# lcd display starting to fade



## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

Seiko Airpro. Does this mean the watch is broken? Is there any way to reset and fix this?
The watch on the left is working fine. If you compare both watches, you'll see that somethings are missing, faded away.


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## Sedi (May 21, 2007)

Could be a weak battery - sometimes on older watches it can also be the polarizing filter on the LCD which gets old - you usually notice that by a yellow tint on the digits/LCD. What kind of watch are we talking about and can you upload some pics?

cheers, Sedi


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

I just added some photos


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

Sedi said:


> Could be a weak battery - sometimes on older watches it can also be the polarizing filter on the LCD which gets old - you usually notice that by a yellow tint on the digits/LCD. What kind of watch are we talking about and can you upload some pics?
> 
> cheers, Sedi


I just replaced the battery. I know that my pulsar PS7001 had a reset feature if the display gets funky. If I push all the buttons together, at the same time, the screen will blank out. But this doesnt make the fading go away.


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## Sedi (May 21, 2007)

Ah, OK - that makes things much clearer. I thought the LCD as a whole was fading but there's only certain LCD-segments which fail. If a reset didn't help I think I run out of wisdom. Maybe someone elese knows.

cheers, Sedi


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## Joakim Agren (Feb 12, 2006)

Looks like heat damage to me. When the face is exposed to temperatures over 60 degrees Celsius for an extended period sometimes the polarizer separates from the LCD on certain parts causing those parts to fade. Have you exposed it to direct sunlight?

But it can also just be a bad battery. So the first thing to change is the battery.

The worst case scenario is that parts of the LCD panel are breaking down. But hopefully that is not the cause in this case!


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

I just replaced the battery. Im starting to think that the LCD is starting to fail?


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## Sedi (May 21, 2007)

I also thought that maybe the polarizing filter might be damaged. You could try replacing it - not really too difficult. I would not give up yet.

cheers, Sedi


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

I just took the watch out of my dresser and the LCD is illuminating At 100%, without any traces of fading! One thing I noticed, the fading was moving around the display, kind of like olive oil floating around in a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. I wonder what could cause this behavior? But I did remember about 4 years ago when I last wore the watch, that the display was starting to fade, but I didn't care because I put the watch in storage, until last week.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Are those real SEIKO watches? I ask because I have some doubt. These don't appear to have the kind of design and build quality that the brand SEIKO is know for. These are very odd looking LCD watches, reminding me of Chinese knock-offs.


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

xevious said:


> Are those real SEIKO watches? I ask because I have some doubt. These don't appear to have the kind of design and build quality that the brand SEIKO is know for. These are very odd looking LCD watches, reminding me of Chinese knock-offs.


Look up Seiko Airpro. The watches were sold in mid 1990's and were very limited in production. The designs were way ahead of its time.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

astral said:


> Look up Seiko Airpro. The watches were sold in mid 1990's and were very limited in production. The designs were way ahead of its time.


I see you're right. I had no idea what this model was called (I see that you've since updated your original post with it). WUS member Brightz posted about his Airpro back in April of 2010. It's an interesting concept, the idea of an inflatable wristband to make it more comfortable, but it's a strange execution of design. I'd prefer something a bit more shallow.


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## astral (Mar 28, 2012)

xevious said:


> I see you're right. I had no idea what this model was called (I see that you've since updated your original post with it). WUS member Brightz posted about his Airpro back in April of 2010. It's an interesting concept, the idea of an inflatable wristband to make it more comfortable, but it's a strange execution of design. I'd prefer something a bit more shallow.


The watches were big and clunky. I think the air pocket was a huge gimmick, but served a real purpose - to get the watch to stay in place on the wrist with comfort in mind. The watch did draw a lot of attention as it was quite uniquely rare, and odd to have such big, a hi-tech block of plastic on your wrist, in the mid to late 90's. It's too bad spare parts are not available, and that most of the rubber parts dry and crack. I've managed to restore all my Airpros with 18mm zulu straps and have epoxied the release valve in place. I never thought I would wear them again.


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