How to Change a Watch Battery
A watch lets you tell time, but when it stops working, then you know it’s time to have its battery replaced. You can take your watch back to the shop to have its battery changed, but why do that, when you can do it yourself? Here’s how.
What You’ll Need:
New battery
Work light
Small screwdrivers (Jeweler’s size)
Hand towel
Lint free cloth
Plastic tweezers
Procedure:
Find a well-lit place and a flat surface where you can do this task. If you think it’s too dim, have a work light over you, so you can see what you’re doing, and you won’t mess up.
Turn your watch over, but put a padding underneath its crystal. This prevents the watch from being scratched. A soft towel or a dish cloth will suffice.
Remove the watch’s back cover. This can be done through several methods. Some watches open through screws, while other have covers that can be carefully pried using a small flat-bladed screwdriver. Some have entire covers which can be unscrewed. Determine which method your watch opens. If you see screws, you can easily take them out with a jeweler’s size screwdriver, then lift the cover off. If you only see a raise edge with flat edges that are opposite one another, simply unscrew the cover. If there’s one small depression along the cover’s edge, it can be pried off.
Remove the gasket as carefully as possible. Majority of watches have rubber-like gaskets found around their back cover. Set the gasket aside after you’ve removed it. You’ll need it for reassembling.
Find the battery. It’s a round metal object, shiny and pill-shaped. It’s held with a clip or a screw and cover. Batteries can be between 6 to 9.5 millimeter in size.
Take out the battery carefully. If it has a screw, use the small screwdriver to take it off. Set the cover and screw to one side. If your battery has a clip, just use the screwdriver to pry the battery from underneath. As you take it out, examine which side faces in the watch case and which one faces outwards. Keep this in mind.
Go to a jewelry store, electronics store or drugstore and buy the right type of battery. Bring the old one with you, as you’ll need it for identification. Take note of the battery’s number (three or four digits). This is essential when picking out the right battery type.
Install your new battery. Remove it from its protective wrapper, then wipe with a lint free cloth, to take out fingerprints or film. Put it in the watch body, in the same position as that of the old battery. If it’s a clip, just slide the battery under. If it’s a cover and screw, just put them back.
Turn the watch over, and see if it works. If the second had is moving pr the digital display is changing, the battery’s good.
Put back the battery’s gasket. Put it pm the cover or groove, making sure no part of it is pinched when you put back the cover.
Screw on or put back the cover, carefully, so you won’t damage your gasket. If damaged, gaskets are impossible to replace.
See if the watch works. You’re finished!
A Few Tips
Don’t damage the watch while you replace the battery, or the manufacturer’s guarantee will be void, and they won’t pay to get it fixed.
Use plastic tweezers or wear rubber gloves to avoid short circuiting the watch with static electricity.
Be careful when using the screwdriver. You might cause deep puncture wounds in the other small parts inside the watch.
A watch is very handy, but only if it’s ticking. If yours stopped, just follow these instructions and replace the battery properly