# Seiko S771 EPD E-Ink Watch Problem - Service Options?



## spaceslug (Dec 3, 2011)

Some advice please gents. This solar powered watch has had difficulty charging recently, showing only low battery power even after a good few hours in bright sunshine (not that we've had much of that this year). The display has now gone blank and I can't get it to fire up again, even with the reboot sequence from the manual. Assuming the charging circuitry is ok, I'm guessing the battery is U/S. Is the battery user-replaceable or if not, does anyone know if are they serviceable in the UK or is it a Japan job?










Thanks in adv.


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## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

I would say that SUK will be able to do it but wouldn't honor any warranty?

Worth a quick email id say as i know they will work on MM300's


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2015)

if this was my watch i would have the back off and see what it takes, there is a good chance its an off the shelf cell and an easy fix, seiko state its a skilled job to replace, but they say that about their kinetics too, but that's easy, worth a look IMO


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## BarryW (Feb 20, 2004)

I would be careful of Seiko UK - my experiences with them have all resulted in bodged jobs and scratched dials. Would it be wort trying a cap swap yourself - should be easy job


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## kevkojak (May 14, 2009)

Piece of cake to swap the cell. Pop the back off and have a look what it takes, either order one from Cousins or get someone else here to do it for you.

Seiko solar watches all have a poor battery life in my opinion, I've had half a dozen and they have all needed the cell changed within 2 years. Kinetics have come a long way - you'll get fifteen years out of a new one now with regular wear -, but in the Solar market Seiko are still playing catch-up to Citizen.

If you send it to Seiko they will quote you for a service and you'll be paying £100+ for a twenty quid job. (only my experience).


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## 80'sTech (Jan 8, 2016)

spaceslug said:


> Some advice please gents. This solar powered watch has had difficulty charging recently, showing only low battery power even after a good few hours in bright sunshine (not that we've had much of that this year). The display has now gone blank and I can't get it to fire up again, even with the reboot sequence from the manual. Assuming the charging circuitry is ok, I'm guessing the battery is U/S. Is the battery user-replaceable or if not, does anyone know if are they serviceable in the UK or is it a Japan job?
> 
> 
> __
> ...


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## spaceslug (Dec 3, 2011)

kevkojak said:


> Piece of cake to swap the cell. Pop the back off and have a look what it takes, either order one from Cousins or get someone else here to do it for you.
> 
> Seiko solar watches all have a poor battery life in my opinion, I've had half a dozen and they have all needed the cell changed within 2 years. Kinetics have come a long way - you'll get fifteen years out of a new one now with regular wear -, but in the Solar market Seiko are still playing catch-up to Citizen.
> 
> If you send it to Seiko they will quote you for a service and you'll be paying £100+ for a twenty quid job. (only my experience).


 Thanks for the suggestions folks. No progress to report; I did have a go at having the back off but I can't find a way in and I don't want to damage the watch. Don't fancy a big bill from Seiko either.

Kev - any tips on how to get this booger off?


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## kevkojak (May 14, 2009)

I'm really sorry I've never had one of these, so no idea how the case is put together...

Timpsons/watch-lab/Timepiece or someone similar should be able to tell you if you're passing one over weekend? Workmanship at those places is hit and miss so be careful before handing it over...


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## Guest (Jan 8, 2016)

kevkojak said:


> Timpsons


 :scared:

send it to me if you want


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## Guest (Jan 8, 2016)

turns out these have a snap on case back :yes:


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Bruce said:


> send it to me if you want


 I recommend this option ^

:thumbsup:


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## spaceslug (Dec 3, 2011)

Thanks again guys. I need to send it somewhere decent, it looks like it's had a bit of abuse in the past and I don't want to add to it.

Bruce I'll PM you re your kind offer.


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## 80'sTech (Jan 8, 2016)

Spacelug,

I recently changed mine. I did it myself and it is nothing more than a capacitor/battery issue. The recharge facility on these Seiko's are ****. The "battery" is supposed to last 9-10 years with daily use and light exposure. I tried this and only got one and a half years.

The battery is a CTL1616 rechargeable that has been modified with a bonded contact. You can buy plain CTL1616 batteries but they won't have the contact. What I did was carefully snap off the modification with gentle leverage from a watchmakers screwdriver. Taking care NOT to bend the contact. I placed that contact back in the watch (negative contact) then placed the battery in the usual way. Closed the battery contact and AC the contacts. JOB DONE!

I have a spare CTL1616 if you need it. :thumbsup:



80'sTech said:


> Spacelug,
> 
> I recently changed mine. I did it myself and it is nothing more than a capacitor/battery issue. The recharge facility on these Seiko's are ****. The "battery" is supposed to last 9-10 years with daily use and light exposure. I tried this and only got one and a half years.
> 
> ...


 Forgot to mention, I am a watch technician so I do have resources and my own workshop. Keep us posted on how you get on and let me know if you want help.


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## Markrlondon (Feb 20, 2009)

80'sTech said:


> I recently changed mine. I did it myself and it is nothing more than a capacitor/battery issue. The recharge facility on these Seiko's are ****. The "battery" is supposed to last 9-10 years with daily use and light exposure. I tried this and only got one and a half years.
> 
> The battery is a CTL1616 rechargeable that has been modified with a bonded contact. You can buy plain CTL1616 batteries but they won't have the contact. What I did was carefully snap off the modification with gentle leverage from a watchmakers screwdriver. Taking care NOT to bend the contact. I placed that contact back in the watch (negative contact) then placed the battery in the usual way. Closed the battery contact and AC the contacts. JOB DONE!


 This is very useful information, thank you!

Just to confirm, the proprietary contact on the battery is not welded on but is attached with solder or some kind of conductive glue, is that correct?

I'll soon have to do this job with a Seiko solar LCD. I knew it had a CTL1616 with a proprietary connector but I was unhappy about attacking it unless and until I knew about my chances of successfully replacing it.

I agree that charging on these Seikos is poor. Citizen use the CTL1616 in some of their watches but seem to get a lot more life and longevity out of it!


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## 80'sTech (Jan 8, 2016)

No problem Mark.

The contact is actually "riveted" to the battery. They are like two tiny puncture marks going through the contact and onto the surface of the battery. Very precise as the battery is still in tact and doesn't leak!!

No glue so just use a fairly wide watchmakers screwdriver and work your way gently around the sides until it "pings" off. I didn't bother with any glue's or re-riveting etc. Just placed the contact down and placed the battery on it and secured the clamp on top! Easy as.....

If you give it to Seiko, they'll service it and it will cost an arm and a leg. Not worth the price for poor tech. :angry:

Good luck on your Seiko job mate.


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## Markrlondon (Feb 20, 2009)

^^^ Thanks for that. I really appreciate it.

I think the connections you describe between the battery and the contact might be tiny spot welds, perhaps. I'm glad they are removable.



80'sTech said:


> If you give it to Seiko, they'll service it and it will cost an arm and a leg. Not worth the price for poor tech. :angry:
> 
> Good luck on your Seiko job mate.


 Yup, I really wouldn't want to pay Seiko for this job!

Thanks once again.

I'll report back here on how it goes.


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## spaceslug (Dec 3, 2011)

Thanks for all the info and interest folks. Just by way of closing out on the original post, I took Bruce up on his kind offer and he sorted it out for me. One new Panasonic battery later and it's running fine.

Cheers Bruce :thumbsup:


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Well done Bruce :toot:

My daughter was after a new watch around 2 years and she was looking at fashion brands so I pointed her towards Seiko and their ladies solar powered range. She ummed and arrhed about it but eventually found one she like with a pink oyster dial and purchased it. About 18 months into ownership she complained that the watch would randomly just stop whilst she was wearing it, I being the ever listening Dad did nothing about it. Before Christmas she stopped wearing it and over the Christmas break I decided to leave in the window sill for a week, Looked in January and the thing is dead, no life at all. No problems I said to her, when did you buy it, 2 years came and went at the end of November just gone so it was just out of warranty.

So Seiko don't make them like they used to, she's not very happy that her £200 watch is dead, so I contacted Seiko telling them the sob story. They refused to state what they would or could do but simply asked for the watch to be sent to them. Here's hoping that the CS person is feeling generous with their goodwill. My daughter who was a fan of Seiko and last year even talked about buying another is now totally against the brand.


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## davethepitch (Jan 7, 2016)

I hope you get it sorted as that is a nice watch.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2016)

IAmATeaf said:


> Well done Bruce :toot:
> 
> My daughter was after a new watch around 2 years and she was looking at fashion brands so I pointed her towards Seiko and their ladies solar powered range. She ummed and arrhed about it but eventually found one she like with a pink oyster dial and purchased it. About 18 months into ownership she complained that the watch would randomly just stop whilst she was wearing it, I being the ever listening Dad did nothing about it. Before Christmas she stopped wearing it and over the Christmas break I decided to leave in the window sill for a week, Looked in January and the thing is dead, no life at all. No problems I said to her, when did you buy it, 2 years came and went at the end of November just gone so it was just out of warranty.
> 
> So Seiko don't make them like they used to, she's not very happy that her £200 watch is dead, so I contacted Seiko telling them the sob story. They refused to state what they would or could do but simply asked for the watch to be sent to them. Here's hoping that the CS person is feeling generous with their goodwill. My daughter who was a fan of Seiko and last year even talked about buying another is now totally against the brand.


 eek i suspect you are in for a large bill


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Sorry to derail this thread but my daughters watch is back with no charge according to the invoice that came with it. The bad news is that they've done nothing to it, claimed it was on low charge so they've charged it. This I don't understand as all of December it sat on a window ledge to charge it and whilst it was there the hgands never moved. I've got a Citizen and Seiko solar watches which I keep in my watch box and when they run low I always put them the same window sill for 2 weeks which for them ius enough.

So the real question is how did they charge the watch, the watch it running as it has the correct time so I'm bloody confused.


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2016)

IAmATeaf said:


> Sorry to derail this thread but my daughters watch is back with no charge according to the invoice that came with it. The bad news is that they've done nothing to it, claimed it was on low charge so they've charged it. This I don't understand as all of December it sat on a window ledge to charge it and whilst it was there the hgands never moved. I've got a Citizen and Seiko solar watches which I keep in my watch box and when they run low I always put them the same window sill for 2 weeks which for them ius enough.
> 
> So the real question is how did they charge the watch, the watch it running as it has the correct time so I'm bloody confused.


 Induction charger perhaps


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Could be, is this the toothbrush chargers that I've read some people use? Got my daughter to wear it and will see what happens, the note that came with it said that they've given it enough juice to run for 7 days. I still think there's something wrong with it but won't know until it's been tested for a couple of weeks I suppose.


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