I changed the battery recently (about two months ago) and it was working fine, I put it away and wore other watches. I went to wear it for an upcoming trip and noticed the second hand had stopped. The battery I'd used was an unpackaged Renata, so thinking it could have been a dud I got a new packaged Varta and installed that. The same problem though. All digital functions work properly, and when in hand setting mode the hands all rotate correctly, however when I go back to normal time mode the second hand will stop after 5 to 10 seconds and just seems to stutter in one place at about 1 second intervals. I've removed the battery and will be putting it in to Omega for a service when I get home, in the meantime I have to use my Citizen Airwave, which does a decent job as a travel watch, but has no lume, alarm or dial light. Any ideas or experience with this issue?
Might be a bad set of batteries if sitting around a while. Try a new one from the store? Or test the batteries with a charge kit
Hi Jim, when in hand setting mode, did you check the movement of each of the hands across the entire dial i.e. a 360 Degree sweep? Does it stutter in one specific point, or just after 5-10 seconds of ticking away? Just a guess, if it is stuttering in one specific point, perhaps one of the teeth in the seconds gear could be damaged, or could be obstructed; the 360 degree sweep might confirm it. I don't own the X-33, so this is a bit of an experiment rather than an educated guess.
Hey Jim, I had the same issue with my Gen 1 - wore it for a month with the digital only, then sent off to Omega. They switch out the whole movement as part of the service, so I didn't get a diagnosis as to the cause of the fault.
Was going to try a change on the battery on mine but does anyone know where to buy Renata batteries in person? I was going to have the Omega Boutique do it when I try on a new strap, but it's taking forever to come in.
Thanks folks. The watch is 2,500 kilometres away so I can't diagnose, but it looks like it's time for a service so I'll give it to Omega when I get home.
With the X-33, there are two courses of action really: 1 - new battery. 2 - service (includes: new movement, new hands, new pushers, new crown, full set of seals, deep clean of case and bracelet). As I understand it, the movement swap is more cost effective (and probably easier to warranty for two years), than fault finding and fixing.
Will Omega just do a battery change or insist on a movement change? I have a Gen 2 probably needs a new battery soon.