Seiko Kinetic watches are manufactured to a high standard and if taken care of will last for years. But one common fault we often have to deal with in the workshop is the complaint that the watch continues to always jump two seconds at a time.
Here are a few reasons:
- How active is the user? Is the watch being moved enough in order for the oscillating weight inside to charge the capacitor? An automatic watch winder may be helpful here. These are available on eBay for a reasonable cost. Or from your high street jeweller, usually at a much greater cost. £40 is a reasonable price to pay for one. You site the watch on the winding machine and it will turn slowly to wind the watch up.
- The capacitor may be spent. Regretfully they do not last forever and after three to five years they degrade. If a capacitor cannot retain enough power then the watch may only work when the watch is worn. If the watch is taken off, or does not get enough movement then the capacitor will drain very quickly. In this case the capacitor will need to be replaced. In some cases, Seiko has released a Lithium ION upgrade.
- There could be a problem with the oscillating weight. In one extreme case we opened up a Kinetic only to find all the ball bearings had come out of the weight mechanism and were floating around the watch. In another case the weight mechanism was so worn out that it had completely seized up.
- The contacts between the capacitor and the circuit may be dirty and not allowing the capacitor to be charged correctly. In fact, in one case we found that a user had attempted to change the capacitor themselves and whilst we applaud their effort, they did not use the correct tools and the capacitor was not situated correctly. The weight was spinning fine, but none of the electric power was being transferred to the capacitor.
All these faults can usually be rectified without much fuss providing parts are still obtainable for the model you have. If you would like a quote for repairs to your Seiko Kinetic then please do contact us. We would love to help.
