Silly me, I have replaced many watch batteries in my life, but now I have this Timex Ironman Triathlon 100 Lap watch, and the instructions say to have it replaced by the retailer because they alone know how.
I opened it up anyway and finally figured out how to pop the battery cover off. I replaced the battery and snapped the cover down. There’s a notation to be sure to press some button to reset, but I don’t know what button they’re referring to.
I put it back together and everything works fine except there is no sound when the timer or alarm go off. You can see the alarm is working because of the display, but I don’t think it will be much use if I have to keep an eye on the watch to see when the alarm is going off.
I tried putting the back on the other way (it has two possible orientations) and made sure the contacts are bent upwards enough to reach the back, but no luck. I got a couple of puny beeps once and that was it.
How many buttons do you have? There’s not many systems out there, and maybe one of us knows your button pattern.
Perhaps your watch returned to its default position after the battery swap. What we’ll be trying to do is find the mode where it says ALARM or blinks a bell symbol. Then you find the SET function. Is the bell blinking? That’s your cue to toggle it on or off. Next time the alarm time comes around, the watch will make some noise or other. If not, try it the other side of the toggle.
Some functions can only be reached by holding down a button.
A quick word of warning, if your watch was water resistant then there is a good chance that it is not anymore. One of the things the retailer will do when they change your watch battery is do a pressure test to check that it is still water tight. Once you get it working again, it may be an idea to take it in to the reatiler and get them to test before you take it into the shower or swimming.
I did a change on a nike watch that was “manufacturer only!!!” The trick was that you had to short out the watch at some point just before you put it all back together. Try to find an online manual for the ironman.
You sound like you know what you’re doing here. I replaced the battery in my anonymous Timex last month. At the risk of being obvious, there was a reset “switch” on the back of the watch board consisting of just a small piece of metal soldered at an angle, with an exposed metal trace “pad” below it. When my watch came back on consisting of randomly lit segments, I bent it down to contact the board and it reset the display.
The back metal cover plate has a little transducer disc glued to it that lets it act like a speaker for alarms etc… IIRC there is a (very) small srpring on the Triathlon that sockets in a hole the plastic module and sticks out enough to contact this transducer. If this spring is missing or not contacting the transducer disc all functions will work except for the sound. It’s quite common to easily lose this tiny little spring when working ont he watch.
Alternatively if the disc is slightly oiff center the spring may not be making contact. The Triathlon back is up/down symmetrical. Make sure the lettering on the black plate is aligned (ie reading) in the same “up” direction as the lettering on the face.
The reset “button” they are talking about is a reset spring contact on the module that you press together once you change the battery to restart the watch. If the watch is running it’s not necessary to press it again. It has nothing to do with the sound.
BTW if it is a missing spring you can usually go to the Goodwill or similar thrift and get a beat up Triathlon for a dollar or so which you can use to part out and get the spring.
I just have to say thanks for this thread and for those who answered it because the same thing happened to my G-Shock when I changed the battery myself. I did this because I was overseas and trusted myself more than some foreign watch shop. Silly me. :smack:
I pretty much figured I broke my watch, but thanks to astro et al., I see that perhaps I can get my watch repaired without paying more than its original value.
Thanks, I think you have described it precisely. Unfortunately, all my manipulations have still failed. The best I have gotten is a beep when I press the timer Start button. But it still didn’t beep when the timer or an alarm went off. Now, I’m back to no sounds at all.
I guess I’ll have to take it in to the shop or buy a new one…