x33 light does not work.

[blkwlsn]

Hi,

My second post to this forum. My x33 light does not work. When I press the button to engage the light I hear the high pitched electronic squeel that it allways gave, but no light. Also the second-hand functions as it should upon actuating the light (ceases to move until the light times out, and then catches up). So no problems there. The 5 second low-battery dance is not apparent so I don't think it's the battery. The other day I did droped the watch. I was removing it and it fell to the pavement. The next day I discovered the light failing to illuminate. If indeed the light has failed where do I get it fixed and how much $$$ ?


Thanks in advance.

[Z06driver]

Recently my 1st Gen's light ceased operating, but not as a result of a drop or any other shock. The watch is 7 years old and I'm the original owner. My local Omega AD has a 3rd generation watchmaker who does great work...but when it comes to the X-33 electronic diagnosis he recommended it be preformed by a service center. If you find a local AD who has experience with the X-33 you may get a different answer, but I was told it wasn't repairable locally. This will be my watch's 2nd trip as a few years back the crown separated...a common problem with earlier models. Due to the holiday service center workload I haven't received an estimate, but will post more facts when I get them.

IMHO, turn the watch over to the AD and expect it to be "sent off". Of course if you're still within warranty you won't have to worry about cost, but you can expect to be without it for a period of time from several weeks to a couple of months.

Good luck! If you hear different please post.

[no_self_control]

Hi,

My second post to this forum. My x33 light does not work. When I press the button to engage the light I hear the high pitched electronic squeel that it allways gave, but no light. Also the second-hand functions as it should upon actuating the light (ceases to move until the light times out, and then catches up). So no problems there. The 5 second low-battery dance is not apparent so I don't think it's the battery. The other day I did droped the watch. I was removing it and it fell to the pavement. The next day I discovered the light failing to illuminate. If indeed the light has failed where do I get it fixed and how much $$$ ?


Thanks in advance.

it may be that the current draw is taking out the battery when the light is engaged but the battery is not actually discharged enough otherwise to give a barrery low warning indication. there are two types of battery: low and high output. my advice is change the battery first as this might save you a service charge. alternatively, there is a short in the light circuit which is probably a capacitor.

[Z06driver]

Concur that trying a new battery is a low cost diagnosis, especially if you do it yourself. But your description of how the watch is functioning indicates other than the battery. I've always been told that the high pitched whine is the capacitor discharge, so if your hearing that sound appears your "power" is good. When my watch failed there was no whine...but if you got it in a dark room there was very dim illum. Believe in my case it is a capacitor problem.

[blkwlsn]

Good day:

Thank you both for taking the time to reply. I think trying the battery first is an excellent idea. I have two swiss batteries coming in the mail. In case the fix is beyond needing a new battery I will send it to Omega directly. I'm not certain as to weather or not the watch is still under warranty... I'll have to check on it. As far as I know I'm the second owner. (Purchased off of ebay - so Omega may not honor) After attempting with a battery I'll post with the results.

Thanks again,
Merry Christmas.

blkwlsn

[Z06driver]

Well I heard back from the Omega AD today who received the estimate from the service center...Was told "watch not operating within standards" and will require full service....$370. Seems to be the standard charge as that was what I paid when the crown separated a few years back. They clean the watch up pretty nice, but TI just doesn't clean up as well as SS.

OBTW..Since the watch was going to be disassembled, I inquired about a new crystal as my AR coating has some irregularities and received a call back stating not recommended, but $150. I guess I'll wait on that.

Good luck...

[blkwlsn]

Thanks for the update! Well, the batteries came and I installed one of them. ...Pretty straight forward procedure I might add. When I removed the inner cover ( the one sealing the o-ring ) I noticed that the under lining was partailly broken. I think this underlining is some sort of speaker or amplifier glued to the underbelly of this dome shaped cover. I've re-assembled the watch and all works well... light included. I do believe however, that the alarm could be louder if the side this speaker were not chipped as it were. At any rate, thank you ( and everyone else on this site ) for your help.


Happy New Year!!!

[Trojan]

Good news. Glad to hear a battery took care of it. John

[SJACKAL]

Great news! Congrats!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/sjackal/X33MembershipCard.jpg

[uktrailmonster]

For anyone interested, I've just been quoted £160 for a full Omega factory service of my 9 year old X-33. The crown button finally stopped working recently, which seems like a common failure on early models. But I think that's a pretty reasonable quote if it comes back fully refurbished with a 2 year guarantee and goes for a further decade without problems. My backlight has only ever played up on a low battery. I try to use it sparingly as it seems to draw a lot from the battery.