My wife has a Citizen Eco Drive watch. She put it in a drawer for a long enough time to flatten the battery. I can't get a straight answer about how long it was in there. She may not know. I put it in the window for several days and it still doesn't start.
Any ideas on how to get it going again.
Solar watches should be able to function even if there is no battery so as long it is exposed to light. Since it does not move anymore, the watch is dead. It probably needs a repair.
Where's WatchNerd ?!?!
Probs busy checking if the smartphones posted here on Ozbargain has a notification LED or not
Haha I wouldn't have a clue. We don't know how old it is for starters. Leaving an Eco-Drive in the drawer is probably the worse place for it. I always leave mine on the coffee table when I'm not wearing it.
If it's been near some light for a few days then it should have decent charge.
Maybe check that the crown is pushed in. I will link the Starbuy rep so he can help.
Yeah, I thought Citizen makes the best watches in the world when it comes to Solar power. Much better than the more expensive Seiko's or Swiss ones.
That if it detects it hasn't been used for a while, it switches off functions and leaves the battery in a "healthy state"… that once it detects use and charge, it kind of magically springs back to life.
With that said, it will require a lithium battery change… which is much more expensive than bog-standard quartz battery watches. Fortunately that doesn't need to happen for around 15 years or so based on user-feedback, but I think Citizen was saying around 3-5 years in their Owners Manual.
battery might be dead
contrary to popular belief these things do need their batteries replaced
Might need a service. Also putting it in the window might not cut it for solar light…
Have you got a balcony or something you can leave it on in the sun?
You just beat me to it. Direct sunlight for 20 minutes worked for my wife's Eco-Drive after hours under a powerful desk lamp achieved nothing.
Does your wife like watches as much as you?
She likes me far more than she likes watches and is currently down to 8 watches after giving the Swiss Made gold-plated Jacques Lemans to her daughter. Naturally, she absolutely reveres me and obeys me implicitly without the slightest delay or damn that monitor for hurting my nose again!
That Citizen was new, just after pickup at Starbuy, but I couldn't coax it to start indoors. It had probably been boxed a year or more. Direct morning sunlight was the solution.
Hello @BobD. Crown out in position 1 and a day or 2 in direct sunlight should do the trick. In case it does not, and depending of course on whether the watch is still under warranty, you are still able to return it to Citizen for a warranty repair. I have a satellite wave that I use when travelling and that stays in a watch box in the safe. It goes into hibernation mode and starts almost straight away on exposure to light. Please let me know in case you need the contact details for the relevant customer service person at Citizen.
Thanks
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll try them and get back. It may take a few days. Gotta get a sunny day first. Here on the Mornington Peninsula (in VIC) we are having a bit of clouds and dampness.
The watch is not under warranty. We can't remember where (probably at Stephens Jewellers in Shepparton Marketplace) or when we bought it but it was certainly more than 3 years back.
I had a look at the Citizen Au web site and it shows all of the authorised service centres in Australia.
Ok, the big confession. I did my best but stuffed up. 😪😥
It's a very small watch and being oldies, we can't read the text on the watch face or the back but we knew it was a Citizen. We haven't bought any other brands for a long time. I went out today and bought a magnifying glass and the word Ecodrive was not on the watch. My other watches clearly had the word ecodrive front and back. I got what I think was the model number on the back and asked Citizen. They confirmed that it is not an ecodrive.
I managed to get the back off the watch and found it had a 379 battery in it and the multimeter showed it was flat. I now have some batteries on order from an Australian seller on eBay. Even with a magnifying glass I couldn't read the text on the battery. I measured the dimensions and looked it up in Wikipedia.
Please accept my apologies for all of this and thank you for your efforts.
Haha, no amount of sun was ever going to get that watch going again.
A good tip when you can't read small print is to take a photo with your phone then you can zoom in after.
Works great if your phone has a good camera.
How did you get the back off by the way?
Respect for your honest confession. There's a really good chance it only needs a new battery. And if your wife wants a Citizen Eco-Drive …
I felt a bit weird making the confession but you guys were so helpful I had to let you know.
@WatchNerd Thanks for the tip about the phone. I tried it and confirmed that the battery was an Eveready 379 Made in the USA. I got the back off with the blade on my Victorinox combo knife. It's a very small knife. The cutting edge is only 33mm long and quite thin. I just kept working at the back with the sharp edge.
@PJC Thanks for the link. She already has an even smaller EcoDrive. I don't know how she can even read the time on it. Anyhow, replacing the battery may be enough. I get the batteries later in the week.
I got the batteries today. It must be a record time for Australia Post. The watch now works. Thanks guys.
Good news!
Watch maker?