Tag Heuer Battery Replacement

H

H.L. Holbrook

Joined
Mar 27, 1999
Messages
162
Question for you watch guys. My wife and I bought Tag Heuers Sport 2000 watches in Oct. 2000. The battery in hers needs replacing. The estimate for the jewelry store to send it back to Tag to have the battery replaced and basic service is going to run $91.00. My question is this an average price for this or am I getting ripped? We both really like the watches, but I'm thinking next purchase should be an automatic.
 
I have never heard of any Tag that has any special needs for a battery change. I think you need to try a different jewelry store, and you probably won't want to ever set foot in that one again. :rolleyes:
 
Your local jeweler can easily replace the battery. Sending it back to TAG protects your warranty and they check/service the seals when they take the back off (so they say). The price you were quoted is lower than I have heard. That said, I've had local jewelers replace the batteries in my TAG quartz several times over the 14 years I've had it and it's working fine. It's a true beater for me at this point and submerge it often (shower with it too :eek: ). With a newer watch it would be a toss-up for me.
 
Batteries cost what, 30 cents at most? I replace my own watch batteries all the time. It's not a rocket science.

All you need is a battery, a watch case opener, and maybe some silicon gasket seal if you want to protect against water.
 
That is probably not to far off the mark. We have a jeweler here who is an authorized service center so they have a watch maker who does the work on site.

When it was the battery only, it seems to me it was about 30 dollars or so several years ago. About 2 years ago the watch needed a battery and general servicing, that was about 100 bucks i think. They replaced the battery, the seals and cleaned the internal parts.

Maybe it does cost a little to much, but it aint no Timex that your local Wal-Mart clerk can pop a back off of and change the battery. Your high end watches are probably best off being worked on by somebody trained to do so, and that costs money.

I would also be careful of silly advice such as trying to squirt your own silicon gasket sealent on there. You screw it up and its going to cost you more that a hundred bucks.
 
Almost forgot, I would tend to agree with you about the next purchase being an automatic. Although it is worth it to me to pay the money it takes to have mine worked on by somebody that knows what they are doing, it does get old to plunk down money for an already pricey watch every time that battery craps out.
 
i have had the batt in my/&my wifes TAG changed several times by the jewelry store were we bought them for $5, FWIW, i wouldnt send it in myself, unless it needed something else, unless no good jewelry shops in your area, it looks easy enough takes 5 minutes. autos are nice, i love my rolex GMT11 SS, lots higher than a TAG though, but well worth it imho. must say my TAG professional, one of the cheaper TAGs, keeps good time/is a lot lighter/has been a great watch, have had it since '95. paid $300 incl. tax when i got it, not a bad deal imho.

greg

*edited to add:my bud had the batt changed in his, a pro model just like mine, and they evidently didnt seal it back up right and salt water got in it and funked it out, cost $250 to fix it, was suprised they COULD fix it though lol, it was really messed up
 
Some places have a pressure tester, some don't. Ask before you let them change your battery. A watch should be pressure tested every time it's opened up; even though you put in new seals and lubricate them a speck of grit or a little misalignment could make it leak.

The usual way of "fixing" a quartz movement is to replace it. $250 sounds pretty typical for a Tag. (It's a lot more than an Eta quartz movement costs, but most Tags cost a lot more than the sum of their parts in the first place....)
 
One thing if you decide to buy an automatic. Even though there are no batteries to replace, you should still get it tuned up every once in a while to keep it functioning it's best.

I get the batteries replaced in my watches for about $10 but they always tell me that they can't guarantee the waterproofness after they're done. That's okay though since my dive watches are all automatics :D

Rob
 
Originally posted by H.L. Holbrook

... The estimate for the jewelry store to send it back to Tag to have the battery replaced and basic service is going to run $91.00.

... I'm thinking next purchase should be an automatic.
Click to expand...

I recently had my Mido automatic serviced at the local Mido representative here in Mexico (full service; disassemble, clean, lubricate, replace seals, reassemble, etc.) they charge about $90 U.S.

So about the same as your battery, then again, for the standard price they also replaced the glass and the metal strap.
 
Here is what happens with Tags. They are sent to a company in NJ which I believe is called Pro Time, I was there several times years ago. They are either owned by Tag or are the authorized repair facility.

My wife and I have older Tag "Formulas" and battery replacement at Pro
Time was $50 or so. We stopped going there and had the batteries replaced at a local jewelry store, about $15.00. Well, both watches have stopped working and the batteries are new. Keeping in mind that
these watches cost $125.00 new, my wife was quoted $225.00 for repair.
Needless to say two Tags are on their way to the junk pile.

I don't know if having Tag service them would have mattered but it
might have. These have been worn alot aroung salt water and this probably hastened there demise.

Win
 
Originally posted by Richard

I would also be careful of silly advice such as trying to squirt your own silicon gasket sealent on there. You screw it up and its going to cost you more that a hundred bucks. [/B]
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Just so you know... The silcone gasket seal isn't squirted, it is rubbed along the gasket. I bought the stuff at the same watch parts house where I purchased my Water Pressure Tester and my bench mounted Bergeon Case opener. I didn't realize I was giving silly advice.

ofrei-900.jpg


This is the best way to lubricant any type of gasket with a silicon lubricant. Loaded with enough silicon 747 grease to lubricant hundreds of gaskets. Simply place the gaskets inside and give a 1/2 turn of the lid, with very light pressure and you are done. When dry just add a little more silicone 747, which you can purchase below.
 
Well, both watches have stopped working and the batteries are new. Keeping in mind that
these watches cost $125.00 new, my wife was quoted $225.00 for repair.
Needless to say two Tags are on their way to the junk pile.

I don't know if having Tag service them would have mattered but it
might have. These have been worn alot aroung salt water and this probably hastened there demise.

Win
Click to expand...

Quartz modules will fail for all different sorts of reasons. However, one thing you should know is that most quartz modules are generic ETA, and can be purchased outright for say $20. So instead of repairing them, most places (including TAG authorized repair) simply toss and replace modules. Rather than throwing the watches in the scrap heap, If I were you, I'd just replace the entire quartz module. The hardest part of the whole operation is taking off the dial and hands. It helps to have a set of hand pullers, but those are pretty cheap. If you like small projects such as knife making or model building, it's not an impossibility.
 
Yeah Bob, my bad...my apologies to you also.

I had visions of this big tube of gasket sealer from the Napa Store.

Ok, if you were to do your own battery and check the seals how would you do it? I can see the seal for the back cover being fairly easy, but what about the rest. My Tag is one of those with the stop watch, so along with the crown, it also has 2 additional buttons on the side that control the stop watch. Do these also have seals around them?
 
Originally posted by Richard
Yeah Bob, my bad...my apologies to you also.

I had visions of this big tube of gasket sealer from the Napa Store.

Ok, if you were to do your own battery and check the seals how would you do it? I can see the seal for the back cover being fairly easy, but what about the rest. My Tag is one of those with the stop watch, so along with the crown, it also has 2 additional buttons on the side that control the stop watch. Do these also have seals around them?
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Well, unfortunately, most folks (including most jewelers) only check the back gasket. Once they open the back, they might run a little silicon on the back (maybe) then seal it back up. Assuming the gasket looks to be in good shape, that's as far as most mall jeweler's go, and they charge maybe $90 for a 5 minute job that any hack could do.

If you really want to do it right, you do have to pressure test it. I guess you could say I am "cheating" in that I invested over $500 in a water pressure testing chamber made exclusively for watches. For what it's worth almost every watch I've ever tested with reasonably good seals and gaskets has passed without modification. I would say the number one mistake of novice watch dabblers is to reseal a watch with moisture inside. If I was a do-it-yourself-er without the expensive water pressure tester, the minimum I would do is check the gasket thoroughly, then place the whole watch with case-back off in a sealed jar with a bag of desiccant in it for a day or so. Then I would seal it. Moisture often comes from within, and not externally at all.
 
BobHWD,

I have a question for you. I'm not sure how those pressure testers work but, if you're pressure testing, what is the failure mechanism? How is the watch not harmed if it fails?

Just wondering,

Thanks,

Rob
 
Originally posted by Dr. Nick
BobHWD,

I have a question for you. I'm not sure how those pressure testers work but, if you're pressure testing, what is the failure mechanism? How is the watch not harmed if it fails?

Just wondering,

Thanks,

Rob
Click to expand...

Well, there are two types of testers. There are wet and there are dry testers. Neither harm the watch if done correctly. Mine is a wet tester. You pump a chamber full of water to a pressure commensurate with the depth rating being tested. Then the watch is slowly lowered into the water. If bubbles appear, that is an indication of leakage at that spot. (That's a Reader's Digest version of the test). Dry testers measure minute changes in volume when air leakage occurs. Anyways, there is no harm done to the watch.



wt3.jpg
 
I had two tag diver watches one flooded at 120 feet, I gave the other one away, and for fun took the flooded one apart, what a POS,LOL, oh well live and learn George
 
Originally posted by GB CROW
I had two tag diver watches one flooded at 120 feet, I gave the other one away, and for fun took the flooded one apart, what a POS,LOL, oh well live and learn George
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If you're going to dive with a watch, you should have it tested annually to make sure the gaskets and seals are still in good shape. It really doesn't matter if it's a TAG, Rolex, Panerai, or Audemars Piquet. Rubber breaks down with exposure to the elements.
 
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