# Vexing Problem With My Citizen C050-088379 K



## naviator (Mar 28, 2011)

Hi all,

I recently found a Citizen c050-088379 k Yachtsman in amazing condition to replace the one I had for nearly a quarter century which failed (the analog movement stopped and Citizen says there are no more replacement movements available). This one, which came all the way from Japan fired right up when the battery was inserted, and the analog is keeping correct time, but I cannot access the setting feature for the digital unit. Pressing and holding the "S" button does nothing. Yet, perversely, it works just fine starting and stopping the stopwatch feature. I am very confused by this. :wallbash: Either the button works or it doesn't. Anyone out there have any ideas?

Curt


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## brooksy (Nov 26, 2008)

Hello

I don't have one of these watches but I did search the 'tinterweb' and found the following that may be of assistance.

http://www.digitalwatchlibrary.com/images/citizen_manuals/C050.pdf

http://www.citizenwatch.jp/support/simple_pdf/c050.pdf

***Mods*** if I have breached protocol by putting the links in I apologise - however said links in no way seem to adversely affect our host Roy business

Regards

Brooksy


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## naviator (Mar 28, 2011)

Brooksy,

Thank you for the links. I do have the original owners manual and I have owned the same model watch for a such a long time I could probably set it with my eyes closed. As a test, I even powered up my old one just to test the digital setting feature and make sure I was doing it correctly. While the analog movement on that one is defunct, the digital works just fine. I held the "S" button for three seconds and the digits began flashing as they should. I was easily able to set the date and time. On the "new" watch, I could hold the button for three hours and nothing will happen. Yet, as mentioned it works very nicely in the stopwatch mode. Most bizarre!

Curt



brooksy said:


> Hello
> 
> I don't have one of these watches but I did search the 'tinterweb' and found the following that may be of assistance.
> 
> ...


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## dan3899 (Nov 13, 2011)

I have this watch. The first time I had a watchmaker/jeweler change the battery and it worked great. It was too expensive, so this time I did it myself and I have the same results as you. Pressing the and holding the S button does nothing (It used to cause the seconds digits to flash allowing you to set the digital time and date). Did you ever figure it out? I'm thinking it may have something to do with either the small metal strip that I thought just held the battery in, or maybe pressing some combinations of buttons before inserting the battery.

Thanks,

Dan


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## naviator (Mar 28, 2011)

dan3899 said:


> I have this watch. The first time I had a watchmaker/jeweler change the battery and it worked great. It was too expensive, so this time I did it myself and I have the same results as you. Pressing the and holding the S button does nothing (It used to cause the seconds digits to flash allowing you to set the digital time and date). Did you ever figure it out? I'm thinking it may have something to do with either the small metal strip that I thought just held the battery in, or maybe pressing some combinations of buttons before inserting the battery.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan


Hi Dan, the "solution" was to send it back to Citizen where despite telling me on the phone that they no longer had any replacement movements for this watch, they managed to find not only one but two. Apparently whatever was wrong with the 'new' watch could not be easily rectified. I ended repairing my initial Yachtsman (mainly for sentimental reasons- my then girlfriend (now wife) bought it for me nearly 25 years ago as a holiday present), as well as the 'new' one which I got from Japan. Both are now fully functioning and pressure tested.

Curt


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## stickers (Mar 24, 2018)

Hi guys! It's good to find some other fans of the C050. I am a new forum member here. I just wanted to let you know you helped me out and that I figured out the solution to the "vexing problem". I know this is an old thread but it comes up high on google searches and so I'm leaving a note.

Long story short, change the battery, close up the watch, then hold down all three buttons at once for a few seconds. The watch then reboots (makes a bunch of beeps and the LCDs flash). After that it works fine.

My watch was given to me by my grandparents as a high school graduation present in 1992, so it has a lot of sentimental value.. I think it's pretty cool with the rotating gold-plated bezel and the 1990'ish technology. I've changed the band to leather. Just the beeps and all those little blinking LCDs make me feel like I'm transported right back to that time. My only real gripe is the analog hands are hard to see.

I think it was around the first or second battery change that my watch first had the time setting problem, exactly as naviator describes. I brought it back to a jeweler who reopened it and said there was a problem with a little metal piece in the way of a button and he fixed it. I don't know if that's true though. It went through several successful battery changes after that. Then last night I dug it out of a drawer and changed the battery myself, and ran into the problem again. What Dan said about pressing some combination of buttons really helped me figure it out. There is nothing in the manual for this watch, but there is a similar Citizen watch from the same era that has a manual posted online and describes this procedure of holding all the buttons down to reset the watch.

The analog movement in my watch also barely started. It hung for a few minutes and I actually went to the Citizen site to print a form to send it in for service, then I tried again moving the hands around and noticed it was starting to show signs of life. I changed the watch position and moved the hands more and it started. At any rate it probably doesn't have too many more years in it. I'm thinking it's probably better to keep the watch going than to let it stop for any length of time as I did.

Once again, thanks, and I hope you enjoy your watches.


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## Cajuntech (Mar 8, 2018)

There is a tech manual/operators guide online, I forget where I got mine. It covers the C050 (Yachting), C060 (Racing), and C080 (Aviation) in one document with a technical section and parts guide for each. Even includes a detailed section for each watch on the log dials.


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## stickers (Mar 24, 2018)

It's weird I found a manual online but it didn't say anything about resetting the watch after a battery change. But I think I found it in the C060 or C080 manual. At any rate, it's running strong right now and still accurate to within a second.


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## Mark WA (Jul 6, 2010)

stickers said:


> ...
> 
> Long story short, change the battery, close up the watch, then hold down all three buttons at once for a few seconds. The watch then reboots (makes a bunch of beeps and the LCDs flash). After that it works fine.


 Many thanks Stickers, your 3-button solution just solved my 10 yo problem


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Good work @stickers :1st-place-medal:


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