Pulsar V233-0060 stripped down

I bought a cheap Pulsar V233-0060 on eBay, you know, one that was advertised as “was working 10 years ago, just needs a battery”.

Of course if that was true, the seller would fit the battery and describe it as working and get lots more money for it.

Pulsar is one of Seiko's brands, and this movement appears in Seiko branded watches.

Anyway, as it inevitably the case, it did not work.

External examination revealed that with a good battery, the 32kHz crystal was running, but no motor pulses. A further test with external turbo magnetic drive showed the motion works was working… so now pointing to a coil problem.

On measurement the coil is open circuit, and physical damage probably due to a case opening tool striking the coil is apparent. Coils might still be available, movements aren't, and the watch is not economically repairable.

Above is the movement stripped down (yes, it could be dismantled though lots cannot). See if you can find the stepper motor rotor. Hint, it is magnetic and is stuck to a screw, it is smaller than the screw so a bit hard to see. (Click on the image for a larger pic.)

There you are, that is the stepper motor rotor against a 0.5mm scale.