372 stopped working!

[mborkow]

I was winding my 372, as I do each AM, when suddenly I could feel the crown rotating really fast in the opposite direction (against the winding direction)...I flipped the watch over and could see the balance wheel spinning like crazy and then it slowed, and finally stopped. Now when I wind the watch nothing happens...I turn the crown and then then it just turns itself back and the watch won't stop...

[mborkow]

After a little research, it looks like my problem lies here:

Keyless work
A separate set of gears called the keyless work winds the mainspring when the crown is rotated, and when the crown is pulled out a short distance allow the hands to be turned to set the watch. The stem attached to the crown has a gear called the clutch or castle wheel, with two rings of teeth that project axially from the ends. When the stem is pushed in, the outer teeth turn the ratchet wheel on top of the mainspring barrel, which turns the shaft that the inner end of the mainspring is attached to, winding the mainspring tighter around the shaft. A springloaded pawl or click presses against the ratchet teeth, preventing the mainspring from unwinding. When the stem is pulled out, the inner teeth of the castle wheel engage with a gear which turns the minute wheel. When the crown is turned, the friction coupling of the cannon pinion allows the hands to be rotated.

I think this makes sense because if I wind the crown, and then lock it before it can unwind, then the watch does keep time...though I'll still need to send it back I assume.

[mborkow]

Although I didn't buy the watch at Shreve, I brought the watch there in the hope that since they were an AD (and I had bought my 305 there recently) they would handle shipping the watch to PASC. Fortunately, the salesman from whom I bought the 305 was right there in the front of the store and took care of it right away. He filled out an receipt for the watch, verified he had my address and phone number, and said the watch would ship out first thing tomorrow. Hopefully PASC can get to the problem and address it quickly...the 372 really has become my favorite watch.

[psv]

Hopefully they will set you right soon. It is indeed a great piece!

[Milgaussguys]

Originally Posted by mborkow

Although I didn't buy the watch at Shreve, I brought the watch there in the hope that since they were an AD (and I had bought my 305 there recently) they would handle shipping the watch to PASC. Fortunately, the salesman from whom I bought the 305 was right there in the front of the store and took care of it right away. He filled out an receipt for the watch, verified he had my address and phone number, and said the watch would ship out first thing tomorrow. Hopefully PASC can get to the problem and address it quickly...the 372 really has become my favorite watch.

Hope you get it back in working order soon. Do you know where do they ship a watch to???

BTW, what if i dont buy any watches from Sherve, will they take a watch and ship it back to PASC ?

[kilyung]

Any AD will ship to PASC in Dallas/Ft Worth (or wherever is closest) on your behalf but at your expense.

[mborkow]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Any AD will ship to PASC in Dallas/Ft Worth (or wherever is closest) on your behalf but at your expense.

Interesting...my guy at Shreve said they'd take care of the shipping for me...but they might ask me to pay for that when I pick up the watch I suppose.

[DONGinsler]

Sounds more like a broken click, broken click spring or it somehow got stuck outside of the mainspring barrel ratchet gear

The click locks in the teeth of the ratchet wheel and prevents the mainspring barrel from turning backwards.

If the crown started spinning CCW. Only thing that would cause this is the click.

In image below. Click is the small part at 11:00 connecting with the larger mainspring barrel ratchet gear.



DON

[mborkow]

Originally Posted by DONGinsler

Sounds more like a broken click, broken click spring or it somehow got stuck outside of the mainspring barrel ratchet gear

The click locks in the teeth of the ratchet wheel and prevents the mainspring barrel from turning backwards.

If the crown started spinning CCW. Only thing that would cause this is the click.

In image below. Click is the small part at 11:00 connecting with the larger mainspring barrel ratchet gear.

Yeah, I agree and that matches what I had quoted above from Wikipedia: "A springloaded pawl or click presses against the ratchet teeth, preventing the mainspring from unwinding." It seems to me that part must have broken because the watch all works...as long as I secure the crown from turning in reverse and allowing the mainspring to entirely unwind...I'm guessing that the part just came lose because over the last month I could feel less and less of the clicking when I wound the watch. It didn't occur to me at the time, but it was probably the click loosening up...to the point where it didn't catch at all.

[PanosI]

That's bad. Hope to fix and return the beauty soon.

[travisb]

Hopefully a quick turn around.

[DiverAsia]

Not good, Hoping for a quick turnaround for you.
Enjoy your 305 while your 372 is away.
Cheers!

[DONGinsler]

Originally Posted by mborkow

Yeah, I agree and that matches what I had quoted above from Wikipedia: "A springloaded pawl or click presses against the ratchet teeth, preventing the mainspring from unwinding." It seems to me that part must have broken because the watch all works...as long as I secure the crown from turning in reverse and allowing the mainspring to entirely unwind...I'm guessing that the part just came lose because over the last month I could feel less and less of the clicking when I wound the watch. It didn't occur to me at the time, but it was probably the click loosening up...to the point where it didn't catch at all.

If it is the click or spring. Quick easy repair and don't even have to remove the movement from the case to do it unless a small piece broke off and they have to go looking for it.

Shouldn't take too long to fix

DON

[mborkow]

Originally Posted by DONGinsler

If it is the click or spring. Quick easy repair and don't even have to remove the movement from the case to do it unless a small piece broke off and they have to go looking for it.

Shouldn't take too long to fix

DON

I figure the long pole in this tent is waiting for a watchmaker at PASC to get to my watch. The last time Shreve sent in a watch, it took 2 weeks for them to get to the package...that's when they realized that Shreve hadn't sent in the warranty card --so they refused to service the watch. Once the warranty card (booklet, really) arrived, it was less than 2 weeks before they sent the watch back.

[Auto16610]

Doesn't the 372 have a three day reserve? Maybe you wound it to tight and broke the spring. If you like winding it a lot of times when you do wind it, maybe it didn't need that much winding and you didn't notice it hit the end of its wind? Good luck with the repair. Hope it works out fine.

[mborkow]

Originally Posted by Auto16610

Doesn't the 372 have a three day reserve? Maybe you wound it to tight and broke the spring. If you like winding it a lot of times when you do wind it, maybe it didn't need that much winding and you didn't notice it hit the end of its wind? Good luck with the repair. Hope it works out fine.

The 372 does have a three day power reserve but accepted best practice is still to wind it daily. Please note: the mainspring is not broken and that (or separation from the barrel) is the result of overwinding a watch. When you lock the crown in place, the watch keeps perfect time. I wasn't able to bring the watch to Shreve until the afternoon and the watch kept perfect time for the 8 hours between when I noticed the problem and when I dropped it off. So, I'd say that there is no chance the mainspring is broken...if it was, it wouldn't keep time at all (someone please correct me if that assertion is false).

[mborkow]

Got the call from Shreve this AM to let me know that my watch was ready. Two week turnaround...not bad for PASC.

[kilyung]

Did you get any detail on the problem?

[PanosI]

Happy ending and quick What was the problem ?

[mborkow]

They just had to adjust the click spring...they didn't even have to service the rest of the movement (so they didn't have to re-time the movement) and it was covered under warranty.

[robisan]

Shouldn't the warranty for that be back to 2yrs again after they worked on it?

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by robisan

Shouldn't the warranty for that be back to 2yrs again after they worked on it?

Why would that be the case? Warranty is from date of purchase.

[mborkow]

When a service is done, warranty is extended 1 year