulled out the crown and have been keeping it at the window sill since my original post. It didn't seem to be getting any better, as it was still on the low battery double tick after a few days, however, we have had a couple of brighter days and today after work, I pushed the crown in and it appeared to be ticking away as normal! I just pulled the crown back out and I'll give it a few more days then maybe wear it for a bit to see how it goes. I'll be sure to update, thanks again everyone!


Please recharge with the crown pushed in - I think you will be much happier ;-)


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## jmartin1985 (Jul 21, 2012)

I've kept it at the window since I last posted, this time with the crown pushed in, and it still seems to be ticking away just fine, keeping good time again. 

Thanks again for all the responses, I'll not be making the mistake of keeping it away from light again! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mcnabbanov (Feb 21, 2014)

congrats on reviving it! and thanks for the update


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## journeyforce (Apr 20, 2013)

gaijin said:


> Here are more bits of info as to why I do not support pulling out the crown when charging:
> 
> -On simple Citizen Eco-Drive watches like the EcoZillas, pulling the crown out to the time setting position, waiting 30 seconds, and then pushing the crown in resets the watch. This indicates to me that ALL electrical functions, including the charging circuit, are disabled when the crown is pulled out. So charging with the crown out would be ineffectual.
> 
> ...


Your post gives us food for thought. I know that on the old Bulova Accutrons(aka the humming watch) leaving the crown out for extended periods of time will damage the watch. i am leaning towards the all electrical functions cease. This theory is backed up by the fact that if you go into a store that sells Seiko, Citizen or Timex etc, all the analog watches have the crowns pulled out with a plastic wedge stuck between the watch body and the crown to prevent the crown from accidentally being pushed in and using battery power while being stored. It was put there by the factory.


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## forsakencowboy (Jan 7, 2016)

I've been offered a Seiko SSC015 for a good price, but it's been in a drawer for 3 years. Have a feeling it's a gamble to buy a solar watch that has been discharged for so long. What do the experts think?

And sorry for reviving an old thread, figured it's unnecessary to start a new one.


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## timetellinnoob (Sep 23, 2010)

timetellinnoob said:


> I remember hearing recently that the Seiko manual also suggests not covering the watch with your sleeves, so leaving it in a box or drawer or otherwise in an absence of all light would definitely go against Seiko's recommended usage...
> 
> I've only had mine since just before New Years and leave it in my room where I get indirect sunlight the whole day. Obviously, no issues yet, but I'm hoping on not running into any.


I did have issues with mine about 2 weeks ago. I was fiddling with strap changes or something and I happened to notice my solar wasn't ticking and it'd stopped the previous day. The second hand was *trying* to tick, but it pathetically kind of wiggled. I held my phone's LED flashlight up to it and watched it for a minute, and the juice from the flashlight helped it tick 3 seconds over about a minute. Then i hung the watch on the ledge of the lamp in my room, which holds it in direct light about 8 inches below the bulb.... after a little while it began double-ticking (afaik this is the "EOL" function) and after a while it began ticking as usual. I've been keeping it either on that spot of my lamp or directly in my window since then.

seems like it took about 1.5 years of mostly not wearing it to wear down (wore it alot of course the first couple months i had it hehe). it'd been on my desk most of the time since which gets a lot of indirect light so i was kind of expecting it, even though i would stick it in the window every now and then anyway.


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## journeyforce (Apr 20, 2013)

forsakencowboy said:


> I've been offered a Seiko SSC015 for a good price, but it's been in a drawer for 3 years. Have a feeling it's a gamble to buy a solar watch that has been discharged for so long. What do the experts think?
> 
> And sorry for reviving an old thread, figured it's unnecessary to start a new one.


Yes it is worth it as all it might need is a good charging. If not all it would need is a new MT920 Li Ion storage battery. It is made by Panasonic and it is easy to replace(one screw and a tab) If you can replace a watch battery then you can replace this. It seems to range in between $10 and $25.


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## GlennO (Jan 3, 2010)

No problem as long as you buy it on the assumption that you might have to replace the cell.


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## Catalyzt (Nov 23, 2013)

Ah, another solar-watch-charging thread. As many of you probably know, it's quite possible to search through zillions of these online without finding the precise piece of arcane information one is searching for. (I stumbled across this in 'new posts' and was happy to hear it wasn't about some defect in SSC017s, because I enjoy mine a great deal and do not wear it anything like every day. Glad the OP's watch is running again!)

What I do, generally, is just leave the solars on my bureau with a 60-watt light bulb on all day (or, these days, the CFL equivalent, which uses a lot less juice.)

My oldest solar is seven years old, and I have not had any problem with it.

However, I am anxious to learn the proper technique for maximizing the lifespan of all my watches, so they are still ticking long after our species has become extinct. If I'm doing something terribly wrong, I assume someone will let me know eventually when they stumble across this post.


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

What I do with all my solar watches is leave them out on a dresser in my bedroom, for them to charge with ambient light. For the models that can indicate charge they all seem to maintain full charge with that sort of treatment, and that's my perception of how to sustain best life from the battery.

With my kinetics, I try to remember to give them some time on my YT02A every month.


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## forsakencowboy (Jan 7, 2016)

My local Seiko seller told me a replacement would cost ca. 90$. Not keen on the whole process of doing it myself, I think I´ll pass on the SSC015.


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## r0bf1ve (Aug 13, 2013)

forsakencowboy said:


> My local Seiko seller told me a replacement would cost ca. 90$. Not keen on the whole process of doing it myself, I think I´ll pass on the SSC015.


I would too!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Semper Jeep (Jan 11, 2013)

My SSC017 had been shut away in a cabinet in my den for the past couple of months. I pulled it out last week and of course there was no charge left. It's been exposed to direct sunlight or under the direct light from a lamp constantly for about the past 4 days and still no change. Has it given up the ghost? This is the longest it's ever taken to get going again after losing its charge completely - I believe it's happened twice before and always sprung back to life within a day or so.


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## Tickstart (Oct 30, 2015)

Just store it on the window cill.. There's SO much more light from a cloudy day than a lamp, plus it's free.


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## Alis66 (Nov 28, 2014)

SemperJeep, you've probably heard it before but it's not best to run down your solar watch so often. I keep mine on the window sill and they get indirect light all the time. Never had any problems whatsoever. 
You can tell how much light your watch is getting by checking the lume charge. When stored in a window with direct sunlight my lume is practically nuclear. Under a desklamp, not so much.


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## Robert1964 (Feb 28, 2007)

I've had this problem with a Citizen and to a lessor extent with my Seiko. All I did was leave it in direct sunlight for a few days. The Seiko came back the same day. The Citizen took a few days to come back to life and has been working now for over ten years.
Real sunlight works best in my experience.

Robert


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## marinemaster (Apr 23, 2006)

Sunlight +1


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## Aquahallic (Jun 8, 2014)

Just an FYI due to others saying not to....Citizen says TO pull the crown out if charging a dead watch.


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## D1MATT (Aug 22, 2012)

I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


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## yankeexpress (Apr 7, 2013)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


Solar watches are AMAZING that way!

I have many Solar Seiko, Casio, Citizen and Timex and have never NEVER replaced a solar battery. Some are 18 years old on original fully functional battery power.

What is fun is to buy Dead solar watches real cheap off eBay and set them on a window sill in the Sun for a few days and watch them come back to life!

Dead on Arrival G-2300










After 4 days of (admittedly weak northern Sun) and good as new, on the way to being fully charged:


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## D1MATT (Aug 22, 2012)

That's so good! I will definitely keep an eye out for "dead" solar watches on eBay.


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## hSRwKIRM (Nov 3, 2016)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


Thank you so much for posting this. I read the manual but some how missed that section. I was about to box up my SSC017 and send it back to Amazon after it sat in the sunlight for 2 days but was still completely unresponsive.


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## Tom3 (Jan 3, 2010)

I've owned an SSC017 for two years. I just leave it out and wear it every so often out in the real world. It's the most accurate watch I have, generally -1 per month. I just keep it out of a drawer. Solar and Eco-Drive watches are meant to at least get some light every day, even if it's just on the top of a dresser. I have more problems with the Eco-Drive on charging (which usually means I haven't worn it outside for two months or so) but if it starts the two second hitch I just put it in a window sill for a day. Problem solved.


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## 1963_tiger (Nov 20, 2016)

jmartin1985 said:


> Thanks for all the responses, very helpful. I pulled out the crown and have been keeping it at the window sill since my original post. It didn't seem to be getting any better, as it was still on the low battery double tick after a few days, however, we have had a couple of brighter days and today after work, I pushed the crown in and it appeared to be ticking away as normal! I just pulled the crown back out and I'll give it a few more days then maybe wear it for a bit to see how it goes. I'll be sure to update, thanks again everyone!


I found the a posting from Seiko that says to push the crown in. I am not allowed to post the link as I am a newbie looking for help with a SSC081 that is dead with a brand new battery. Ticked at 2 s intervals and then stopped after battery change (yes Seiko rechargeable)

seikoserviceusa DOT com/ uploads/ servicebullitins/ 537e1a56-104c-467d-a224-0cbe6baa690f.pdf


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## CitizenPromaster (Aug 4, 2016)

Let me help you there tiger https://www.seikoserviceusa.com/uploads/servicebullitins/537e1a56-104c-467d-a224-0cbe6baa690f.pdf


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## CitizenPromaster (Aug 4, 2016)

Hahahaha that flow chart is comical.

Check if the customer knows the watch requires charging. - No -> Explain characteristics of solar watch


It should have said: Check if the customer is retarded loool


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## hi_bri (Feb 3, 2016)

Here's the funny thing about my Seiko Solar:









4826-9000 JDM first solar from Seiko. Unfortunately the rechargeable battery is no long in production....but it runs fine on a 386 battery:








Why don't they make them like the old days.... ;-)

-Brian


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## CitizenPromaster (Aug 4, 2016)

Cool watch bro! 1977 right? Solar | Our clean energy watches | SEIKO WATCH CORPORATION I hardly recognized it in this color.


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## hi_bri (Feb 3, 2016)

CitizenPromaster said:


> Cool watch bro! 1977 right? Solar | Our clean energy watches | SEIKO WATCH CORPORATION I hardly recognized it in this color.


Yup. Based on the caseback serial 72XXXX it would be February 1977 production.

They had both a stainless and gold tone version.

This was a non-runner that was neglected and gunked up that my watchmaker cleaned to bring it back to life.

I believe Citizen was the first solar with their Crystron in 1976 but Seiko came out with one the following year.

Cheers,

-Brian


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## CitizenPromaster (Aug 4, 2016)

Yes Citizen had the scoop on solar analogue in 1976, but it's kind of cool that Seiko innovated a little by using circumference rather than center panels.


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## Yap WH (Feb 7, 2014)

hi_bri said:


> Here's the funny thing about my Seiko Solar:
> 
> View attachment 9975242
> 
> ...


Hi Brian,

Nice watch there.

However, if it were me, I wouldn't stick a normal watch battery in there.

The circuit has a charging function, there's the risk of explosion or damage as normal watch batteries are not rechargeable.


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## hi_bri (Feb 3, 2016)

Yap WH said:


> However, if it were me, I wouldn't stick a normal watch battery in there.
> 
> The circuit has a charging function, there's the risk of explosion or damage as normal watch batteries are not rechargeable.


That was my first thought regarding this watch and a concern of my watchmaker.

However, the rechargable battery for this watch (4018859) is long out of production.

So I checked with a few vintage collectors and it appears this watch runs fine with a standard battery. There might be something in the design to allow it to do so or perhaps the charging system has died. However, given lack of parts, I'll never know if it recharges.

-Brian


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## Mike.Martins (Mar 20, 2014)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


I don't know what the ic is but your comment saved my watch and it is happily ticking again. Thank you very much mate!


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## Robert1964 (Feb 28, 2007)

Love it!!!


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## sltrv (Aug 9, 2016)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


You are a watch saver!

After leaving it a whole week in the light, I started to have doubts that the Seiko SSC147P1 received as a present from my wife will ever work again. After the IC reset it started with the one-second ticks directly so I guess the battery is somewhat charged.

It would really help if they would specify in the manual that the IC reset could help in this case. Unfortunately all it says is "When an abnormal display appears".


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## jerouy (Feb 13, 2017)

Rule of thumb: when you "suspect" a solar watch is dead, most likely it is -- of course after the RTFM stuff but still, most likely.
Rule of thumb2: never let a solar/kinetic/whatever-watch-with-rechargeable-battery go flat, ever.


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## calvinball (Oct 14, 2013)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


This appears to have revived my SSC021. Huge thanks!


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## calvinball (Oct 14, 2013)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


This appears to have revived my SSC021. Huge thanks!


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## allkindsofwatches1 (Apr 6, 2012)

How funny.....My SSC seemed to be having issues too. I just performed this reset procedure and it started ticking again. Cool b-)

Thanks!



calvinball said:


> This appears to have revived my SSC021. Huge thanks!


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## TagPro200 (Jul 20, 2017)

I have this exact situation. Seiko V157 PADI SNE 435 in storage for almost a year was at the 2 sec skip. I recharged it in sunlight for about a day. Second hand started working just fine but only lasted a few hours and then stopped completely. No 2 sec skip. Bought a new battery on eBay and replaced it (relatively simple process) and recharged it with the crown in pushed-in (normal) position. Again only lasted a couple of hours then stopped completely. Bought a second battery thinking the first battery might have been defective. Same result-even after leaving on window sill for several days for charging. I've seen threads talking about resetting solar watches, but mine is a diver and only has the crown with no other buttons. How would this be reset? Thanks.


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## Georgewg (Dec 31, 2018)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


I just received a brand new Seiko Recraft Solar Chronograph watch that I purchased from eBay and it arrived yesterday, but it was completely dead. It was not working at all no matter what I did to try to get it to work. I even put in an order on eBay for another 2nd same model watch thru the same seller to replace it because I thought that this one that I just got was broken and that I needed to replace it with another one and return the defective one back to the seller. I wore it outside in the sun for a few hours and it still didn't work. The seconds hand on the watch was not ticking at all. I thought that it was completely dead and I sent the seller a message asking him what to do to try to get my watch working. Because it's the weekend right now, the seller's store is closed and he cannot get back to me until Monday. So I took matters in my own hands and I happened to google the problem and arrived here on this thread. I read about the IC reset on this thread and I looked at my owner's manual to see if it mentioned anything about the IC reset procedure and it did. So I did the IC reset and the seconds hand on my watch started ticking normally. I want to thank you for posting about the IC reset procedure. I was able to get my brand new Seiko Solar Chronograph to work by doing the IC reset. Thank you for helping me get my brand new watch to work.


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## timetellinnoob (Sep 23, 2010)

what _is_ the "IC"?


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## Kulprit (Oct 7, 2017)

timetellinnoob said:


> what _is_ the "IC"?


Integrated circuit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## robert flores (Aug 30, 2019)

D1MATT,

Great advice. I followed your explicit instructions and it brought my watch back. Learned valuable lessons for this; 1) When in doubt read your manual 2) this forum is filled with great advice for like minded people. Thank you!


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## lorenzep (Oct 14, 2019)

D1MATT said:


> I thought I had killer my SSC017 by not letting it get any sunlight for too long. I got a quote from Seiko Australia to replace the battery. The cost of that was almost as much I paid for the watch in the first place. I found this thread and left the watch on the window sill for about a week and nothing was happening until I pulled out the manual and followed the instructions on how to "reset the IC". I unlocked the buttons and pulled the crown out to the second click. Then push both buttons for 3 seconds or longer. Push the crown back in and to my amazement the watch started ticking again. So happy to have it going again.


Want to thank you for reading the manual for me. This hint brought mine back to life. I'll read the manual to learn how to get the stop watch to line back up to zero.


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## Opus1 (Oct 23, 2019)

lorenzep said:


> Want to thank you for reading the manual for me. This hint brought mine back to life. I'll read the manual to learn how to get the stop watch to line back up to zero.


Add me to the list of grateful people. I have a SSC505 that I lost track of and it went dead, and no matter how much I exposed it to light I couldn't get it started. The reset brought it back to life and the watch is now resting comfortably under a plant light until the sun comes up tomorrow.


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## alexzil (Jan 6, 2020)

lorenzep said:


> Want to thank you for reading the manual for me. This hint brought mine back to life. I'll read the manual to learn how to get the stop watch to line back up to zero.


My V176 was dead after many days in a drawer, possibly with the chronometer accidentally on. After many hours on the window sill was still dead till I read the suggestion of performing an IC Reset. Did it and the watch came back ticking normally.
This reset is explained in the manual.
thank you!


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## thorn79 (Oct 2, 2019)

I got a Seiko Solar SNE095 (V158 movement) in Oct from Joma Shop and after a month it started stopping mostly at night. Sometimes it will run for days. Of course it's after the return period and they will send it to a 3rd party repair shop which I have heard bad things about. It started right up when I got the watch even without setting it in the sun. It never does the 2 sec jump. I have left it in the sun in a window and a bright light, it sometimes stops in the light. It seems to mostly stop around the 5 min to 10 min at night when the days/date is changing. I can hear it clicking faintly when the second hand is stopped. I can just give a bump or pull the stem out and in and it will start right up. I was thinking about going by a local repair shop to get a quote. I found the V158 movement for the same price as a new one.

Any ideas why a new quartz would keep stopping? Not a simple fix I guess? I wonder if the some of grey market watches are older (this one came out about 10 years ago) and have been sitting in unconditioned spaces would be hard on watches?


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## Hacknwind (Mar 16, 2018)

thorn79 said:


> I got a Seiko Solar SNE095 (V158 movement) in Oct from Joma Shop and after a month it started stopping mostly at night. Sometimes it will run for days. Of course it's after the return period and they will send it to a 3rd party repair shop which I have heard bad things about. It started right up when I got the watch even without setting it in the sun. It never does the 2 sec jump. I have left it in the sun in a window and a bright light, it sometimes stops in the light. It seems to mostly stop around the 5 min to 10 min at night when the days/date is changing. I can hear it clicking faintly when the second hand is stopped. I can just give a bump or pull the stem out and in and it will start right up. I was thinking about going by a local repair shop to get a quote. I found the V158 movement for the same price as a new one.
> 
> Any ideas why a new quartz would keep stopping? Not a simple fix I guess? I wonder if the some of grey market watches are older (this one came out about 10 years ago) and have been sitting in unconditioned spaces would be hard on watches?
> 
> View attachment 14794617


Had the same problem, intermitant problem. Maddening. Jomashop repaired it and sent it back. It worked perfectly, until it didn't. It stopped for no apparent reason, sometimes after a week. So i sent it back again, and told them to keep it as long as they liked to confirm it worked properly. After a couple months of d*cking around with it, they sent me a new watch. I was in the warranty period. Seiko SNE393


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## thorn79 (Oct 2, 2019)

I might send it in and see what happens. I wonder if it is the movement design. Does the new one they sent you work OK? I started looking around at reviews on other sites and there's a certain percentage that just stop after a few months. I have a Pulsar solar watch that I have used 100% of the time for 17 years and it runs fine. It's getting to look old so I though I'd get another solar as a spare.



Hacknwind said:


> Had the same problem, intermitant problem. Maddening. Jomashop repaired it and sent it back. It worked perfectly, until it didn't. It stopped for no apparent reason, sometimes after a week. So i sent it back again, and told them to keep it as long as they liked to confirm it worked properly. After a couple months of d*cking around with it, they sent me a new watch. I was in the warranty period. Seiko SNE393


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## mi6_ (Jan 7, 2015)

Aquahallic said:


> Just an FYI due to others saying not to....Citizen says TO pull the crown out if charging a dead watch.


Yes I was pretty certain I've read this in my Citizen manuals and I know for a fact this is how I charge DOA solar watches. I thought it was pretty looney to suggest a quartz watch used more power with the crown pulled out (when not running). The amount of misinformation being posted on this forum is shocking.


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## Hacknwind (Mar 16, 2018)

thorn79 said:


> I might send it in and see what happens. I wonder if it is the movement design. Does the new one they sent you work OK? I started looking around at reviews on other sites and there's a certain percentage that just stop after a few months. I have a Pulsar solar watch that I have used 100% of the time for 17 years and it runs fine. It's getting to look old so I though I'd get another solar as a spare.


Yea, new one is working normally. Good luck with it!


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## Hacknwind (Mar 16, 2018)

mi6_ said:


> Yes I was pretty certain I've read this in my Citizen manuals and I know for a fact this is how I charge DOA solar watches. I thought it was pretty looney to suggest a quartz watch used more power with the crown pulled out (when not running). The amount of misinformation being posted on this forum is shocking.


In general, pulling the crown does no harm. I'm not sure if there are model or brand specific idiosyncrasies but if you are storing for an extended length of time, I would pull it.


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## DCLion (Feb 20, 2016)

I just got a Seiko solar SNE435. It says in the instructions that after being fully charged it will last for 10 months to go from fully charged to stopped. Does that mean the charge would last for 10 months if I put it in a drawer after fully charging it. That's what the words imply to me, but at the store where I bought it they told me that if it's put in total darkness, the charge will only last for only 72 hours. Just doesn't sound right to me--does anybody know? Thanks in advance.


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## yankeexpress (Apr 7, 2013)

DCLion said:


> I just got a Seiko solar SNE435. It says in the instructions that after being fully charged it will last for 10 months to go from fully charged to stopped. Does that mean the charge would last for 10 months if I put it in a drawer after fully charging it. That's what the words imply to me, but at the store where I bought it they told me that if it's put in total darkness, the charge will only last for only 72 hours. Just doesn't sound right to me--does anybody know? Thanks in advance.


Never put a solar in a drawer or dark place to store it. It needs light and a window sill, even a shaded window sill is a good place to rest it.


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## DCLion (Feb 20, 2016)

yankeexpress said:


> Never put a solar in a drawer or dark place to store it. It needs light and a window sill, even a shaded window sill is a good place to rest it.


I'm thinking of, say, if I go away for a week and wasn't taking it. And how about just during the night when sleeping--would that be a problem? What does the 10 months mean? (It's hard for me to leave anything on the window sill if I'm not there because of our cats--they love shiny new things on the window sill.) Thanks much.


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## schumacher62 (May 23, 2019)

hi hopes for a long life on my most new acquisition!


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## thorn79 (Oct 2, 2019)

Jomashop sent me a new one. They said it was a manufacture defect.



Hacknwind said:


> Yea, new one is working normally. Good luck with it!


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## thorn79 (Oct 2, 2019)

Duplicate for some reason.


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## techguyone (Aug 28, 2010)

I seem to have foolishly let my SNE109P1
run flat, it's getting on for 6 years old, this only has the one crown button, is there a way to reset the IC on this model?

I'm currently on day 1 of the full sun recharge, and am still on the double tick second hand, and all activity stopping after removal from light.


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## mi6_ (Jan 7, 2015)

techguyone said:


> I seem to have foolishly let my SNE109P1
> run flat, it's getting on for 6 years old, this only has the one crown button, is there a way to reset the IC on this model?
> 
> I'm currently on day 1 of the full sun recharge, and am still on the double tick second hand, and all activity stopping after removal from light.


Just unscrew the crown and pull it out until it completely stops. Leave it like that in the sun (in a window sill) for about 5-7 days. Put the crown in and set the time. Should work fine. As a general rule try leave the watches somewhere that they will get indirect light. On a ledge in a room that gets lots of sunlight is best. Leaving solar watches in the dark will eventually mean death. The cells staying as close to fully charged is what lets them last for 20+ years.


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## bchia (Apr 13, 2020)

Hi guys,

Long time luker, first time poster. I have searched and read through this thread among others, but have a question related to these Seiko Solar watches. I didn't want to create a new thread, so hopefully this is the right place for this.

I have a Seiko SSC013 purchased in June 2014, which worked on arrival but I foolishly let it die without light several years ago. Since then, I've researched on how to repair these and the consensus is that most can be restored with sufficient re-charging. I've let the watch sit in window for weeks at a time, both with the crown in and with the crown out, to no avail. I took it to a jeweler a while back and he recommeded I try to give it more light exposure before replacing the battery / capacitor. So I tried that and still no luck.

Eventually, I opened up the watch and found the battery - it said it was a Panasonic MT920. I bought a replacement, replaced it, let it charge for 3 more days, and still no luck. So I opened it back up and to double check my work and make sure the battery was in correctly. This particular battery came with some some metal tabs on the back that didn't quite match the original, but I was (fairly confidently) able to identify the correct contact points and make sure they were seated correctly in the back. Put everything back together, and still no luck.

That's when I noticed that the seconds sub-dial wasn't in the same spot as before. Somehow, at some pont, it had moved. I opened it back up to make sure I wasn't shorting something with the metal tabs on the battery. *Eventually I figured out that the watch would only work when the battery was removed! *So the movement is working, but it seems like either I got another defective battery or perhaps there is a short somewhere in the charging circuit. Removing the battery completely and keeping the watch in light, the second hand does tick and even the stopwatch will run, albeit weakly.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Any thoughts on repair or other things to try?

Thanks!


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## mich.g.pan (Oct 10, 2018)

bchia said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I have a Seiko SSC013 purchased in June 2014, which worked on arrival but..
> 
> Thanks!


Hi

I also have a seiko solar that had issues. It's working now for 1 year after the repair and keeping great time and charge.

I tried Replaceing the battery/capacitor too.

My repair was the need for lubrication.

Mich

Sent from my SM-A705W using Tapatalk


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## Pal Mhajan (12 mo ago)

calvinball said:


> This appears to have revived my SSC021. Huge thanks!


My watch was in my drawer for 4 yrs and I did exactly the same.........and my watch started to work. 
Super advice. Thank you very much


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## Dodgydruid (Jul 15, 2019)

I bought a new VR43 solar chronograph and the battery seemed to die in it but after replacing cell it now works for a little while then stops with the second hand at the 10 mark, I can use the reserve function and its got plenty in there so I move the hands and it comes back to life again for a little while then stops again with the second hand at the 10 position.

Have checked the hands aren't fouling which was my first thought, I tried taking it back to shop who told me that Seiko were no longer supporting Pulsar watches and because I had it for just about the right amount of time to be out of warranty I was kinda stuffed.

I am looking at buying a replacement VR43 from Cousin's but I have heard other sad tales of this movement and problems with the poor performance. Should I chase my tail further with this or just put it down to experience? I am fairly peeved with Seiko over lack of support with other watches I have bought and they have been fairly abrupt, my first encounter with them over a gold Pulsar Swarovski was superb and very pleased but the VR43 thing has left me quite bitter.


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