Hi wannabe astronaut team. I wanted to share a couple of things I learned during my just completed battery change.

Tools & equipment needed:

1) 1.2 mm screwdriver. I bought Bergeon and still managed to break the tip during removal of the second screw. Fortunately I also bought replacement tips so it wasn't a show stopper.

2) Tweezers (helpful during installation of screws)

3) Plastic pry tool to remove battery (toothpick will not work). The battery is held in position with a spring piece pressing against the side of the battery. This makes removal not as straight forward as it seems. It's not tight, but it does require a little prying.

4) Silicon grease

5) CR2320 lithium battery (not available in most of the obvious locations). I checked Walmart, a major grocery chain and 2 of the major drug stores. None had this. As a matter of fact, they all had the same displays. I had to order the battery.

Here is what I did and what I discovered. This isn't advice, merely my experience:

The screws are tight. Now that I'm finished, I wish I had replacement screws since I buggered mine up a little throughout the removal and replacement process. They will still be removable the next time, but they are a little buggered. I will not do this again without having replacement screws available. Once the screws were removed, with the dust cover in place (finger holding it on) I cleaned the groove surface the resonance cover seats in. After that, I removed the dust cover. Pry out the old battery and install a new. The new one is installed by pressing it in against the spring located on the side of the battery cutout (receptacle). There is a second spring in the bottom of the battery cutout. Turning the case over may result in it coming out (which I have read is a pain in the butt). I didn't turn the case over so it wasn't a problem. Once the new battery is in, I removed the o-ring from the dust cover and cleaned it off. Then I applied a very light coat of silicon grease to it. Put the o-ring back in and install the resonance cover. I used a crisscross pattern to tighten the screws.

Once all that is done, the watch must be reset (UTC, T1, T2 and any alarms, PETs or MET). The hands require synchronization after the UTC is set. Put the watch in energy saver mode and follow the owner's manual directions to advance the hands to the 12 oclock orientation. Once they are set and you take the energy saver off, the time will advance to the T1 set point.

The anticipation:








Procedure (Forgive all the dog hair. Its everywhere...):





Et voila:

 

So TLDR just pay to get it done

 

If you're like me you only read stuff like this when it comes time to change a battery. I will say the service cost through Swatch is $180. I have 65 in the screwdrivers and 6 for two batteries. Plus, if I ever find myself underway in space,and my battery fails; I'm now ready.

Swatch does a fair amount of service I didn't (and couldn't) do. The next battery replacement will be by them.

 

I just got the battery on my X-33 replaced at the local Omega boutique - Total Cost: $60. And it took about 1 week.
They returned it in a nice red Omega leather-ish case all wrapped in plastic.
As much as I would love to try this at home, I know I will mess something up and end up having to pay Omega a whole lot more to get it fixed

 

I read yours with envy @turbineboy. There is no OB or AD near where I live. I visit DC enough that I thought I could possibly get it done there, but they said no dice.

You got some stellar treatment.

 

That's a lesson I insisted on learning myself. And re-learning, and re-learning... D'OH!!

 

Nice write up thanks, I may consider this next time as my local Omega boutique also charges $180 for the battery and gasket change / replacement.

 

I took mine into the San Diego OB and they did it there on site and had it completed in just under an hour.

@duc - nice write up.

 

I forgot the photo showing the battery in it's receptacle. The spring providing tension on the battery outer rim is located just about where the Omega symbol is:

 

no wish to hijack this thread with a bunch of stories about my x-33 battery adventures but here's the first........I had an Omega trained watchmaker locally try to do the second battery change (1st out of AD warranty) to save some $. He went into the back and returned about 10 minutes later to show me that he had snapped the screw heads off of two of the caseback screws and messed up the slot on a third, "sorry can't do this for you".....and went back into the back of the shop.

 

Sounds like I got lucky. Thanks for the insight.

I wonder if Omega modified their assembly practices between the 1st/2nd gen and third gen? That may explain why I was able to do this with only moderately messing up the screw heads.

 

skills and prep go a long way.......you did good!

 

Remembers me of the X-33 reapir during the expedition 6 ISS mission
Not so easy in a weightless environment as small pieces and the guts of the watch want to float away
.

 

This is really what gave me the inspiration to take this on. That, and the generic reply from the Swatch Group in response to my enquiry. I sent an email and asked simply what the cost would be for a service that only included a battery replacement. I got the whole song and dance about we don't know until we look, blah, blah, blah. Check the prices in our guide. Had they simply responded $180, I may have sent it to them. The tone deaf, impersonal response (coming after 4 days instead of 2 that they advertise) pissed me off. If they are going to use standard response letters, you would think they could send that one out pretty quick.

Some things are inevitable. One day I will have to deal with them for a proper servicing, unless I can find a competent tech who has access to Omega parts, and will work on quartz watches.

 

Swatch does not offer the service you are asking for. They will only do the job if they do it right, and by that I mean doing all the proper checks associated with swapping a battery. They charge what they do in part because even if they are only changing the battery, they are doing much more than just changing the battery...and I would expect nothing less from a "competent tech" with an Omega parts account.

Cheers, Al

 

With all deference to your talent and willingness to share it Al, I respectfully disagree with this approach. In the first place, there are anecdotes from Omega owners who say they have gone to Omega facilities and have gotten he battery changed without having to pay for a more intrusive service.

In the second place, what is wrong with letting the customer get exactly what they are asking for? I understand there may be reasons and good examples of why the normal practice is to do a more intrusive examination and parts replacement than is requested. If I, as the customer ask for something less than that, it is not their fault if something goes wrong down the line that may have been avoided had they done the better service. From what I have read elsewhere, the $180 service includes more than just a battery change out and pressure test. I've read the pushers are changed and some other ancillary things are done (going from memory). If I don't want those things, I should be able to opt out of them.

I work in industries where preventative maintenance is vital in many circumstances. Based on past performance, many times recommended preventative maintenance is waived or determined to be unnecessary (saving the customer many thousands of dollars). This is always determined based on proven, documented engineering. To equate that to my specific situation, my watch was functioning flawlessly (including no discernable gain or loss in time over a 4 month time period determined by comparing it the UTC) until the battery showed signs of needing a replacement. True I don't have documented proof, but I do know enough about the operational history to be comfortable with just changing the battery at this time. I am also prepared to have the watch serviced completely, at the intervals specified. Given that when problems are identified, the typical (anecdotal) repair includes changing the movement, I believe my approach is sound enough for my purposes.

Also, part of my ire is the manner that Swatch responded to my request. If they are going to behave as if every action related to repair of their product must meet only their exacting standards (which in principal I almost totally agree with), they ought to be able to answer an email without the need to hit send on a generic response, 2 days later than the promised response within 2 days. It's not confidence inspiring. This is customer satisfaction 101 in my book.

 

It's unclear to me if those who are getting the battery service done for the roughly $60 number are all walking the watch into a boutique or service center themselves. If that's the case and the $180 quotes are for those who are having their AD send the watch off to a service center, then likely the difference is at least in part the shipping/handling of the watch.

Nothing you have described would lead me to believe you know anything about the condition of the movement, other than it was running (and that in itself isn't much). No self-respecting watchmaker I know would put a new battery in a watch without first checking to make sure the movement is functioning correctly. This involves performing a series of electrical tests on the watch - this is a multifunction quartz so not exactly the same as a pure analog quartz watch, but some of what would be done is outlined in this thread:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/quartz-watches-some-information-some-may-find-interesting.5475/

The checks done on the X-33 movement are more extensive than what I've outlined in the thread. At the very least, base and overall current consumption need to be checked, because I think you would agree that no one would be happy if Omega installed a new battery in the watch, and it dies in 3 months because the movement was drawing too much current. This is what I mean when I say a battery swap is more than just a battery swap.

The problem is, you don't know how much you don't know about watches and what's done to them during a service, which is something I've mentioned before is partly the fault of the watch industry. This creates a situation where people believe they know far more than they actually do (see Dunning-Kruger effect).

You can certainly be upset with that, and to be clear I'm not defending Omega's practices with regards to corporate communications, or even for what they demand is done during a service. If you pay attention to my posts at all, you would know I don't agree with a lot of what they do, in particular with regards to vintage watches as some of that is just pure laziness on their part. But I see over and over people complaining about how much a "simple battery swap" costs at Omega, and they have no clue what is actually being done when the watch goes in.

So back to this:

I understand the sentiment here, but what Omega is trying to do is ensure that the watch performs as it should, for as long as it should. In my view they have no obligation to do a crappy job on a watch just because it's what the customer wants. Like anyone, including myself, they are not obligated to take on a job that a customer is asking to be done when it is below their normal standard of work. If someone asks me to service a watch without disassembling it for cleaning (so they want a dunk and swish service), I would of course refuse the work - no different to what Omega is doing.

Would a doctor be obligated to prescribe the wrong medication to a patient just because the patient believes he needs it? Well it happens all the time with antibiotics prescribed when they shouldn't be, and it's going to bite us all in the ass at some point...I know not related to watches, but just an example that the customer is not always right...

In the end it's your watch, so if you don't like what Omega is offering, either do it yourself as you have done, or take it to the pimply faced kid at the mall so he can hack it up. Just don't be under the illusion that what you are doing is as complete a job as what Omega does, or that what Omega does is tack on a lot of unnecessary work.

Cheers, Al

 

For the most part Al, you didn't say anything I disagree with. Your last paragraph is uncalled for as it wanders into the passive aggressive zone and is unnecessary for you to make your points.

 

It wasn't meant to be, but I can't control how you interpret it. I see a lot of hacked up quartz watches done via mall kiosks and owners doing their own work. One guy showed up at my door last year with his wife's quartz watch that he tried to change the battery and had trouble closing the case. It requires a press that he didn't have, and the watch came to me in pieces in a ziplock bag - broken crown, damaged case back, damaged gasket, bent case tube...

I'm all for people doing their own work - I encourage it and help as much as I can on this forum and through others. But I always encourage people to do the job the right way.

Cheers, Al

 

Like buying a Ferrari and then changing your own oil