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Tzmandevil 08-05-2006, 11:27 AM

I have a quarz watch from my mother and it needs servicing. I have only serviced mechanical watches.

What solutions do I need?

What process should I use?
What type of oil/s?

Taz

Tzmandevil 08-05-2006, 11:27 AM

I have a quarz watch from my mother and it needs servicing. I have only serviced mechanical watches.

What solutions do I need?

What process should I use?
What type of oil/s?

Taz

John Runciman 08-05-2006, 01:10 PM

Who made the quartz watch you want to service? Some quartz watches are not worth servicing and you don't want to explain to your her mother
why you broke her watch.

Tzmandevil 08-07-2006, 09:08 AM

It's a Geneve. Movement is a ETA 578.004.

If servicing is not worth it, what replacements can I use?

FreWJensen 08-07-2006, 12:45 PM

What is the watch doing now. I assume you replaced the battery and it sill won't work.
There is a magnetic device that will spin the wheels to loosen them if they are jammed. This is the first step before even thinking of taking it
apart. I have such a device and would be glad to try this if you send the postage plus 1 dollar.

mrbill 08-07-2006, 02:00 PM

That particular movement I believe is discontinued. They were a pretty good movement but they hated water. If you jave one of the old style
demagnetizers there you have a field coil and a button to press, you can place the watch in close proxcimity on the "outside" of the coil, press
the button and this will also induce the hands to spin. Don't do it to olong as the coil heats up with prolonged use.
Care must be taken when removing the cell strap under much tension. Loosen the strap screw closest to the stem 1/4 turn thenm use your
tweezers to slide that end from under the screw keep your finger on it, it likes to jump.
Cleaning is similar to other watches. If you don't have a timing machine capable of checking quartz movements you have no way of knowing if
the circuit and coil assembly "which are one piece" are good. You may clean the whole watch install a new battery and it still may not run. When
you do get it back together the gate on that movement is once every 20 seconds. So put the minute hand on and give it at lease 1 1/2 minutes
to see if it moves.

John Runciman 08-07-2006, 02:07 PM

If you like working on a really tiny things it can be serviced. It's definitely not the watch I would recommend for learning how to service quartz
watches. The movement's been discontinued replaced with a Harley M751E. It's not a direct replacement though and you'll have to change the
hands to fit.

Tzmandevil 08-08-2006, 12:58 AM

Thanks for all the replies. My mom's watchmaker changed the battery and told her it needed to be serviced. Since I work mainly on mechanical
watches and clocks, my father decided to give it to me for the servicing.

For me it is a new frontier. I guess, should I get into it, I may find myself getting into quartz movements too.

So I just tear it down and clean it like a regular mechanical watch? Are there any parts that should not be put into the cleaning solution?

FreWJensen 08-08-2006, 01:04 AM

Be careful you know which wheel is attached to the stepper motor otherwise you can damage to movement. Try the magnetic spin first, if the
wheels are jammed. Sometimes clearing the jamed wheels by magnetic inducement is enough. Most of the movements are basically electric
motot drive little clock that are not as carefully balanced as mechanical movements so once the wheels are cleared they will run.

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Timm 08-08-2006, 01:10 AM

I wouldn't put any plastic parts in any regular cleaning solution. That goes for the rotor too. These can be cleaned with Rodico.

There is a plastic cleaner available from Zantech Inc. that is specifically made for quartz watches and the plastics contained in some of them.

John Runciman 08-08-2006, 08:09 AM

Repairing a quartz watch to some degree is the same as a mechanical watch. The first step is verify what is working and what is not. Specifically
with this watch verify that the hands can be set. Without the proper variable voltage power supply and meter to measure the current you will
not be able to verify that the circuit is functioning properly and it would be helpful to have a timing machine for quartz watches. As far as
disassembly goes this watch is simpler than most if you remove the screws holding the battery and the circuit board the entire circuit with coil
can be removed as one component. The only other plastic piece in this watch that's not cleaned is the insulator for the battery. As pointed out
by Tim it is usually best not to clean the rotor other than using rodico to remove any particles stuck to its magnet. The rest of the watche is
metal and be cleaned like any other watch. As far as oiling goes I prefer moebius quartz oil in the absence that you can try the lightest oil you
have and use the very smallest quantity possible as quartz watches will have problems if they're over oiled.

doug sinclair 08-08-2006, 09:41 AM

Taz,

If I remember this movement correctly, it occurs to me there may some insulating washers on one or more screws to contend with. To add to
what John had to say, watch for any insulators on screws, and remember which screw goes where!

FreWJensen 08-09-2006, 05:31 AM

The JulesBorel Movement Cat says that ETA 578.004. can be replaced by Ron 751E-978
They list a Ron 751E movement for $16.95.

4piet1 08-09-2006, 03:03 PM

hello Taz, just one more remark, use anti magnetic tweezers to assemble te movement.
greetings piet

Jake 08-12-2006, 12:26 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-
content">Originally posted by Tzmandevil:
It's a Geneve. Movement is a ETA 578.004.

If servicing is not worth it, what replacements can I use? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The ETA 578.004 is now obsolete. This movement is a 5 1/2 ligne model, with nickel colored bridges and plates and assembled in Asia from
Swiss parts, if memory serves me correctly. It can be easily repaired as it only has three train wheels. Parts are still available as it shares
numerous components with ETA 978.001. A perfect replacement, current production movement, is an ETA 976.001. Everything fits, including
the stem. If you choose to repair the 578.004 model, there are no insulators under any screws. The only insulator is a thin plastic sheet at the
bottom of the cell well. There is a very small friction washer beneath the free cannon pinion. There is no easier quartz watch to service than this
family of ETA products. Jake B.

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