Reply To: Automatic watch weight not spinning freely

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Jimmy,
If everything is seated down and meshed correctly (VERY IMPORTANT and a common problem) then it sounds like sticky reverser wheel/wheels (not sure if it has one or two without knowing what movements they are) caused by dirt or incorrect lubrication might be at fault. Correct lubrication is also VERY important. Also possible that there’s some dirt caught between the teeth or even some damaged teeth in the autowind gearing.
When manually winding the movement when held in the vertical position does the rotor rotate at the same time? It’s common for a rotor to wiggle a little when manually winding but should never actually rotate. If it does then problems with the reverser wheel/gear would be suspect.

After thinking about it for a bit since it’s happening on each rotor revolution you may want to try assembling just the rotor without the autowind gearing to see if it spins freely or if there is a problem with the bearings or somewhere else. You can then repeat the assembly process, each time adding another component to see if you can pin point the culprit.

Bob