watch stops when on its back

[tracker]

I have a 21 jewel waltham crescent st with an up/down indicator.And recently it will sometimes stop when laid on it's back I know there are several possible reasons for this,but I would like to know the best way to start troubleshooting the problem. Watch is running fine in all other positions. Any ideas?. Thanks.

 

[Kevin W.]

Could be a number of things, a bad pivot on one end of balance wheel, or a bad jewel on one end as well. perhaps others will have more ideas about this.

 

[musicguy]

Moving thread to watch repair where it will get better exposure.


Rob

 

[karlmansson]

Could be an end shake problem with something interfering with the balance, lever or wheels in one orientation but not the other.

Could be cracked jewels or bent or broken pivots.

To trouble shoot you start with the balance and work your way backwards through the train. Is the balance free in all orientations? If you let the watch unwind and then give the watch a flick of the wrist, does the balance oscillate unhindered in all positions? If so, you need to take the watch apart and check all components for integrity and check all the end shakes and side shakes. If the balance is not free you still need to take at least the balance assembly and escapement out for inspection and repair.

Regards
Karl

 

[Tim Fitzgerald]

Great advice Karl, short and sweet.

 

[doc_fields]

Bad cap jewel with wear on the end of the balance pivot? Had one once.....................gary

 

[DeweyC]

I have a 21 jewel waltham crescent st with an up/down indicator.And recently it will sometimes stop when laid on it's back I know there are several possible reasons for this,but I would like to know the best way to start troubleshooting the problem. Watch is running fine in all other positions. Any ideas?. Thanks.

Karl gave you the outline for the procedure. What I do is:

Inspect all escapement jewels and the staff especially; under a microscope.
Ensure escapement functions (lock and slide)
Remove EW and pallet. Install balance complete. Does it maintain its swing in all positions
Remove Balance Spring and repeat
Install pallet bridge and repeat
Install pallet and spring. Repeat

As you hit an undesired result, stop and find the fault at that subassembly. Then repeat.

As you point out, it could be anything and you need a procedure that allows you to find the fault.

 

[Rob P.]

Having a step-by-step procedure that you repeat every time helps you learn what the usual causes are as well as ensuring that you didn't miss anything.

Usually (and I say that carefully) when a balance swings properly except in one position, that's an indicator that there's something wrong in the balance. When it's DU or DD the end of the staff that is down is often where the problem lies and it's usually a bad jewel or damaged pivot on that end. When it's horizontal, it could be anything but most often it's very worn or bent pivot(s). Sometimes it's the wrong size jewels but that's rare that someone would cannabalize jewels and then put igood ones in their place. It's not unheard of, I had a 16 size elgin with this problem that nearly drove me nuts until I figured out 1 jewel was a different size than the other one.

Establish and follow the procedure outlined above and you'll find the problem.

 

[Kevin W.]

Was the problem found?

 

[tracker]

Great advice . I have let the mainspring down and the balance has good movement in all positions.I wonder if it could be dirt? I don't see anything but I have not taken the movement apart yet.After my first post I wound the mainspring put the watch on it" back and it ran down completely without stopping.I have been holding off going further because I have never worked with a movement that has an up/ down indicator .If it stays an intermitant problem should I leave it as it is?Or should I dive in?

 

[karlmansson]

Does the watch stop at the same time every time? If so, it could be interference between the hands as well, or in the motion works.

 

[Rob P.]

Great advice . I have let the mainspring down and the balance has good movement in all positions.I wonder if it could be dirt? I don't see anything but I have not taken the movement apart yet.After my first post I wound the mainspring put the watch on it" back and it ran down completely without stopping.I have been holding off going further because I have never worked with a movement that has an up/ down indicator .If it stays an intermitant problem should I leave it as it is?Or should I dive in?

Have you ever serviced a watch before? If not, I'd suggest you learn on a less complicated movement before attempting to service this one. If yes, then I'd say go ahead and service it.

Pay attention to where the various pieces go.