These unusual movements are characterised by: Balance Wheel Quartz Control (no contacts) The oscillations of the balance wheel are synchronised by the pulses from the quartz crystal. Thus, the balance wheel drives the wheel train. An unusual beast; not many manufacturers produced these quartz-controlled balance wheel movements, only Record-Golay, Porta, Citizen, Luch and Timex. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for M235: Benrus Electronic Technipower esa Y2 9154 LIC ATO 13 jewel at the best online prices at eBay!
I bought this watch expecting a parts watch, closer inspection it’s actually a new old stock watch and I think I can bring it back to its former glory.
The original sales label still attached.Case back has the characteristic lid for changing the batteries.I eventually figure out how to open the case back, revealing the movement. I’m lucky as the battery has just started to leak and had not have time to cause any damage.Incredibly the watch starts ticking with a new battery.Dial is incredibly dirty and I have no idea how it could have accumulated.The date mechanism is very nicely made.The stem is on the other side of the movement and is connected via a conical gear down to the hour wheel.The circuit board removed from the movement, this unit will not go in the cleaning machine, the same goes for the balance wheel as it is magnetic and will attract particles in the fluid.Unlike a conventional mechanical movement the power to the gear train comes from the balance.Underneath the train bridge there is two springs to ensure that movement does not recoil.After cleaning the movement I started on the dial side.The date and setting mechanism back in place. The gear train back in place.Now the tricky part! To get the train bridge is place with the tension springs.The balance back in place.The Circuit board back in place.The dial cleans up very nice with water and soap.Case gets a light polish.Movement back in the caseThe Movement starts straight up when in contact with a battery.Amplitude is irrelevant, as I don’t know the lift angle, but I can time the movement.The case is composed of outer case, inner case, case back and a lid for the battery.I give the original NOS strap a generous amount of leather softener and I keep the label for fun, as it is more and more unusual to find this on 40+year watches.Now that is a transformation!I’m very happy how this turned out! This movement must have cost a fortune for ESA/ETA to develop and by the time it was put into production it was out of date, as the quartz revolution had just started.
My fascination with short-lived technological transition pieces continues with this Girard Perregaux Electronic. Unlike the original Hamiltons, the electronic movements designed by this maker (ESA) that came out in the 70s were easy to service, robust, and way less temperamental. They also have a much higher beat rate than their predecessor. At 28,800 vph they run accurately and unbelievably smooth. It also comes with a crude but efficient hacking mechanism. One interesting thing about these movements is that the gear train must fit into a seemingly small portion of the movement in order to accommodate the electronics and the coil. It was a relatively straightforward service, but a fully enjoyable one nonetheless.
Generally when I work on a movement for the first time, I try to get one that is in running condition. In my conversations with many hobbyists who became quickly frustrated with the craft, the common thread was that they made the choice to buy broken movements and learn from there. The problem with this approach is that it is difficult to diagnose why something is not working if you have not taken the initial time to learn what makes it work, and how to properly take down, clean, and assemble a movement. The advantage to starting with a running movement is that you know that if you did everything right the piece will tick when you are done. That was my hope with this one.
Esa 9154 Service Manual Online
I bought this watch as just a head in “working order.” Once again, a victim of believing everything you read in an eBay description, I found that while this watch was in absolutely pristine condition externally and on the dial, the electronics didn’t seem to want to work. I also noticed immediately that the circuit insulator had blistering on it from heat. Fortunately the ESA 9154 was a commonly used movement (unlike the super rare ESA 9176 which I am dying to get my hands on) and so I was able to get a harvester movement for at least the circuit insulator.
Next I set about disassembling the movement. While the electronics in these are a bit of a mystery to me, the rest of the mechanism is like any other watch, and so I took it all apart, cleaned everything (other than the electronics of course), gave it an inspection, oiling and reassembly. I then did what I assumed would be a logical step which was to inspect the coil for any defects or dirt. When I found none, I proceeded to put the whole thing back together (with the new circuit insulator) and with a fresh battery it came back to life.
I am unsure entirely why, but I love the balance on this watch. Its construction so perfectly encompasses classic and unchangeable balance elements with modern technology. It feels much more like a balance wheel than the Hamilton electric balances, and is much cleaner aesthetically. The movement of this balance wheel is also mesmerizing.
The only odd problem with this movement is the absence of a quick release for the stem. It was quite a procedure to take out the stem, fit the movement in the case and then refit the whole works. Other than that though I love this movement. It runs super smooth and accurately.
Esa 9154 Service Manual Pdf
All together it is a wonderful watch from the 70s. The case and dial are in phenomenal condition and the faded brown band helps to complement the watch without further accentuating how gold, clunky, and 70s it is as a gold band would have done. Although this is from a time when Girard Perregaux was not yet the brand it is today, it is still a great looking, well made, and accurate runner and a great piece of Girard Perregaux and horlogical history.