Imagine yourself getting ready for an event. You are thinking of wearing your favorite watch to complete the look. You take out the watch from the box only to find it stop working!
I’m sure you have experienced a somewhat similar experience at least once in your life. But what to do in such times?
If you use solar watches like Seiko, it won’t be much of a problem. You only have to charge it. But do you know how to charge a Seiko solar watch?
Since you have stopped by this article, I’m assuming that you are a little confused regarding the charging process. Well, we have tried to explain all the necessary points in this article. How about giving it a read?
Table of Contents
How To Charge Seiko Solar Watch?
How can you possibly know when the battery of your watch will die? It’s uncertain. That’s why people now prefer solar watches that can be charged anytime, anywhere! How? By using sunlight!
As the name suggests, Seiko solar watches use solar energy to function. It has solar cells installed instead of regular dry cells or button batteries.
The solar cell receives solar energy from sunlight. Then inside the watch, it alters into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy remains stored in the cell and keeps the mechanism of the clock running.
Unlike normal dry cells, the solar cell is rechargeable and can function for a long time. Once fully charged, it can last for 6 to 12 months, even in complete darkness, without any further charging.
Proper Way To Charge
How to charge Seiko solar watch? It’s easy. All you need to do is, place it in the light. You can put it under sunlight or room light. The choice is yours. In both cases, the watch will charge. However, in the room light, it will take much longer to charge than sunlight.
Room lights are soft in comparison to sunlight. They are not strong enough to charge a solar cell in a short time. That’s why, if you plan to charge your watch using room light, you have to leave it for a minimum of 24 hours to be fully charged.
Under sufficient sunlight, 3-5 hours is enough to charge a Seiko solar watch completely. However, it is advised not to put the watch in direct sunlight as it will heat up the watch insanely. It will only damage the battery and shorten Seiko solar watch battery life.
You can put the watch beside the window. But remember to face the dial towards the source of light.
Complete Charging
As I mentioned earlier, you have to leave your watch for a minimum of 3 hours in enough sunlight to have it fully charged. Once the battery is fully charged, it can work for 6 to 12 months, depending on its capacity.
Temporary Charging
If you are in a hurry and don’t have enough time to leave your watch to be adequately charged, you can charge it for a short time.
If you put a Seiko solar watch for 3-5 minutes in enough sunlight, it can give you service for 24 hours. You can charge it properly later on when you get time.
Seiko Solar Watch Not Charging: What To Do?
As solar watches use rechargeable batteries, it can be easily charged using sunlight. But in case your watch is not charging correctly, you may have to pay attention to some things.
- Your watch is probably not getting enough sunlight. Place it near the window or somewhere else where it can get sufficient light.
- You are probably using long-sleeved attires, and your watch gets hidden inside the clothing. Hence, it’s not getting any room light which is making it hard to charge. It is better to leave the watch to charge while you are not wearing it.
- When you store the watch in a closed box where no light is available, it can not charge. So, keep it somewhere bright.
- If you are using the watch for a long time, let’s say years, the battery may be damaged or rusty. It can be another cause for your Seiko solar watch not charging. In that case, you may need to get a solar watch battery replacement.
My Seiko Solar Watch Keeps Stopping: What’s the Solution?
Seiko solar watch can stop for multiple reasons. For example, if the battery is dead from not getting enough light to charge. Or the watch is probably on ‘power saving mode.’
There’s an advanced feature called ‘power saving mode’ in some recent Seiko solar watch models.’ Whenever the battery charge becomes low, the watch activates the power-saving mode to save the remaining charge for later use.
In this mode, the clock’s hands stop moving. But the internal mechanism keeps running. Later on, when you bring the watch to light, it gives you the correct time and starts running again.
15 Seconds Stop
If you find the watch hands stopped at 15 Seconds, understand that the battery charge is low. And as a result, it has activated ‘power saving mode 1’ inside it.
If you let the watch charge again, it will give you the correct time without resetting it.
45 Seconds Stop
The watch stops running at 45 Seconds when the charge is shallow. It is the ‘power saving mode 2’ phase. But it can also give you the correct time without resetting if it gets charged again.
FAQ:
The charging time may vary a little depending on the watch model. But typically, for almost all Seiko solar watches, 3 hours of bright sunlight is enough to charge completely.
A Seiko solar watch charged fully under sufficient sunlight can last for 6-12 months without any further
charge, even in complete darkness. A 3-5 minutes charge is enough to last for a day. Seiko solar batteries have 10-20 years of battery life if they are charged and maintained regularly.
If your solar watch keeps stopping frequently, it may be running out of power. Most of the internal
mechanism stops working once the charge is very low. So, put it under light, let it charge, it will come back to life again.
Yes, definitely. A solar watch can be charged using any kind of light source. But since the room light is
not so bright as sunlight, it will take way too much time to completely charge your solar watch.
Battery change and repair for solar watches are more expensive in comparison to regular watches. As
solar watches come with a special solar cell, not a regular dry cell, they can last for a very long time. But
at the same time, the batteries are quite costly.
Final Words
It’s irritating when your watch suddenly stops moving without your knowledge. It’s very inconvenient if you have a tight schedule and need to maintain time strictly. Even though now we have smartphones to see time, it’s a hassle to fish out your phone every time you need to know the time.
But if you have a Seiko solar watch, this situation can be easily handled. You only need to know how to charge Seiko solar watch. Then you can charge it and keep using it.
Hopefully, this article was helpful and cleared your confusion regarding solar watch charging.
