Hi all,
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
I received delivery today of an early 1994 model Seiko Kinetic mid size watch, reference 3M22-0D49. I purchased it for £10 advertised as spares repairs, however the blue protective film is still in place on the case back, the watch visually appears to be in mint condition and unworn.
I own many other Seiko auto’s, quartz SQ’s etc but this is my first kinetic. I purchased this watch thinking it was a bargain and on the hope/presumption that the capacitor would just be completely flat, that I could shake it for a long period of time to get it running again and have a nice early kinetic in my collection.
This evening I’ve sat and shaken/swirled the watch for around 15 minutes non stop, the rotor spins freely but unfortunately the 3M22 hasn’t started to tick. It is completely stopped, not doing the two second tick etc.
I’m reaching out to anybody who can provide any advice however big or small regarding how to get her running again. I’ve considered several options and conducted some research:
1 - The mythical ‘toothbrush charger’ method.
From conducting research into kinetics I’ve come across several forums discussing the use of an electric toothbrush charger to jump start the capacitor. This early model kinetic does have a capacitor and not a li-ion cell like in the later kinetics. I was considering purchasing a cheap electric toothbrush for the charger to give it a go, but would appreciate if anyone with any experience could give advice. Main question being will it work if the watch is completely stopped, or does this method only work when the watch is doing the two second tick?
2 - Send watch off for professional capacitor replacement/service.
I’ve researched places in the U.K. that replace capacitors on these Seiko models. There’s a company advertising the service on eBay, they charge £40 ish for a straight forward capacitor replacement if the watch is ticking but keeping poor charge, then the price increases to £70 if the watch is completely dead such as mine is. I’m trying to keep this watch as cost effective as possible, I’d appreciate if anyone could give any advice whatsoever if I was to choose the professional repair route, that’s if it can even be repaired due to not ticking at all currently.
3 - Sit here for hours shaking the watch hoping that it starts.
My arms and wrists hurt just from 15 minutes, I don’t particularly fancy this option but in a vain attempt I’m considering it.
Please see attached pictures of the watch in question.
I’d like to thank all who have read this post for your time in doing so, it is very much appreciated.
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4. You could replace the capacitor yourself. It's a fiddly but not desperately difficult job and the parts are available (relatively) cheaply on eBay.
If you search on the Mods & Wreckers thread I did a post with photos and there are videos on YouTube.
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Nice looking watch, sorry can’t help. Hope you get it running.
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I am not technically adept but ordered and replaced the capacitor in my dad's 12 year old kinetic, after watching a 5 min YouTube video.
Capacitor was £10. Took me 15 mins to replace. Most awkward part was removing the rotor screw which has a very thin head.
As I say, I have very limited tech ability but it was satisfying to do. Watch has worked perfectly since. Go for it.
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I have this watch. It was designed by Jorg Hysek and is interesting and different. It is a bit small by today's standards though still wearable.
If there is no movement at all when you have shaken it for a bit then just replacing the capacitor is not likely to work and something else is wrong with it Basically you could send it away to be repaired but this is costly given the value of the watch or you could keep your eye open for a trashed but working 3M22 watch and swap the movement.
Mitch
As above the key is - are you getting any movement of the seconds hand? If so your in with a chance and it's a pretty straight forward job if your careful and methodical - cousins was a good source for caps but now they charge £8 delivery as they use a courier and not RM
Keep us posted
Thank you all for your helpful replies.
Unfortunately there is no movement in the seconds hand whatsoever which doesn’t seem promising. Before I spend any money I’m planning on running it past a friend who does basic watch repairs (not an expert) just to get him to take the case back off to see if there’s anything obvious that immediately stands out. I’d be over the moon if it was just a bit of dirt/corrosion that’s stopping her from going.
A brilliant idea to look out for a trashed but working one on eBay also, thanks Mitch.
Also to the two who suggested replacing capacitor myself thanks I appreciate the advice, I’m certainly considering it, I’d just be annoyed with myself spending a further £20 if it wasn’t to work due to the watch having deeper faults. After I’ve had the case back taken off and inspected this option is going to be my next consideration.
Thanks all
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I've had loads of kinetic models that have run absolutely dead, every time a new capacitor has sorted it.
Bear in mind this 3M calibre is a first generation model and the power reserve was pretty crap.
Yours dates to December 1997, so presuming it's the original cell this is a 20 year old capacitor, I'm not at all surprised that it won't hold any charge.
I'm NOT a profesional watchmaker but I am an avid Seiko collector and have done more capacitor changes than I can count (so more than my fingers AND toes combined). If you want to send it my way I'll try a capacitor for you. It'll cost £20 plus whatever postage is but I've done a few for the forum and never had a duff one yet, so hold out some hope.
I have Two of these and used .olli. (on here) for repair/replacement on One that wasn't holding Charge.
Great to deal with and even gave it a polish too.
Agreed they do wear a bit small by todays standards, but a nice collectable Watch without tying up lots of £££.
Thanks for this thread as I also own one of these watches as an original owner and it was my most expensive watch before I discovered mechanical watches!
Mine has the rubber and metal bracelet but the clash no longer holds closed as well as the capacitor issue.
I bought One brand new in the late '90s and was amazed with the this new technology that didn't require a battery.
I'm almost embarassed to say that I genuinely knew nothing about Mechanical watches back then !
Many years later I'm on a nostalgia fuelled hunt for One for the collection (and ended up buying Two).
I have to say the latest generation are pretty good in regard to power reserve - I have a sun023 gmt diver and after a couple of days ‘normal wear’ it will run for 6 months - I know these have an updated movement, can any part be retrofitted to improve performance of the venerable original series like the OP’s?
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My Grandfather gave me a very similar looking thing to see if I could get it going for him. Nothing happened after two days on the watch winder, a day's wear or a few minutes shaking.
Almost giving up, I gave it a proper five minutes VIGOROUS shaking (using muscles I've not stretched since those loney teenage years) and it sprang back into life for about a minute. Another five minutes enthusiastic wrist action, and it worked properly. Back on the winder, and it keeps enough charge for my Grandfather to wear it a couple of days a week, on rotation with his other Seikos.
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