41mm Sub VS3235 Poor Power Reserve

[Liam F]

Hi my VSF 41mm submariner has a pretty poor power reserve. The watch was serviced as soon as it arrived from the TD and seems to only hold a 12 hour power reserve when worn day to day.
It is actually worse than my VSF 40mm sub with the vs3135 and certainly nowhere near the 72h

is there a magic fix for this? I have heard of p
people fitting a genuine autowind module ? Would this fix the issue?

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

L

 

[RolexGuy22]

Had a similar problem opened up mine the rotor bearings weren’t properly oiled so dissembled the rotor cleaned it oiled the bearings put it all back together gave it a few spins I thought it was the power reserve issue but turned out it wasn’t my guess would be the rotor is not adequately winding the watch does it stop randomly while you wear it ?

 

[Plaasbaas]

Does this also apply when you fully wind it by hand (at least about 40 turns of the crown) which would indicate a mainspring issue?

 

[KJ2020]

A movement's maximum rated PR is not related to autowinding. That value is is how long a watch will run when sitting immobile fully wound while the autowind is inoperative.

A movement's current PR is increased by the autowind up to the maximum rated PR, then it should run for that time period if left immobile.

Weak PR is related to a weak or faulty mainspring, or possibly a click or escapement that is failing to keep the mainspring from releasing its energy properly.

 

[MSC19]

Hi my VSF 41mm submariner has a pretty poor power reserve. The watch was serviced as soon as it arrived from the TD and seems to only hold a 12 hour power reserve when worn day to day.
It is actually worse than my VSF 40mm sub with the vs3135 and certainly nowhere near the 72h

is there a magic fix for this? I have heard of p
people fitting a genuine autowind module ? Would this fix the issue?

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

L

If you fully wind it manually and the PR is bigger than what you get now, fitting a gen autowind module is a solution.

 

[RolexGuy22]

A movement's maximum rated PR is not related to autowinding. That value is is how long a watch will run when sitting immobile fully wound while the autowind is inoperative.

A movement's current PR is increased by the autowind up to the maximum rated PR, then it should run for that time period if left immobile.

Weak PR is related to a weak or faulty mainspring, or possibly a click or escapement that is failing to keep the mainspring from releasing its energy properly.

When hand winding the watch via the crown do you hear like a sharp click after a few turns of the crown could be multiple issues could you open tue back and snap a few pictures ?

 

[Liam F]

Thanks guys,

I don't seem to have an issue when I give the watch a good handwind it runs well and keeps good time.

Unfortunately I only have a really cheap 3 prong case opener so cannot open the case back. Anybody have a link to where I can purchase the caseback opener ?

Regards L

 

[StreetFighter]

Wearing it does not charge it. It only keeps it charged.

The first thing it says in the owners manual of a new Rolex is wind it fully by turning the crown around 25 full times.

Wind it fully then try again.

 

[Liam F]

Wearing it does not charge it. It only keeps it charged.

The first thing it says in the owners manual of a new Rolex is wind it fully by turning the crown around 25 full times.

Wind it fully then try again.

I have done as you say above. The watch stops after about 12 hours, nowhere near the much lauded 72h. If it ran for 24h it would not bother me but 12 hours makes me think something is wrong.

Regards L

 

[StreetFighter]

Thanks for confirming. It's definitely got a problem then.

 

[MSC19]

I have done as you say above. The watch stops after about 12 hours, nowhere near the much lauded 72h. If it ran for 24h it would not bother me but 12 hours makes me think something is wrong.

Regards L

I had the same issue on a fully serviced movement. On manual wind was keeping 60+ hours of PR and after wearing it was going down to les than 30. I ended up by replacing the whole autowind module with a gen one...

 

[KJ2020]

If it lasts only 12 hours on a full wind, the problem is not with the autowind device.

 

[Theelite187]

Ill buy it off u

 

[Reptme]

Had a similar problem opened up mine the rotor bearings weren’t properly oiled so dissembled the rotor cleaned it oiled the bearings put it all back together gave it a few spins I thought it was the power reserve issue but turned out it wasn’t my guess would be the rotor is not adequately winding the watch does it stop randomly while you wear it ?

Did the same here - worked great! Had a friend which is watchman - never would have been able to do this alone lol

 

[RolexGuy22]

Did the same here - worked great! Had a friend which is watchman - never would have been able to do this alone lol

He winds it and it’s good can’t see what else it could be but the rotor not adequately spinning it probably gets stuck causes the watch to lose power and eventually stops…

 

[RolexGuy22]

Funny thing too one member fixed something similar by slaping the watch while on the wrist firmly a couple of times can’t vouch for it but I heard it fixed it lol

 

[KJ2020]

He winds it and it’s good can’t see what else it could be but the rotor not adequately spinning it probably gets stuck causes the watch to lose power and eventually stops…

OP stated "The watch stops after about 12 hours, nowhere near the much lauded 72h"

On a full wind the watch should run 72 hours with no rotor and no automatic device in the case.

I stated in post #4 what is happening here

"A movement's maximum rated PR is not related to autowinding. That value is is how long a watch will run when sitting immobile fully wound while the autowind is inoperative.

A movement's current PR is increased by the autowind up to the maximum rated PR, then it should run for that time period if left immobile.

Weak PR is related to a weak or faulty mainspring, or possibly a click or escapement that is failing to keep the mainspring from releasing its energy properly."

To OP: First step is source a new mainspring. You likely won't get a VSF mainspring with the gen-spec thinner and longer spring that provides the 72 hour PR, but a previous generation mainspring that offers 40 hour PR will work fine and be a satisfactory solution.

 

[Liam F]

O.k update the watch runs great when hand wound and has a decent power reserve. When I wear the watch daily without handling in the morning and take it off for the evening it stops at about 2am.
This perhaps leads me to believe that it is the autowind that is the issue

Would replacing the autowond module with genuine fix the issue ? If so does anybody know of a watchmaker in the u.k that could supply the parts and carry out the work?

Regards

L