Omega X-33 Skywalker Solar Impulse backlight issues

I’m asking mainly out of curious but k know the solution is likely to be shipping my watch off to my nearest service centre which is three hours away by car.

I’ve had my Skywalker for about three years now. Bought it used in good condition. After a few months I had it serviced by an Omega service centre, new battery, pushers and pressure test. It’s been working fine since then.

It’s part of a rotation but probably getting worn every few weeks. I’ve been mindful lately that I’m coming up on the 2-2.5 year mark and that my battery will likely need replacing.

Two days ago, whilst wearing it I tried to actuate the backlight. Brief flicker and then backlight no longer worked and I was greeted with the five second hop. This would last for about five minutes and then the second hand would resume normal function moving in one second increments. Any further attempts to actuate the backlight would replicate th second behaviour. Five seconds between each movement and then after a few minutes it would go back to one second increments.

My assumption then was that the battery was nearing end of life. I have a Gen 1 x-33 and have replaced that battery before by myself. I figured I would do the same with the Skywalker.

Ive just completed the battery replacement procedure and it went well. Screws in good condition and the o-ring has been lightly regressed. Unfortunately however the backlight still does not work and the pattern of behaviour persists. Five second jumping after attempts to actuate the backlight and then it returns to normal after a few minutes. Chrono, alarm, timers all work as normal and do not cause the second hand to jump in 5 second increments.

I’m well aware of my limits and realise this is now likely to be a service centre job. At this stage given the centre is so far away and they’re still working on my Seamaster Chrono 2298.80 I’ll prob wait until I have one watch back before submitting the X-33 for inspection.

I realise the movement will need Omega level testing etc but just curious if this pattern of behaviour is familiar to anyone?

Cheers,

Aidan

Ok update. It’s been bothering me since my post.

Bought the battery from a reputable source and actually purchased two (one for my Gen 1 X-33).

Tested the old EOL battery that I’d initially removed on the multimeter under load and got about 2.5-2.6V.

I tested the spare new battery and was getting 3.2V under load. I figured I had nothing to lose so installed that. My backlight now works again 😀

I tested the first battery I’d installed and it was measuring 3V under load. Both are Renata branded. Perhaps the X-33 is just very sensitive to load voltage of the battery?

Sounds like the 1st battery you tried was buggered before you got it!
Whilst it my have enough volts without load, when you put a load on it there isn’t enough grunt.

Thanks for posting about this.

For the mechanical minded, electrical stunted members, how do you test a new battery "under load"?

To be honest I didn’t know enough to be truly smart about it so I googled it.

I have a multimeter (basic annd without battery testing function) and had thought I could just test the voltage with the two terminals. I saw numerous YouTube videos reiterating the same but in the comments section people would point out that a resistor should be placed across the battery in parallel whilst testing to truly comment on battery health. This creates a circuit “under load” and is a more accurate reflection of the battery health.

Most resources I found suggested a 4.7K Ohm resistor as being the correct one for a 3V CR2320.

I have a box of electrical bits and bobs. I found a 2K Ohm resistor in there and attached each end to my multimeter prongs. This then allowed me to test each cell under load.

The first cell I removed went from 2.8V to around 2.5.
The first replacement was static at about 3V
The final cell that worked was 3.25V.

Bear in mind there is a small chance I discharged the cell by using the 2K resistor. Time will tell.

The purpose of the 4.7K resistor is to create a circuit so it can be tested under load but the high resistance means minimal drain.

Very clever. After I posted my question, I went online and found one video where the gent had a variable resistor unit plugged into the circuit (from the multimeter to the battery being tested). He was able to dial in a specific load (which was 4.7K ohms). Here is the link: How To Test A Watch Battery With A Multimeter (youtube.com)

It opens up another rabbit hole of tool acquisition. For $20 - $60 I could own a variable resistor unit, which I would probably use no more than a few times. The geek in me wants one...

I appreciate you posting these details. Have a nice weekend!

I likewise appreciate you posting this. We must obviously be cut from the same cloth as my brain lit up at the thought of another tool 😀

That’s a great short, sweet video. I think I’ll grab one of those variable resistors. Have a great weekend.