In my case I can't find a local distributor of polarizer replacements. So I use polarizer films from old LCD panels. Some of them are thick and touch enough to peel without damage and can be recycled. I use solvents like lacquer thinner when peeling off the film using Xacto knife and wiping off the glue.
With apologies for digging these comments up after 5 years, I have a question about a faded LCD/Casio T-2000 project I'm plotting… If you measure an existing Up Converter capacitor which has already degraded, won't the replacement with a capacitor of an equivalent value also provide insufficient power? Really you need to know what spec that component had at the factory. Also, so many thanks for these videos. It’s a great (and also scarce) resource.
If going the polorizing filter route, I would make up shims from the left over material, drill appropriate size holes and install them under the lcd clamps. That way you can tighten the screws properly and would not have to worry about the lcd moving around. Good video.
Congratulations on your channel, I follow with great interest and I want to thank you, I have found many help and many guides to repair some watches of my modest collection! Thanks 👍👍👍
I've removed the old polariser and replaced it with a new one but there are some modules where letters and symbols are printed on the polariser itself. Pasting the new one over the old makes a lot of sense!
My parents bought me this Seiko watch back in 1983. I wore this watch for 20 years , until moisture was getting in and would show up in the display. The O-ring on the battery cover had dried out and I used electrical tape to cover the battery cover. But in the summer time when you would sweat the electrical tape would move and the moisture would get in. One day it just died and I threw out the watch. To bad your videos weren’t around then , I would of mailed it out to you to see if you could fix it. By the way love all your videos , keep them coming.
I enjoyed your video. Thanks for posting. The problem I see is that you measured the capacitance and then replaced with exactly the same. Your result was just what I expected. If it was the capacitor, then the value you measured was the value after it drifted, not the value it was when it came out of the factory. I appreciate you do mention that you can't find the original specs, but replacing like for like will result in no change.
Yes I agree, I hoped that other paramaters of the capacitor would have been outof spec, so a new one I knew at least those were fine. A variable capacitor would have been a good idea thoughu to test.
You were very brave to attempt the fixes - both the capacitor fix and the polariser fix. Inspired by your videos I have just bought a non functioning Seiko 0439 5009 on eBay.
Yep, agree with Richard. I’m no expert, anything but, but it would have been worthwhile replacing the cap with one 30% to 50% above what you read from the old one, and also replace the other cap (right beside the first) at the same time.
Thanks for helping me finally understand how my Casio Pathfinder display could malfunction (it it is mostly faded until stored in the dresser away from light). Also, the compass readings now only say north or east (regardless of direction). It was a swell watch for about a year (maybe less). Excellent video.
If you read the capacity of a damaged condenser you have a wrong reading. When you replaced the capacitor with one of the same capacity you have no changes. The question is, what was the original value of the capacity before the damage!
I agree on that. And furthermore, this type of ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is known for a loss in capacitance over a long time, caused by changes happening in the ceramic material. But it can also regain its full capacitance by heating it above the so-called "Curie temperature" (around 125 °C). This heating process must last for about half an hour, so the short soldering time is usually not enough to reverse the capacitance loss. But IF some of the loss has been regained, the capacitor will lose a lot of it again in the first time after the heating. That's why measurements immediately after heating may give unreliable results. The capacitor should rest for a couple of hours before being measured.
Today I successfully de-aged the capacitors in the 549 module of my Casio w-780. I unsoldered them and put them on a cooking plate for 1 hour at the lowest setting, which gave a an average temperature of approx. 170 °C. They all regained a considerable amount of capacity, but like I said before, in the first few hours after heating, you can literally watch them lose some capacity again, until it stabilizes on a higher level than before. So it's hard to say how much capacity they gained in the end, since the soldering heat also has an influence on it. But I guess it's somewhere around 30% or more. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem with the display, which shows a changing amount of fading in several segments. So the loss of contrast is not evenly distributed among the whole display, and it's not always the same at the same spot. What is even more strange: When I activate the test mode (all segments visible) the fading effect is gone!! And if I supply the module with a higher voltage (around 3.5 to 4 V), that eliminates the effect too. Right now I'm a bit clueless as to what is causing this. Any ideas?
Reading the bad cap and selection of near same value would not fix the issue. The cap should be listed in the service manual. Looks like he had a manual. Why didn’t he look up the proper valve in the manual.
Great video are you self taught,another great watch and informative video 40 years ago I remember looking at that watch in a shop window,it's on my list.
From my experience, it has always with the polarized film. Especially watches above 6 or 7 years from production date. It seems that watches that kept in a long time in the drawer or dark places may subject to the fading LCD. If it was less than 5 years or less the condenser might contribute to the failure. This is a good video anyway!
Hi, I'm Raymond from Romania, you can help me to explain, how to fix the black color background of my Tissot T-touch solar? I forget the watch in the hot sun light for a very long period of time and now, I can't see the cristals to setup. The BLACK color of background is gone. Where I can send you pictures and detailed and PLEASE tell me how much cost me to fix it? Best regards! 🤝🏻🙏 14:49
A few points: First off, those ceramic capacitors for the most part never fail, given the low voltage and low pulse energy of the up-converter; furthermore, if the 'smoothing-capacitor fails, it can (if leaky) drag-down the up-converter voltage; so I would replace them in pairs. They make a tweezer style soldering irons that allows you to grab to capacitor all in one move; saving the PCB and substrate. Also, using Blue-Tack clay will allow you to stabilize the movement while you work.
Cleaning the zebra strips and display contacts with some alcohol can also help with a faded display. I did this with an old LCD game and the difference was night and day. I just received a watch that has a very faded display (more clear when looking at an extreme angle). It also fades out when pressing a button (not when pressing the light). Also the digits change slowly. I think this is probably a bad capacitor, or a dirty contact somewhere.
I dont understand the thinking around the capacitor. You measure the existing capacitor to know what you should replace it with. But if the capacitor is faulty and you exchange it for a new one with the same value as the faulty one you would get the same result right? Why are you expecting an improvement if you change one capacitor with another with the exact same value?
@@JohnChrysostom101 read my post again. I’m not disputing caps deteriorate with time. I’m questioning your method of assessing what caps you need based on the measurements of old caps. Duh
@@israelsalas4617 you are missing the point. I’m questioning the method, not the outcome. Wrong values of caps can still make electronics work, but can reduce the lifespan of the product. Learn how to read and think logically. This is not rocket science. If you measure an old cap to determine what replacement you need is a bad practice since the old cap can be out of spec…. Because it’s old
very nice and useful demonstration - I like the idea of finger-gloves, I'll remember that - so, as the cap wasn't the problem, why did the display fade away? Does the original polarization mask go weaker and weaker after a while?
Very interesting video. It made me inspect my old Casio W-780 with the 549 module again. It has a very strange contrast problem, I've never seen before. Instead of an evenly weak contrast over the whole display like in your video, it shows a "dynamic" loss of contrast depending on what is shown on the display. That means, the same segment can have full contrast at one time and weak contrast at another, depending on what the other segments show. Or a segment that is supposed to be off, is sometimes visible with a weak contrast. So this can obviously not be cured by simply sticking a new polarizer on top of the display. So after watching this video, I started to think about whether this phenomenon could also be caused by a weak capacitor. Unfortunately I can't find any technical document about the Casio module, nor any information about such behavior of an LC display anywhere else. The module has three capacitors in a row, so I don't even know which is the up converter (if any). What do you think, may this problem be related to a weak capacitor? The display also shows a very slight amount of the rainbow effect, but it's barely visible.
That is most likely a problem with contacts on the zebra strip, specifically the common or ground line. Power returning is variable depending on load (how many segments are active). If one segment is consistently faded, that would indicate the problem is on that driving contact only. In either case, the fix is to remove and clean the zebra strip with isopropyl alcohol (aka IPA 99%, aka electronics cleaner). Sometimes one side of the zebra strip has a contact glue film on it, and that can make the job harder as the cleaning solvent will remove that glue as well - makes reassembly much more difficult. You can try cleaning only the unglued side, and that may work. Do not attempt to apply any glue yourself, it will just ruin the display, as is the case if you just smear that glue across the contacts and then try to reassemble it. (misplaced glue will insulate the contacts and prevent it working.
@@Chris_the_Musohey thanks I'm going to look into this zebra strip, got an old Bape G Shock that was supposed to just need a battery but it's about 20 years old. I put the battery in and I could see the numbers but they were faded. Within about 5 minutes I could no longer see the numbers or display but back light still works so I know the battery is good. One of the buttons was sticky and inactive so I thought maybe if I gut it and clean all the contacts with alcohol maybe it would work, while I have it open I'll play around with polarizing film as well
Hi ,, I’ve been looking for these filters and can’t find them on eBay. What I can find is big sheets self adhesive but for galaxy phones . They are very cheap but was wondering if they would work? Is a polarising filer just a polarising filter or are there many types . ?
Hi, Michael Reitberger posted a link below in the comments with a supplier but there are many variations and I don't know if they make any difference, but what I can tel you us that I used this one: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Polarized-Film-faded-digit-Negative-Display-mod-Spare-parts/323235191374?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I don't really understand a lot of electronics theory but from my logic I would derive that if the capacitors have drifted over time to a different value, the replacement should have their original value and not the current one because that is the wrong, drifted one. Does that make sense? Or do capacitors work in a different way.. Would appreciate if someone could help me on this
hello I have a casio m-15 melody and the screen has the numbers engraved even if it is without a battery how can you repair those screen or clean greetings
I wonder if you could have removed the old polarizing film first? When I have modified negative LCD's to positive (I hate the dark LCD's), I have always taken the old film off first. Thanks for the video. I've got an older 1545 module Casio DW-5600E with a faded display. I'm going to try to invest some time in taking the old polarizing film off and installing new film.
If I want to invert the light on the LCD screen of my car's head unit with a polarizer so that instead of black letters on a lit up background, it has lit up letters on a black background, is there a specific kind of polarizer I need to look for on ebay?
Generally nothing happens to ceramic MLCCs with time. Sometimes they crack across and then they fail, either losing the bulk of their capacitance or going short, but there is no gradual expected decline in capacitance, no chemical changes, these are extremely inert materials, so they shouldn't be replaced unless indicated by measurement. It's a good idea to measure in-circuit so you don't have to needlessly damage the substrate by soldering if you have a good idea of the circuit overall in cases where there isn't a lot of parallel capacitance, and if it measures too low or you get a resistance measurement across is too low, then replace. Boost circuit capacitors are not critical in capacitance, 10-20% is fine. They have variation from the factory. Thing is you never know whether your new MLCC will be a quality manufactured product that is going to last (especially if you haven''t bought it off Murata, TDK or Kemet), or whether it has a hidden fracture or material inconsistency from the factory that can cause it to crack; and the process of desoldering and resoldering MLCC can fracture them via thermal shock, so desoldered MLCC should normally not be reused even if they measure OK. So if your in-circuit measurement gives you a good indication that they're fine, leaving them alone is an adequate course of action.
Hi there, What a great fix. I have a Timex Expedition that the chime and alarm are faint. How do I get this to sound louder? the pieso sounding plate is fine and the battery is good and strong as it was replaced but still the problem persists, Can you help in what to look out for?
Bonjour et bravo pour vos vidéos très intéressantes j’ai une montre citizen mouvement lcd 9460A les condensateurs ne sont pas soudés sur la carte mère et sont manquants avez vous les caractéristiques des condensateurs et leurs valeurs pour le remplacement merci par avance Gilles
If the capacitor value shifted then why would you use the value of the defective capacitor? I would think a higher value would be needed to restore the charge state.
Wearing my Pulsar LCD, I'm rather surprised to find your channel, every watch channel I've come across is for mechanical watches. My LCD kept fading out, however it was due to a failing insulation sheet that normally sits atop the battery so it won't touch that case back. It was , severely reducing the battery voltage causing the display to fade and sometime the time to reset. My mech was not easily disassembled, and I suspected some corrosion had gotten into the various layers that form the battery/power connection. In the end it twigged on me what was going on and a new plastic sheet had it fixed
Hello, I have to repair a Seiko A239 - same model as the one shown in this video, but I don't have any professional screwdriver yet : could you tell me what is the screwdriver's size you use at 5:08 ? Thanks in advance.
@@VintageDigitalWatches OK, I will take your advice. By the way, this video is very useful to me, especially with the disassembly and reassembly of the watch: thank you for the sharing.
Great video. 3 Casio CQ-82 multi alarm clocks have just come into my possession & they all have the same faded displays. Can the same kind of film help fix the problem?
So i bought an old G shock needed a battery change, i put the battery in and noticed the screen was very dim and actually missing some pieces of the numbers before losing all the numbers completely. Back light still turns on. So i think i need to do the up convertor trick. I hope watching this video helps me figure it out!
Oh gosh. I have a 1973 Gruen Teletime (Pacemaker) incoming. The seller says the display is perfect, but even in the pictures, it looks very faint. I might have to source a replacement screen. Not sure I can fix with a polarising filter.
When LCD watches first came out, the displays only had a life expectancy of around ten years, before the chemicals inside degraded... and unfortunately, that is still the case today - even with large back-lit TV screens.
There are actually some early manuals from Citizen that informed you that you LCD will last 40.000 hours if I am correct, so that is just under 4 years. But they still work today so probably they were guestimating.
Thanks for your videos! I'm doing an AC reset on a vintage Casio Skywalker. The 12:00 comes up during the reset, but if i stop the reset the module goes blank again. If i hold in a button while doing the AC reset the watch works but a bit more faded. If i let the button go it goes blank again. I wonder if you have any suggestions?
I have a vintage lcd digital watch which display is pretty dim. Thanks to you I know that it probably needs a needs a new polarizer. But I’m a noob and don’t want to mess up the watch, also I would like to add a led backlight to better see the time in the dark. Furthermore it needs a better sealant on its back cover plate for more sweat resistance. Would you be able to help me out?
Hi, do you know how to determine if the lcd watch is broken or not? the lcd from my old watch is not showing any sign but I check from the lcd contact in the board there is voltage about 1-2V.
Getting a venerable Seiko 0439 back to life thanks to your video! Where did you get the polarized adhesive film? Thanks so much for sharing!!! Long live to Vintage LCD! (Thanks to you)
tenho um Casio G-shock DW5600 máquina 901 e troquei a película polarizadora e ficou bom. usei a película polarizadora de uma calculadora. ficou muito bom!
"Attaching the film to the display is much more riskier".... he hasn't seen me use a solder iron. For him it's much more riskier.... for me putting that film on, I could do in my sleep. Thanks for the video
Give tips for upgrading to a bigger drive maybe? I had to crawl around on some sites and piece together how to do it, still not 100% sure I did it right, pesky WinRE partition!
Is there a reason why you left the old polarizing filter in place and stuck the new one over it rather than removing it and replacing it with the new one?
Removing an original polariser is streesfull for the LCD, you could end up with a crack or a bleed, and this was a stacked LCD which made it even more uneasy
Impressive May be stupid question: would it be possible to stick the film below the watch case glass instead of sticking it on the display itself? Do you have to pel the old polarizing filter off before sticking the new one? Thx
Haven't put directly on watch glass but one thing that might happen if it is exposed to light the glass will heat and cause the film to detach. No need to eel of the old polarizer
Very amazing video again. In my opinion it would be better to cut the polarizing film before some smaller to prevent what you described, that the film is liftet by the guides. Because the visible part of the display trough the window is smaller than the LCD itself. I think it can be 1mm away from the border without beeing visible later. And the thickness of the display would be the same as before in the areas of mounting the brackets. On the other hand not so easy to install. What do you think?
Very comprehensive video! I’m wondering if you have anything about LCD screen Seiko 0644? Digits on the screen are faded pretty badly plus the fact that the battery last 2 days only. Any advice? Or video how to disassemble? Thanks in advance!
Hi! very good repair reports. I have a question for you about the repair of Casio's watch??? There is the next the situation: clock Casio DB 31 and CA 50 in them one and the same the reason. when the battery is inserted the watch run if you can get the battery and insert back the clock is not included , you can several times to set and get the battery out and that does not happen. the clock will lie down 5 - 10 minutes without battery, then insert the battery the clock starts to go again. It happens that inserting the battery indication on the LCD is not complete and seconds do not go. it is necessary to remove the battery and reinsert and then maybe the watch will work normally or do not show. Is that some kind of capacitor? if Yes, what and how to define it???
hello sir, is there any differences between removing the old polarizer instead of new polarizer stick on the old polarizer? why in this case it is not becoming negative display when you've tested it?
I think that if the original capacitor is bad, the reading in the multimeter is giving the bad capacitor value, so changing it for a new cap with the bad capacitance is useless. You would need to know the original capacitor specifications.
I have been working on that, but it seems there is not a single fault. Sometimes the polarised filter get damaged and you have a chance to replace it. But when those Newtonian rings appear it is tricky, I haven't found anything against that thus far. Replacing a burnt polariser is something like this: th-cam.com/video/JJ-yw4YA1OQ/w-d-xo.html
Really enjoyed this LCD repair watch video! It's a little complex but certainly doable with the right tools.
In my case I can't find a local distributor of polarizer replacements. So I use polarizer films from old LCD panels. Some of them are thick and touch enough to peel without damage and can be recycled. I use solvents like lacquer thinner when peeling off the film using Xacto knife and wiping off the glue.
With apologies for digging these comments up after 5 years, I have a question about a faded LCD/Casio T-2000 project I'm plotting…
If you measure an existing Up Converter capacitor which has already degraded, won't the replacement with a capacitor of an equivalent value also provide insufficient power? Really you need to know what spec that component had at the factory.
Also, so many thanks for these videos. It’s a great (and also scarce) resource.
Great video. When someone makes look that something complicated is soooo easy to do; it is because that person is a Master in what he does. Cheers!
Imagine teaching yourself this before the internet. Many dead watches later. . . . . . . .This is outstanding stuff! Thanks!
Yeah, the web certainly helps, without it even finding the watches may have been impossible.
If going the polorizing filter route, I would make up shims from the left over material, drill appropriate size holes and install them under the lcd clamps. That way you can tighten the screws properly and would not have to worry about the lcd moving around. Good video.
Congratulations on your channel, I follow with great interest and I want to thank you, I have found many help and many guides to repair some watches of my modest collection! Thanks 👍👍👍
This is incredible!!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I hope you’ll share more and more tips about how to fix things especially the vintage one ☝️
I've removed the old polariser and replaced it with a new one but there are some modules where letters and symbols are printed on the polariser itself. Pasting the new one over the old makes a lot of sense!
My parents bought me this Seiko watch back in 1983. I wore this watch for 20 years , until moisture was getting in and would show up in the display. The O-ring on the battery cover had dried out and I used electrical tape to cover the battery cover. But in the summer time when you would sweat the electrical tape would move and the moisture would get in. One day it just died and I threw out the watch. To bad your videos weren’t around then , I would of mailed it out to you to see if you could fix it. By the way love all your videos , keep them coming.
Thank you, I don't plan to stop.
I enjoyed your video. Thanks for posting. The problem I see is that you measured the capacitance and then replaced with exactly the same. Your result was just what I expected. If it was the capacitor, then the value you measured was the value after it drifted, not the value it was when it came out of the factory. I appreciate you do mention that you can't find the original specs, but replacing like for like will result in no change.
Yes I agree, I hoped that other paramaters of the capacitor would have been outof spec, so a new one I knew at least those were fine. A variable capacitor would have been a good idea thoughu to test.
You were very brave to attempt the fixes - both the capacitor fix and the polariser fix.
Inspired by your videos I have just bought a non functioning Seiko 0439 5009 on eBay.
Yep, agree with Richard. I’m no expert, anything but, but it would have been worthwhile replacing the cap with one 30% to 50% above what you read from the old one, and also replace the other cap (right beside the first) at the same time.
Exactly!
2 years ago i saw your tutorials and now I have a little colection. Now in Europe in very dificult find digital watches in an afordable price
Thanks for helping me finally understand how my Casio Pathfinder display could malfunction (it it is mostly faded until stored in the dresser away from light). Also, the compass readings now only say north or east (regardless of direction). It was a swell watch for about a year (maybe less). Excellent video.
Thank you
..super your notes regarding fading repair .. congratulations and grateful for your videos ..
Thanks Daniel
new sub indeed! lve those watches since I was a kid 40 yrs back :)
If you read the capacity of a damaged condenser you have a wrong reading. When you replaced the capacitor with one of the same capacity you have no changes. The question is, what was the original value of the capacity before the damage!
I agree on that. And furthermore, this type of ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is known for a loss in capacitance over a long time, caused by changes happening in the ceramic material. But it can also regain its full capacitance by heating it above the so-called "Curie temperature" (around 125 °C). This heating process must last for about half an hour, so the short soldering time is usually not enough to reverse the capacitance loss. But IF some of the loss has been regained, the capacitor will lose a lot of it again in the first time after the heating. That's why measurements immediately after heating may give unreliable results. The capacitor should rest for a couple of hours before being measured.
Today I successfully de-aged the capacitors in the 549 module of my Casio w-780. I unsoldered them and put them on a cooking plate for 1 hour at the lowest setting, which gave a an average temperature of approx. 170 °C. They all regained a considerable amount of capacity, but like I said before, in the first few hours after heating, you can literally watch them lose some capacity again, until it stabilizes on a higher level than before. So it's hard to say how much capacity they gained in the end, since the soldering heat also has an influence on it. But I guess it's somewhere around 30% or more.
Unfortunately this did not solve the problem with the display, which shows a changing amount of fading in several segments. So the loss of contrast is not evenly distributed among the whole display, and it's not always the same at the same spot. What is even more strange: When I activate the test mode (all segments visible) the fading effect is gone!! And if I supply the module with a higher voltage (around 3.5 to 4 V), that eliminates the effect too.
Right now I'm a bit clueless as to what is causing this. Any ideas?
Norbert Bendl if you are loosing voltage at the in contacts of the screen, maybe is a problem of the resistances or the soldering points.
Reading the bad cap and selection of near same value would not fix the issue. The cap should be listed in the service manual. Looks like he had a manual. Why didn’t he look up the proper valve in the manual.
@@rick601a that is exactly what the original comment said
That is one incredible job right there. Cheers.
Great video are you self taught,another great watch and informative video 40 years ago I remember looking at that watch in a shop window,it's on my list.
Yes it is quite an iconic watch, I do have a background in electronics.
derek storey there are many for sale on EBay
Numbers of left side is not displaying what should I do ? ( when time is 12:30 , I see 2:30, the 1 is not showing )
From my experience, it has always with the polarized film. Especially watches above 6 or 7 years from production date. It seems that watches that kept in a long time in the drawer or dark places may subject to the fading LCD. If it was less than 5 years or less the condenser might contribute to the failure. This is a good video anyway!
Hi, I'm Raymond from Romania, you can help me to explain, how to fix the black color background of my Tissot T-touch solar?
I forget the watch in the hot sun light for a very long period of time and now, I can't see the cristals to setup.
The BLACK color of background is gone.
Where I can send you pictures and detailed and PLEASE tell me how much cost me to fix it?
Best regards! 🤝🏻🙏 14:49
Very impressive. Very good video.
A few points: First off, those ceramic capacitors for the most part never fail, given the low voltage and low pulse energy of the up-converter; furthermore, if the 'smoothing-capacitor fails, it can (if leaky) drag-down the up-converter voltage; so I would replace them in pairs.
They make a tweezer style soldering irons that allows you to grab to capacitor all in one move; saving the PCB and substrate.
Also, using Blue-Tack clay will allow you to stabilize the movement while you work.
Nice work. I have not expecting ceramic capacitor to go bad though. Regarding the capacitor value, they are often +/-10 to 20% tolerance anyway.
Cleaning the zebra strips and display contacts with some alcohol can also help with a faded display. I did this with an old LCD game and the difference was night and day.
I just received a watch that has a very faded display (more clear when looking at an extreme angle). It also fades out when pressing a button (not when pressing the light). Also the digits change slowly. I think this is probably a bad capacitor, or a dirty contact somewhere.
I dont understand the thinking around the capacitor. You measure the existing capacitor to know what you should replace it with. But if the capacitor is faulty and you exchange it for a new one with the same value as the faulty one you would get the same result right? Why are you expecting an improvement if you change one capacitor with another with the exact same value?
Caps loose their value over time duh
@@JohnChrysostom101 read my post again. I’m not disputing caps deteriorate with time. I’m questioning your method of assessing what caps you need based on the measurements of old caps. Duh
Just look at the end of the video, lcd got fixed. End of history.😂
@@israelsalas4617 you are missing the point. I’m questioning the method, not the outcome. Wrong values of caps can still make electronics work, but can reduce the lifespan of the product. Learn how to read and think logically. This is not rocket science. If you measure an old cap to determine what replacement you need is a bad practice since the old cap can be out of spec…. Because it’s old
@@tenshin2002 people like you get stuck within simple problems. what if you don't have schematics or proper info? that brain will be on blue screen.
very nice and useful demonstration - I like the idea of finger-gloves, I'll remember that - so, as the cap wasn't the problem, why did the display fade away? Does the original polarization mask go weaker and weaker after a while?
Very interesting video. It made me inspect my old Casio W-780 with the 549 module again. It has a very strange contrast problem, I've never seen before. Instead of an evenly weak contrast over the whole display like in your video, it shows a "dynamic" loss of contrast depending on what is shown on the display. That means, the same segment can have full contrast at one time and weak contrast at another, depending on what the other segments show. Or a segment that is supposed to be off, is sometimes visible with a weak contrast. So this can obviously not be cured by simply sticking a new polarizer on top of the display. So after watching this video, I started to think about whether this phenomenon could also be caused by a weak capacitor. Unfortunately I can't find any technical document about the Casio module, nor any information about such behavior of an LC display anywhere else. The module has three capacitors in a row, so I don't even know which is the up converter (if any). What do you think, may this problem be related to a weak capacitor? The display also shows a very slight amount of the rainbow effect, but it's barely visible.
That is most likely a problem with contacts on the zebra strip, specifically the common or ground line. Power returning is variable depending on load (how many segments are active). If one segment is consistently faded, that would indicate the problem is on that driving contact only. In either case, the fix is to remove and clean the zebra strip with isopropyl alcohol (aka IPA 99%, aka electronics cleaner). Sometimes one side of the zebra strip has a contact glue film on it, and that can make the job harder as the cleaning solvent will remove that glue as well - makes reassembly much more difficult. You can try cleaning only the unglued side, and that may work. Do not attempt to apply any glue yourself, it will just ruin the display, as is the case if you just smear that glue across the contacts and then try to reassemble it. (misplaced glue will insulate the contacts and prevent it working.
@@Chris_the_Musohey thanks I'm going to look into this zebra strip, got an old Bape G Shock that was supposed to just need a battery but it's about 20 years old. I put the battery in and I could see the numbers but they were faded. Within about 5 minutes I could no longer see the numbers or display but back light still works so I know the battery is good. One of the buttons was sticky and inactive so I thought maybe if I gut it and clean all the contacts with alcohol maybe it would work, while I have it open I'll play around with polarizing film as well
Woud this work on a digivice? My LCD screen is only visible from certain angles.
Very mind boggling and great talented JOB.
Thank you
What’s the name of that manual? I don’t get it from the audio 😢
Hi ,, I’ve been looking for these filters and can’t find them on eBay. What I can find is big sheets self adhesive but for galaxy phones . They are very cheap but was wondering if they would work? Is a polarising filer just a polarising filter or are there many types . ?
Hi, Michael Reitberger posted a link below in the comments with a supplier but there are many variations and I don't know if they make any difference, but what I can tel you us that I used this one: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Polarized-Film-faded-digit-Negative-Display-mod-Spare-parts/323235191374?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I don't really understand a lot of electronics theory but from my logic I would derive that if the capacitors have drifted over time to a different value, the replacement should have their original value and not the current one because that is the wrong, drifted one. Does that make sense? Or do capacitors work in a different way.. Would appreciate if someone could help me on this
my casio w40 fades when wearing it, so when it heats up i assume.
hello I have a casio m-15 melody and the screen has the numbers engraved even if it is without a battery how can you repair those screen or clean greetings
I wonder if you could have removed the old polarizing film first? When I have modified negative LCD's to positive (I hate the dark LCD's), I have always taken the old film off first. Thanks for the video. I've got an older 1545 module Casio DW-5600E with a faded display. I'm going to try to invest some time in taking the old polarizing film off and installing new film.
Where can I buy the polirizing filter😢
If I want to invert the light on the LCD screen of my car's head unit with a polarizer so that instead of black letters on a lit up background, it has lit up letters on a black background, is there a specific kind of polarizer I need to look for on ebay?
CAIRN no, polarizer is the same, just rotate it 90 degrees..
Generally nothing happens to ceramic MLCCs with time. Sometimes they crack across and then they fail, either losing the bulk of their capacitance or going short, but there is no gradual expected decline in capacitance, no chemical changes, these are extremely inert materials, so they shouldn't be replaced unless indicated by measurement. It's a good idea to measure in-circuit so you don't have to needlessly damage the substrate by soldering if you have a good idea of the circuit overall in cases where there isn't a lot of parallel capacitance, and if it measures too low or you get a resistance measurement across is too low, then replace.
Boost circuit capacitors are not critical in capacitance, 10-20% is fine. They have variation from the factory.
Thing is you never know whether your new MLCC will be a quality manufactured product that is going to last (especially if you haven''t bought it off Murata, TDK or Kemet), or whether it has a hidden fracture or material inconsistency from the factory that can cause it to crack; and the process of desoldering and resoldering MLCC can fracture them via thermal shock, so desoldered MLCC should normally not be reused even if they measure OK. So if your in-circuit measurement gives you a good indication that they're fine, leaving them alone is an adequate course of action.
Hi there, What a great fix. I have a Timex Expedition that the chime and alarm are faint. How do I get this to sound louder? the pieso sounding plate is fine and the battery is good and strong as it was replaced but still the problem persists, Can you help in what to look out for?
Bonjour et bravo pour vos vidéos très intéressantes j’ai une montre citizen mouvement lcd 9460A les condensateurs ne sont pas soudés sur la carte mère et sont manquants avez vous les caractéristiques des condensateurs et leurs valeurs pour le remplacement merci par avance Gilles
If the capacitor value shifted then why would you use the value of the defective capacitor? I would think a higher value would be needed to restore the charge state.
Yes, my approach on replacing the caps was not good.
Wearing my Pulsar LCD, I'm rather surprised to find your channel, every watch channel I've come across is for mechanical watches.
My LCD kept fading out, however it was due to a failing insulation sheet that normally sits atop the battery so it won't touch that case back. It was , severely reducing the battery voltage causing the display to fade and sometime the time to reset. My mech was not easily disassembled, and I suspected some corrosion had gotten into the various layers that form the battery/power connection. In the end it twigged on me what was going on and a new plastic sheet had it fixed
Hello, I have to repair a Seiko A239 - same model as the one shown in this video, but I don't have any professional screwdriver yet : could you tell me what is the screwdriver's size you use at 5:08 ?
Thanks in advance.
It is a flathead screwdriver, don't know the size but get a set of precision flathead screwdrivers and surely one will fit
@@VintageDigitalWatches OK, I will take your advice. By the way, this video is very useful to me, especially with the disassembly and reassembly of the watch: thank you for the sharing.
Great video. 3 Casio CQ-82 multi alarm clocks have just come into my possession & they all have the same faded displays. Can the same kind of film help fix the problem?
So i bought an old G shock needed a battery change, i put the battery in and noticed the screen was very dim and actually missing some pieces of the numbers before losing all the numbers completely. Back light still turns on.
So i think i need to do the up convertor trick. I hope watching this video helps me figure it out!
wouldn't it be easier to just replace an entire module?
@@eruno_ it's a limited to 1000 pieces 20 years ago. Can't really just get another. Ended up fixing it though.
@@mastaboog749 ah thanks for clarification.
sir had this issue but with table digitial chinese made watch which had black ic on pcb so only cleaning worked how to make a watch
Hi, do you know what could cause the LCD digits to change a little slowly? Thanks
Oh gosh. I have a 1973 Gruen Teletime (Pacemaker) incoming. The seller says the display is perfect, but even in the pictures, it looks very faint. I might have to source a replacement screen. Not sure I can fix with a polarising filter.
Do atest with polarized glasses befor looking for a filter, you get the same result.
i like the way you act in fixing you are professional man
When LCD watches first came out, the displays only had a life expectancy of around ten years, before the chemicals inside degraded... and unfortunately, that is still the case today - even with large back-lit TV screens.
There are actually some early manuals from Citizen that informed you that you LCD will last 40.000 hours if I am correct, so that is just under 4 years. But they still work today so probably they were guestimating.
Gold plate
sir what power lens microscop are you using
Hi, i would like to know if i may send 2 of my Seiko a239 for restoration, things like polarized film and change crystal?
I'm from Madrid.
Thank you.
What is that watch repair manual?
Sir,i have problem with jc-11 lcd faded,how to find service manual pdf
What to do for my watch when I turn on led total watch shuts of and it's running on fadded display
You sir are a master at what you do. Subscribed.
Thanks!
Where can I buy those little books of new capacitors? Anyone know?
Ebay
Thanks for your videos! I'm doing an AC reset on a vintage Casio Skywalker. The 12:00 comes up during the reset, but if i stop the reset the module goes blank again. If i hold in a button while doing the AC reset the watch works but a bit more faded. If i let the button go it goes blank again. I wonder if you have any suggestions?
What is the book you're referring to that talks about the upconverter? That looks like an amazing resource to have.
Great job 👏 loved the video
Hi my friend where do you buy the capacitor?
I have a vintage lcd digital watch which display is pretty dim. Thanks to you I know that it probably needs a needs a new polarizer. But I’m a noob and don’t want to mess up the watch, also I would like to add a led backlight to better see the time in the dark. Furthermore it needs a better sealant on its back cover plate for more sweat resistance. Would you be able to help me out?
I have an old Casio that is running way to fast can this be fixed?
Hello how can i fix the citizen crystron first generation i noticed there's is poleriz film should throw it ?
Or put the new one in front of it ?
The first generation Citizens don't have the polarizers glued tot he LCD so you can discard it
That was amazing... but what if the numbers displayed in the lcd is not complete ?
Same
I am having the same problem with G-Shock GW-6100 (974) year of make 1992.
Hi, do you know how to determine if the lcd watch is broken or not? the lcd from my old watch is not showing any sign but I check from the lcd contact in the board there is voltage about 1-2V.
Hi friend, a doubt, where did you buy the capacitors bands?
How do I know without manual which is up converter capacitor in ECB ? I have Tissot t touch.
You can't really, and it is a huge exception that this was even mentioned in the manual.
Terrific video. As always very helpful and informative!
Hi, what´s the name of the book do you consult to see the display voltage?
Digital watch repair manual by Zannoni
Getting a venerable Seiko 0439 back to life thanks to your video! Where did you get the polarized adhesive film? Thanks so much for sharing!!! Long live to Vintage LCD! (Thanks to you)
Thanks Alfredo for the nice comment, I bought it on eBay, from France
@@VintageDigitalWatches Polarized film on the way! thanks so much!
At 6:30 the old solder wicks up like nothing. If I had tried that it would never have worked before adding new solder and applying flux
tenho um Casio G-shock DW5600 máquina 901 e troquei a película polarizadora e ficou bom. usei a película polarizadora de uma calculadora. ficou muito bom!
faça um vídeo sobre o defeito g schock 5200 erro cronometro
"Attaching the film to the display is much more riskier".... he hasn't seen me use a solder iron. For him it's much more riskier.... for me putting that film on, I could do in my sleep.
Thanks for the video
Give tips for upgrading to a bigger drive maybe? I had to crawl around on some sites and piece together how to do it, still not 100% sure I did it right, pesky WinRE partition!
Hello
I'm from Colombia and I have a Casio GS 11, with the same problem. Where are you. Could I send you the watch for a repair?
Do you have any video on LED Vintage watches
Is there a reason why you left the old polarizing filter in place and stuck the new one over it rather than removing it and replacing it with the new one?
Removing an original polariser is streesfull for the LCD, you could end up with a crack or a bleed, and this was a stacked LCD which made it even more uneasy
@@VintageDigitalWatches
Yes that makes sense, just an unnecessary risk.
Impressive
May be stupid question: would it be possible to stick the film below the watch case glass instead of sticking it on the display itself?
Do you have to pel the old polarizing filter off before sticking the new one?
Thx
Haven't put directly on watch glass but one thing that might happen if it is exposed to light the glass will heat and cause the film to detach. No need to eel of the old polarizer
@@VintageDigitalWatches : I did the film addition. Looks great now, and a 25 year Pulsar watch is back on the scene. Thx for this great video.
@@sbe4998 Great stuff, always nice to hear someone else improving their watches. Cheers
Fabulous video, very helpful.
Good morning. I have a seiko M354A with same problem.
I try to find correct condensator. Do you have service manual or other? Thanks so much
Try the digital watch library.com
@@VintageDigitalWatches thanks. I finded manual. but unlucky there isn't value about condensator.
Good evening...i am looking for a polarizer at ebay but i find only for mobile phones..will they work too;; thx!!!
Don't know
Where do u located
Very amazing video again. In my opinion it would be better to cut the polarizing film before some smaller to prevent what you described, that the film is liftet by the guides. Because the visible part of the display trough the window is smaller than the LCD itself. I think it can be 1mm away from the border without beeing visible later. And the thickness of the display would be the same as before in the areas of mounting the brackets. On the other hand not so easy to install. What do you think?
Very comprehensive video! I’m wondering if you have anything about LCD screen Seiko 0644? Digits on the screen are faded pretty badly plus the fact that the battery last 2 days only. Any advice? Or video how to disassemble? Thanks in advance!
Hi! very good repair reports. I have a question for you about the repair of Casio's watch??? There is the next the situation: clock Casio DB 31 and CA 50 in them one and the same the reason. when the battery is inserted the watch run if you can get the battery and insert back the clock is not included , you can several times to set and get the battery out and that does not happen. the clock will lie down 5 - 10 minutes without battery, then insert the battery the clock starts to go again. It happens that inserting the battery indication on the LCD is not complete and seconds do not go. it is necessary to remove the battery and reinsert and then maybe the watch will work normally or do not show. Is that some kind of capacitor? if Yes, what and how to define it???
Hi, I am having trouble reading your comment :|
Is the display same as the point and shoot film camera?
What do you mean?
I mean the type of lcd used in film camera display, is it the same as this one?
According to your capacitance meter you changed a good capacitor with a same spec capacitor, no wonder you had no change in display.
at least new capacitors wil not decrease capacitance like the unknown defective replaced
No, because if you measure an old capacitor it will still have some capacity... And putting the same capacity as a used up one makes no sense lol.
Exactly!
hello sir, is there any differences between removing the old polarizer instead of new polarizer stick on the old polarizer? why in this case it is not becoming negative display when you've tested it?
Thank you for your videos, they are very educational Where can I find a book like the one you show in the video to learn theory? Thank you.
The book in the video is a service manual. There is a video on the channel with a book that talks about digital watch repair.
I think that if the original capacitor is bad, the reading in the multimeter is giving the bad capacitor value, so changing it for a new cap with the bad capacitance is useless. You would need to know the original capacitor specifications.
Are you sure it's an 8239? When I search for that I mostly see analogue watches.
sir can you give pdf the book for watch repair you are using
You can find it on the digitalwatchlibrary.com
good work..btw any idea how to get rid of the uv flare on the glass due to degradation of uv over the years
I have been working on that, but it seems there is not a single fault. Sometimes the polarised filter get damaged and you have a chance to replace it. But when those Newtonian rings appear it is tricky, I haven't found anything against that thus far. Replacing a burnt polariser is something like this: th-cam.com/video/JJ-yw4YA1OQ/w-d-xo.html
Hello, do you know where can I buy the module of watch casio? all circuito to make a new case to use it?
Best place I found for parts and modules (for both vintage and modern watches) is eBay.
Is this the same kind of polarizer as those used for cellphone lcd´s?
Any monochrome display...I've known about this since I was a kid...peel the one off already on the display and you'll see nothing...
May you tell me, please, where do you find this seiko manual repair?
Can't remember what was the site but check if digitalwatchlibrary.com has one, they usually do.
@@VintageDigitalWatches Thanks a lot.
May you do a video, where explain where can we find that kind of service manuals, please?
Excellent video.