New spacemaster stopped working

2448 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Sid_S, Feb 5, 2014

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · Dec 25, 2013

Hi,

I am a new user to the forum.

I was given a new spacemaster for early xmas present after many years of wishing.

Have had it for 5 days and it has stopped working. Have not bumped or knocked it, have swam with it, but does not appear to have any leakage, condensation, etc. I have tried winding it manually but do not want to overwind it. Does anyone know how many turns of the crown is needed before the watch startsto tick over? Will take it back to the AD in a few days, but now a bit sad/dissapointed :-(

After many years of research i had expected a quality, reasonably tough time piece from ball.

Has anyone had any similiar experience?

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

UKWolfeman

· #2 · Dec 25, 2013

Welcome. All of my automatic watches generally start up with a couple of winds or even less with the movement involved while winding. Maybe give it about 10 full turns and a slight shake as if on the wrist and see if you get any movement.

If that doesn't work def an issue and back to the AD it should go.

Reactions: 1

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 25, 2013

Will do, thanks for help....

mikesr

· #4 · Dec 25, 2013

Hello Sid! Welcome to the site! Enjoy!

I own 4 Ball watches - never had a problem. Was the crown totally screwed in before you went swimming?

Usually they are great right out of the box.

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 25, 2013

Hi, i assumed that it was given the protective clasp over the crown? Does the clasp close if the crown is not fully screwed in?

mikesr

· #6 · Dec 27, 2013

Yes, with a slight push! I just tried it!

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 27, 2013

Thats bad news for me....

Will be taking it to the AD tomorrow. My next worry is wether it is fixable if indeed there was leakage? Have you had any experience with service from Ball support? I live in Sydney and the AD is also in Sydney, do you know if the watch will be sent to the US?

Thanks again for you help

mikesr

· #8 · Dec 28, 2013

They usually send them to the service center in Florida. Maybe they will have a center or an authorized repair spot in Australia.

Good luck Sid! Keep us posted.

dougiedude

· #9 · Dec 31, 2013

Hi, Sid,

Sorry to hear about the problem with your Spacemaster. I have one, too, a White/Silver dial, and it's been flawless and extremely accurate. So have my other two Ball watches.

Did you get to talk to the AD?

Doug

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 3, 2014

Hi Doug,

I also have the white/silver model. Beautiful watch.

Took to the AD and they shipped it straight to the service centre. Appariently there is one in Sydney...?

I will give it a week before getting in touch with the AD.

Will keep you posted.

Cheers,

Sid

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morrison2951

· #11 · Jan 17, 2014

Sorry to hear this, but Ball has an awesome customer service reputation.

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 30, 2014

Hi all,

Thanks for everyones feedback and assistance so far.

So heres the update:

AD gave me a call and i got my spacemaster back today, it was actually ready a week ago, but I was unable to pick it up. Thats a 3 week turn around time, taking the Xmas/NY break into consideration, so not to bad from the service center (SC).

Okay; turns out that there was no seawater in the watch, so the crown must have been fully in when i took it for a swim.

The AD reported that the SC replaced the rotor pin/screw? I asked the AD if the SC explained why/how the component could have been broken? If it was a case of a faulty factory part, ok, thats out of my control. But if it was a bump or knock I probably need to be more careful. The AD said that the SC did not provide any feedback on why it might have broken. Not sure if he was being evasive or he just wouldnt know.

The dilema i have is that i cant remember having a serious (or any) knock on the watch. Given Balls reputation, i would expect it would require a pretty hard knock, which should have left some signs, to cause this kind of damage? The watch is still pristine with barely a scuff mark on it.

So now i am worried about any slight bump causing a similar problem?

Happy to get any advice, feedback from more enlightened folks

S.

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johnro6659

· #13 · Jan 30, 2014

It's good your watch was under warranty and they repaired it. I find most manufacturers will never admit to any mistakes from my experience they will tell you what they fixed but never really get into the details or ant defects in their manufacture.

I have fixed a lot of watches for people where the screw holding the rotor backed out that seems to be the only common problem I have come across with autos. The rotor became loose of course, the screw jammed up the works so the watch could not be even wound manually and just stopped dead. There was only one I couldn't fix. You have to be careful not to get to aggressive with winding the watch when it stops like that. One of my friends trashed the movement on a fairly expensive watch trying to manually wind the watch with the screw logged between some gears. It ended up costing IMO more than the watch was worth to get it repaired. Some watches I fixed were new some were older. It shouldn't happen on a new watch. IMO it was just something over looked at the manufacturer. I do not know what the tolerances are for torque on watch screws or what tools that might even measure it.

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ganson

· #14 · Jan 30, 2014

I'm willing to bet he mentioned that a hard knock could have done it so it didn't sound like a QC issue at the factory.
Don't worry about it, it most likely was just a faulty part and not your own doing. That Ball should handle any normal abuse you are willing to put it through just fine.

Just my 2 cents.

Sid_S said:
Hi all,

Thanks for everyones feedback and assistance so far.

So heres the update:

AD gave me a call and i got my spacemaster back today, it was actually ready a week ago, but I was unable to pick it up. Thats a 3 week turn around time, taking the Xmas/NY break into consideration, so not to bad from the service center (SC).

Okay; turns out that there was no seawater in the watch, so the crown must have been fully in when i took it for a swim.

The AD reported that the SC replaced the rotor pin/screw? I asked the AD if the SC explained why/how the component could have been broken? If it was a case of a faulty factory part, ok, thats out of my control. But if it was a bump or knock I probably need to be more careful. The AD said that the SC did not provide any feedback on why it might have broken. Not sure if he was being evasive or he just wouldnt know.

The dilema i have is that i cant remember having a serious (or any) knock on the watch. Given Balls reputation, i would expect it would require a pretty hard knock, which should have left some signs, to cause this kind of damage? The watch is still pristine with barely a scuff mark on it.

So now i am worried about any slight bump causing a similar problem?

Happy to get any advice, feedback from more enlightened folks

S.

mikesr

· #15 · Jan 30, 2014

Hi Sid, I'm so glad that they repaired it for you! Now you can enjoy wearing it!

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 3, 2014

All good advice from everyone, thanks! I will start enjoying wearing it. Looking forward to reading any future posts from everyone....

dougiedude

· #17 · Feb 3, 2014

Very glad to hear you were well taken care of by all parties.

Enjoy that beauty!
:smile-thumb2:
Doug

Sid_S

Discussion Starter · #18 · Feb 5, 2014

Thanks Doug!

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

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