So my AD let me return mine about a month ago. He contacted me that he got some more in. He said he will fully wind and run the chronograph on one to see if it makes it the full 60 hours without stopping. Im still torn if I should try it again. Knowing how backlogged the service centers are with these issues id hate for it to pop up down the road and have to send it off for 6 weeks etc.
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... Must say that throughout it all, the service from the OB really was top class and I am glad to have got this sorted (finally).
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3 month old speedmaster 3861 here. Two weeks ago the watch just stopped after about two hours of full wind. Now it just wont wind fully. Couple of rotations and it feels fully wound. It keeps time good but power reserve is about one to two hours. Called the AD and will drop it off on Monday.. pretty bummed as its the only watch that ever gave me trouble and its the only watch that i bought new from the local AD.
Living in Cyprus there is no servixe center and they told ne it will be sent to Greece. Should i accept this or request a replacement? Any idea of what the problem might be?
Well, let's put it this way.
If one purchases a new 3861 and soon after, the watch starts playing up, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner starts sturming and dranging.
I know I would... 😀
So just an update...when this thread was started I searched for possible issues on the 3861 and found none that Omega had published. That has changed, and it appears there is an issue that Omega is seeing with the 3861 movements, and it's related to the center wheel. Basically it is showing some discoloration/debris in the places where the wheel goes through the main plate of the movement, and where it goes through the main bridge. In some cases the wheel shows premature wear.
They have stated that this can lead to weak balance amplitude, and it may also cause the movement to stop prematurely. They don't identify a specific issue, but say that all watches that have this problem will need a full service, and if there are any signs of wear on the center wheel, the wheel should be replaced. They also note that a "generous" amount of oil should be applied at these locations, noting that 6-8 drops of HP1300 should be used.
Of note, in the photos they have shown (sorry can't reproduce them here) they show that this center wheel goes through a bushing, which is a different situation than all other previous versions of this movement. In the past, the wheels have ridden in a simple hole that has been made in the softer brass plate, but the bushing in this 3861 appears to be a bronze bushing that would be a harder material, so my educated guess is that with this change in the material that the wheel rides in, a change of lubrication quantity was required and not done.
No indication how many 3861's this happens to, but usually they don't put something out like this unless they have had a few with problems. So if you notice anything with the watch, such as a short power reserve, get it in for warranty service so it can be corrected.
Cheers, Al
This is not related to the use of the chronograph. Initially the technical guides were updated to show increased lubrication at the centre wheel and main plate. Just recently it was updated to show that a new bushing in the main plate will be used, so they did end up changing a part to resolve this.
There isn’t a mass production movement out there that hasn’t had some sort of bug that needed to be resolved, so this isn’t a big deal really...
Cheers, Al
I'm thinking to have him run the 834 with the chronograph running for 50 hours to see if it stops. I really like this watch and want to buy it back but id like to be pretty certain it has the upgraded bushing etc. Thanks
When I ran these tests, myself and my AD knew to wind the watch until the crown will not turn anymore. At that point you should get the 50 hour power reserve even with the chrono running as Omega specs it at 50h.
