I originally posted this in the Panerai section but have had no response. Perhaps here..... So I'm building a vintage PAM 3646 Deco Bezel which I got from Davidsen. It has the Russian Molnija movement. I'm changing dial faces. Put the whole thing together... Looks damned beautiful--but now it won't wind up! What the !@#$%^&!!!! I've re-inserted the crown a dozen times but to no avail. The hands set fine, but it will not wind. The crown will even screw down onto its seat, and when it releases and I turn the crown, round go the hands, but no more. Nor can I pull out the crown a notch after releasing it from the screw-down, as one would normally do to set the hands. It's almost as if the crown isn't going in far enough or something. Incidentally, the crown has a spring loaded shaft--which I assume is so it can screw down onto the case. What am I doing wrong? What do I do to fix this? I should say that before I took it apart it worked beautifully. I am NOT a watchsmith and very new to modifications and wonder whether I should just send it off to one of you people (Vac?) before I throughly !@#$%^ it up.
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Can't get PAM Molnija winding. Please help!
- Thread starter nielsen
- Start date
Keyless issue for sure. Probably not too messed up. These are very forgiving movements.
When you took it apart, you probably loosened the screw too much. When you re-inserted the stem, you probably pushed it in too far. As long as the jump lever & spring are not crossed..
Pull out the crown as far as you can. If the hands move, it's in the set position. Loosen the screw a tiny bit & pull the stem out. Tighten the screw & then back it off about 1-1 1/2 turns. Try reinserting the stem (but not too far). Try & gauge how far it should be out to set as opposed to winding. If it's not all messed up, you should sort of feel where it needs to be. Tighten the screw again & see if it clicks back in to the winding position.
It might take a few tries, but you can usually find the right spot eventually. If you have no luck with that, it will have to come apart to reset the keyless works.
Hey, thanks for the advice and I'm clinging to the idea that these are forgiving movements..... I'm not sure which screw you refer to. There's the push-in button to allow me to pull the stem out (the one located on the movement very near where the stem exits from the case--just below it when viewed from above). but it isn't a screw. It is, however, the only thing I used to remove the stem: I pushed the button and pulled out the crown/stem. Can you point me in the direction of the screw? ...... just trying to follow your instructions. I notice that the stem is threaded. Is that the 'screw' you refer to? I never touched this before as I pulled out the stem.
Sorry nielsen, was sure the molnija had a screw as well. Had another look at that movement. With the button, same basic principle applies. The stem is probably pushed in too far.
Try pulling it back out & reinserting with as little pressure on the button as possible. It's usually pretty hard (but not impossible) to push the button in far enough to disengage the jump lever.
Either way, worst case scenario since you changed the dial, you just have to pull it off again to reset the keyless if it doesn't work.
Try pulling it back out & reinserting with as little pressure on the button as possible. It's usually pretty hard (but not impossible) to push the button in far enough to disengage the jump lever.
Either way, worst case scenario since you changed the dial, you just have to pull it off again to reset the keyless if it doesn't work.
Thanks for the advice, and thanks for the repair page you sent me by PM, Coldi. Much appreciated. I wonder if I have dislocated the castle wheel, though according to the web page you sent me, I have the opposite problem: I can set the time but not wind the watch. Presumably I will have to fiddle with the setting lever--which clearly has two positions. Looking at it through the loup I don't see anything obviously awry, but then I don't think I'd recognize it as such unless it was really bad. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow, so please feel free to chime in between now and then with more advice. Here's a poor photo. Perhaps this will show you something.....
Here's a photo of the back side.....
Here's a photo of the back side.....
- 15/4/07
- 14,908
- 56
- 48
I would take the dial off, reset the lever and Keyless and try again. It's tricky sometimes. You just have to take a deep breath and go slowly. You'll get it. 
Oh BTW, take that movement off the cloth and put it on a solid clean surface. Your just asking for a thread to get in there and foul up the balance.
Oh BTW, take that movement off the cloth and put it on a solid clean surface. Your just asking for a thread to get in there and foul up the balance.
I would take the dial off, reset the lever and Keyless and try again. It's tricky sometimes. You just have to take a deep breath and go slowly. You'll get it.
I'm not sure what the 'keyless' is, let alone how to reset it. Can I presume it is the spring-loaded switch made up of flat steel?
I can't believe it....... I did it! Wow! I realize that for you veterans, resetting the keyless works is no doubt no big deal, but for those of us who are new at this (and who don't even know what a 'keyless works' is)..... Man the bits are tiny! Turns out the the clutch lever that slides the castle wheel back and forth had been pushed off the groove--presumably when I pushed the stem in with too much gusto. Found a site on Timezone where the assembly was explained so I could understand it. Then it was a matter of figuring out why it didn't work, and then fixing it. Phew....... So, very many thanks for the help steering me in the right direction, and especially for the words of encouragement. Much appreciated!!! Now I have to take some photos of the new baby to post in the Panerai section. And just like a new father, am I proud or what?!