Hi All,
This 125 has been to Swatch Aus twice in just over two years. The first time for a resto and when it came back the minute counter wasn't working, as in it doesn't advance at all but the large seconds hand will keep working. It was later sold and the new owner sent it in again, he was too late to catch the warranty period.

It came back again (this is about a year ago now) still with the same problem plus a nice amount of dust under the crystal and on the dial.

Have a look at the timegrapher plots....can anyone shed some light on this? Is there a known issue with the minute counter on these or is the real issue Swatch Australia? The chrono is not running in the photos. The owner would take it back to them but has no faith that they will do anything different. Total cost out of pocket from both owners = @$3k

 

Make sure on the timegrapher that the mic cord is pushed in firmly into the LED box and try straightening the cord too to see if that helps. Have the same reader and sometimes that is an issue. If not then something is really wrong with that watch...

 

Whilst it may not cover the exact symptoms, you will find pages 14 & 15 of this document really interesting when it comes to interpreting the readout of your Timegrapher.

http://www.witschi.com/download/Witschi Training Course.pdf

 

Hi Kringkily and Stewart, the Timegrapher although cheap is working correctly, I tested an Oris before and after just because it was laying around and the signals are perfect.

I had seen that document previously but had forgotten about it. Very useful as I've not had this machine very long. Although it does not describe the symptoms I believe the technical term for whats wrong is probably something along the lines of it's #$%^

 

Something out of left field from a very inexperienced watch non-expert who nevertheless has a lot of experience with electronics and sound transducers:

Something is loose and/or resonating or ringing inside the watch. Could be a crack in a gear or shaft or a loose screw (etc). Does that timer have a sample/hold feature or an output jack so you could put the signal up on an oscilloscope?

I prefer "eccentric" to "crackpot" or "idiot".

 

Thanks Black, it doesn't have such an output unfortunately it's only a cheapie. The fact that in some positions it is ok ish probably points to something hitting or rubbing, that's the advice I've been given. Either way it's got to come apart anyway to fix the minute recorder.