SNZG15 Running Fast

[vw_thing]

Hey all, first post on here. I'm quite addicted to this new hobby already...

Let me and preface this with a few things. 1) This is my first 'good' quality watch. 2) I'm usually very careful with my stuff, though a few recent accidents have tested that. 3) There are few mechanical systems I'm afraid of exploring.

I picked up the watch about two weeks ago from a seller on Amazon (mistake). The watch worked perfectly when I received it. Then.. I dropped it on a hard floor while putting it on in a rush. As soon as this happened, the watch began ticking extremely fast (20-30 seconds per minute). Being the impatient and adventurous person that I am, I decided to check out the problem on my own. I did not find the source of the problem, but the watch still worked when I put it back together. I took it to a repair shop, where the owner took a look at it and concluded that the problem was a broken pallet fork. He says that should not have happened with the fall it took, and that I should send it to Seiko for repair.

I have two main questions. First, would Seiko's contractor repair the watch under warranty seeing as it came from a questionable source? I have all of the paperwork, but the warranty card was not filled out by the seller. Second, is it possible to find the 7s36 pallet fork so that I could repair it myself? I don't really mind learning the workings of the watch the hard way. If worse comes to worse, I understand that I can throw in a 7s26 movement.

Thanks!

[edit] Hmm.. I definitely didn't do my research when buying this watch, now that I know it's a grey market Seiko with no warranty. It doesn't seem worth it to send the watch off, since the repair is going to cost almost as much as a new movement.. I guess this thread is in the wrong place, sorry about that.

[RamblinMan]

I'm going to assume that the watch is a legit Seiko, with all the paperwork etc. The owner's manual states that SNZG15 comes with a 3 year warranty. It is valid even if the seller didn't fill out the warranty card. Does the watch have a seven-digit serial number stamped on the back of it? Seiko identifies each model by this unique number.

Also, opening a Seiko watch may void the warranty.

However, you could send it in to Seiko Corporation of America for service (Address is listed in the back of your owner's manual). I'd probably suggest having Seiko diagnose the problem (to be sure) and having them repair the piece.

By the way I have SNZG13 and really enjoy it.

Hope this helps.

[RamblinMan]

And Welcome!

[vw_thing]

Thanks for the tips. I can't find any reason to believe it's a fake, it has the serial stamped on the case, proper looking box, and all paperwork. I think I'm quite committed now, due to my lack of patience. The fork itself seems to be fine, but sits very loose in its jewel, which seems like it might be loose or missing (I don't have the optics on hand to check that closely). And.. the pallet bridge screws wandered away while I was checking it out..

Looks like a parts watch/movement is the way to go now. I've taken a liking to it already, so I'll just call it my first experiment (a common theme with most of my hobbies).

[vw_thing]

Figured I'd go ahead and post the fix in case anyone comes across this looking for help.

Turns out the issue was somewhere in the main spring, though I'm not sure exactly what was wrong. I've seen others mention that the spring can get tangled up, perhaps that's what happened with the shock. The spring does have an odd kink in it, though that could just be coincidence. All said and done, the watch appears to be ticking along nicely. We'll see in a few days how the accuracy is, but that isn't a huge concern for me.

Now, I'd be a really happy camper if someone could point me to a source for the barrel assembly and two pallet bride screws...

General question, what kind of abuse can I expect this watch to handle? Obviously swimming should be acceptable, what about running or mountain biking?