need help- laco altenburg watch stops every 3 hours

[chansher]

Just bought my laco altenburg type a miyota watch last week , and it always stop after 3-4 hours, what could be the problem? is that a factory defect? what does fully winded mean? i just adjusted the time when it first arrive and it stopped after 3 hours. I couldn't possibly send it back to germany because of the highe shipping cost, any suggestion at what to do? thanks

[Andy S.]

.....iirc 821A/8215 miyota are autos that you can also manually wind.......have you wound the watch by hand and it still stops? if not, try winding crown 20 turns or so, gently, and see how long it runs.

[Uwe W.]

If you just set the time after it arrived and didn't start wearing it, then I wouldn't be surprised that it stopped after 3 hours. The automatic movement needs wrist motion to wind, and it does so slowly over time until it's fully wound. Once fully wound you can expect that it should run at least 36 hours on its own. In other words, the more you wear it, the more you're winding it.

However, if you've been wearing it all day long and it stops running while its on your wrist, then there's something wrong with the watch.

Maybe you could provide us with more concise details?

[chansher]

Thanks a lot ! i haven't been wearing it so that must have been the problem , what do you mean by winding it? does this mean it will stop every 36hours and i should move the clock again?

[chansher]

thanks a lot. how do you wind the crown? clockwise or counter clockwise? the manual doesn't say much. does this mean i should wind the crown every 2-3 days for it move properly?

[kubelwagen]

Can't seem to recall where I read that the watch first needs to be winded about 30 times after un-boxing -- but that's what I did when I got my first Miyota-based Laco.

To wind -- turn crown clockwise; to set the time, turn crown counterclockwise.

Your Altenburg would have a Miyota 821A. Here's an excerpt from a Miyota documentation I got from the web (see 82xx). HTH. Cheers

[Uwe W.]

I would only add that you should only wind the watch when you first put it on, and only enough times to get the second hand going. After that put it on your wrist. An automatic - as its names suggests - automatically winds the watch for while you're wearing it. There shouldn't be any need to wind it manually if you're wearing it.

[chansher]

Hi thanks for the info , I don't wear it everyday , so its normal that its would stop ? by the way will the watch mechanism be damaged if i was winding it (the wrong turn) counter-clockwise the first few times ? and if i was winding it too much? i kinda did that when the clock suddenly stop when i first got it.

[Andy S.]

Hi thanks for the info , I don't wear it everyday , so its normal that its would stop ? by the way will the watch mechanism be damaged if i was winding it (the wrong turn) counter-clockwise the first few times ? and if i was winding it too much? i kinda did that when the clock suddenly stop when i first got it.

....if your watch with an automatic movement has stopped, there are two ways to get it started again:

i) manually wind the crown by hand (if you twist it back and forth cw-ccw, that will work as it will only wind in one direction)
ii) moving, swinging, gently shaking the watch

Once watch is started, you can strap it on and your natural movements will keep it wound up. It's normal for it to stop if you've not worn it for a while. This movement is purely mechanical, a spring is wound which powers a gear driven drivetrain.....so there is a limit to how long it will run even if it is fully wound and you put it down.....without winding again, automatiically or manually, after 35-40 hrs of no use it will stop.

Most automatic movements have a slip clutch, to prevent you from overwinding damage.....on most purely manual movements, the crown will actually tighten up when the spring reaches it's limtis, so you have to be more careful. If you do manually wind it first when it's stopped, just wind it 10-20 times and put it on & let the automatic winding take care of the rest.