Audemars Piguet 15500 Power Reserve Issues

[ericmeds]

Hi all,

Recently acquired a 15500 with new 4302 movement and 70 hour power reserve.

After wearing the watch for days, I only get 48 hours if I'm lucky. My Rolexes could be started w a few winds, worn throughout the day and last to their max reserve no issue (50-70 hours depending on model).

Anyone familiar with whether or not AP winding systems are inefficient? took the watch off Fri evening and even wound it a bit Sat morning and it died by Monday 1am. Going to run a test where I manually wind it all the way and leave it to see what happens.


Cheers,
Eric

[PJ S]

^
That’s the first thing to do, then if it doesn't last close to or meet the spec, you know there’s an issue somewhere, assuming you’re not subconsciously doing more with your other hand so as to protect the watch from more chances of being scratched/knocked against things.

When you’re winding it, feel for an increase in tension via the crown becoming stiffer to turn.
If you don’t, and still aren’t getting the full PR, then it’s likely that the mainspring is broken.

[singe89]

Fully wind it manually, leave it and check the PR. If its significantly less than 70 hours then send to APSC and they will get you sorted out in no time.

[Collector2019]

I’m suspecting similar issue, how many turns for it to be fully winded?


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[ericmeds]

AP has excellent customer service and have no doubt they'd fix any issue.

Rotor hardly wants to move after a full wind by hand so definitely a good sign.

Mainly curious if these newer movements have a hard time hitting full power reserve with moderate use. I don't necessarily suspect anything is wrong.

The movement itself is significantly larger than previous ones. I haven't heard any discussion on this but I suspect the boost in power reserve from 60 to 70h while also bringing it up to 28,800 bph is due to a much larger mainspring. Maybe it's just more difficult for the rotor to get a good wind on it unless it's used for very long periods?

Otherwise loving this watch and the details are amazing.

[SeikoBake]

I have a similar issue except mine runs fast by about 10 seconds each day...

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by ericmeds

…

Rotor hardly wants to move after a full wind by hand so definitely a good sign.

...

Not really. The rotor should move freely at all times, as the spring will slip within the barrel when it continues to receive input, so that it can’t be overwound.
You may not be active enough, but equally, you may have a slight issue with your automatic winding section.
I mentioned the mainspring in my previous reply as I presumed your daily activity was the same, and it’s a bit more common for it to fail than the auto mechanism.
Either way, once you know the PR longevity from this test, then you can figure out if the watch has an issue or you need to more your arm a bit more.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by Collector2019

I’m suspecting similar issue, how many turns for it to be fully winded?

Fully wound from having stopped would be roughly 60 complete turns of the crown.
As I mentioned above, since the spring can’t be overwound, you can turn the crown 100 times, and not cause damage or excessive wear.
Obviously you won’t want to be doing that every day!

Originally Posted by SeikoBake

I have a similar issue except mine runs fast by about 10 seconds each day...

Running fast by that amount, if consistently, sounds more like having been poorly regulated than being magnetised or operating with a low state of wind.

[othertbone]

It's 70 hours only after a full wind. Your movements may not have wound it fully.

[Benjax13]

I have the same power reserve issues

Did 70 turns on both my 15400 and 15500 and the only had 36 hrs on the 15500 and 48hrs on the 15400