DISCLAIMER I am not a watchmaker and have no formal training in the trade of watchmaking. This is not put forward as the correct professional way to service and repair a 6139 movement.
AIM The reason for composing this article is to illustrate how the 6139 movement works and to offer encouragement to those who have mastered the basic techniques required to service complication less movements to venture forth and step up to a Seiko chronograph.
RESOURCES The key element required before starting is to study the technical and repair guides available in the SCWF resources section. These are invaluable and illustrate and give detailed instructions how to assemble, lubricate, repair and troubleshoot.
There is also a good YouTube video about how to service a 6139 movement that offers great insight into the process. It was this video that really gave me the confidence to try for myself. So Google it watch and learn.
VERSIONS OF THE CALIBRE
When working on the 6139 you should be aware that there are several differences between the A and B that although do not necessarily have much effect on the general servicing and assembly will have a bearing on the parts you source if spares are needed.
The differences are fairly minor visually so beware if you do not know the provenance of your spares, its probably best to acquire a complete movement with the calibre marked on the automatic framework.
An easy way to determine the revisions is to cross reference the part numbers in the technical sheets.
THE SUBJECT The movement in this article is the 6139B and has been assembled from the left over parts of several spares movements, although looking dirty and corroded in places it has been cleaned. Also to avoid looking like a gorilla the damaged screw heads was not done by me.
WORKING ON THE MOVEMENT
The general modus operandi for disassembly is the same as for any watch movement. The components are removed and kept in groups along with their relevant screws.
Cleaning techniques are not my specialist subject so I will leave it to the individual to research their own method.. My method is to soak components in naphthalene/lighter fuel to dissolve dirt and old oil and sometimes the ultrasonic cleaner but care must be taken with movement parts as I found some metals stain and tarnish and jewels go awol.
I usually clean and lubricate the Diashock’s and mainspring but this too is outside the scope of this article. Better information than I can produce does already exist in the SCWF resources section.
Once clean inspection for wear and damage can be carried out, trial assembly of components to establish excessive end clearance etc will save time in the long run during the re-build.
The power train is standard Seiko fare and will be familiar to anyone who has serviced 6309/6119’s and similar calibres. Take the cleaned mainplate, lubricate and fit the centre wheel. Fit the centre wheel bridge and screw, this is probably unnecessary but I check for free play.
Then I fit the cannon pinion loosely first and seat it by gently pushing down onto my soft work mat, it should click into position on the centre wheel shaft. With the mainplate dial side up fit the stem/clutch. Setting lever and clutch yoke.
Fit the setting lever spring and screws, check the operation of the setting lever and clutch.
Setting wheel, minute wheel and minute wheel bridge next, making sure the chamfered headed screw goes in the southerly location as viewed in the picture below. Check gears for free turning. I usually sprag the minute wheel with a cocktail stick and turn the crown to check the condition of the cannon pinion.
Turn the mainplate over and fit the barrel, escape wheel, third wheel and chronograph centre wheel (fourth wheel).
The barrel and train wheel bridge is installed next. First make sure the coupling levers are in their ‘open’ setting to allow the levers to pass over the chronograph centre wheel’s finger, heart and clutch assembly. It may be necessary to advance the pillar wheel by pushing the first button operating lever. Drop the bridge over its mounting pillars and insert the retaining screws a couple of turns. Next manoeuvre the barrel, centre wheel, third wheel and escapement axels into their respective jewels and nip up the screws checking for free motion of the gear train when the crown is turned before tightening.
do not adjust these
eccentric screws
NOTE
It is possible to take the barrel train wheel bridge down further by removing the pillar wheel and coupling levers if you wish. Do not be tempted to fiddle with the eccentric screw that attaches the second coupling lever as moving it will upset the clutch lift adjustment. Or the eccentric screw adjacent to the pillar wheel that the hammer pivots on.
Barrel click and screw. I usually offer the click up with the screw already in it, holding the click with tweezers in one hand and screwdriver in the other.
Ratchet wheel and screw
Push the first chronograph operating lever to rotate the pillar wheel and ‘close’ the coupling levers onto the clutch assembly.
Fit the operating lever spring
Lay the pallet fork in position. Lay the pallet cock over the pallet fork and loosely insert the screws. I use a cocktail stick to ‘feel’ for location of the pallet fork staffs in the jewels as the pallet fork is gently manipulated with a fine needle. Maintain position of the cock with the cocktail stick as the screws are nipped up. Never tighten until 100% sure the pallet fork is correctly located.
Next comes a fiddly part that will become much easier with practice. Lay the hammer over its locating axle. Fit the end of the hammer spring over the spring anchor on the hammer and around the hammer locating axle keeping a finger over the spring then thread it round the peg located on the mainplate and flyback lever. If the hammer spring will not locate on the flyback lever try advancing the pillar wheel using the first button operating lever. This will put the flyback lever in a more favourable position.
Fit the minute recording wheel and intermediate minute recording wheel. The intermediate minute recording wheel staffs must not be lubricated.
Lay the chronograph bridge loosely over the chronograph gear train and hammer. Locate it on the screw dowels and insert the bridge screws screwing them in only enough to keep the bridge in position. Be very careful not to bend the minute recording jumper as it will need to be manipulated into engagement with the minute recording wheel teeth.
The hammer click will need locating on the hammer post/axle also but this is more robust and less likely to be damaged.
do not bend minute
recording jumper
With a similar technique employed to set the power train wheels manoeuvre the chronograph centre wheel, minute recording wheel and intermediate minute recording wheel staffs into their respective jewels and bearings and nip up the bridge screws. Test for movement of the wheels using a small needle or cocktail stick.
Make sure the intermediate recording wheel is located axially before tightening the screws.
Put a turn or two on the mainspring and fit the balance and cock. I pick up the balance and cock with tweezers holding the two together and then lay the assembly in position over the pallet fork and cock mounting posts and loosely fit the screws. Once the roller jewel has been manoeuvred into the pallet fork and motion achieved the screws can be tightened.
NOTE
At this point I check for chronograph operation in all respects of function and adjustment and also make sure the movement keeps running when the chronograph is both stopped and started.
Flipping back over to the dial side fit the date driving wheel, date finger, day finger and date driving wheel screw. Check for free play.
Hour wheel and date driving wheel next then the date jumper, day/date corrector finger and date dial.
Now fit the date guard and screws but before tightening push the crown in to work the day/ date corrector finger as it can get trapped beneath the date guard.
trapped corrector finger
Locate the day dial over the hour wheel and use a small needle to locate the day jumper into the star.
Fit the ‘C’ clip.
Apart for the automatic framework and weight that just about concludes the movement reassembly.
FITTING THE DIAL AND HANDS
Refitting the dial is straight forward enough and so are setting the hands if you have a little previous practice. The first hand setting I carried out on a 6139 with all NOS hands and was done using a simple stick type hand setting tool. Installing the NOS chronograph sweep hand was a bit nerve wracking due to the limited control; the pressure required could result in a slip and damaged dial. I subsequently purchased a cheap plunger type tool, it’s worth its weight in gold.
There is a dedicated movement holder for hand setting that allows the hammer/flyback pusher to be held in and also supports the chronograph centre wheel jewel in the chronograph bridge. I do not have one of these and resort to installing the movement into a spare case without the crystal. The only drawback is the chronograph centre wheel jewel is unsupported.
Hold in the flyback pusher and set the chronograph minute recording hand to zero, pay attention how far down the minute recording axle the hand is fitted. Too far and it will touch the dial and cause damage, too little and it could be hit by the hour hand. A reused hand will probably sit at the right level with gentle pressing. Before final pressing run the chronograph and reset a couple of times to ensure the hand resets to zero.
Advance the movement via the crown until the date just flips over and set the hour and minute hands at 12 o’clock in the usual way and check for clearance.
Hold in the flyback pusher and set the Chronograph sweep hand to 12 o’clock. If reusing the existing one (that is dedicated to the chronograph centre wheel axle) it will pop on easily and seat with moderate pressure in the correct location.
Fitting a new chronograph sweep hand is more difficult and nerve wracking if you have mechanical sympathy. It will require a huge amount of pressure to form the hand tube to the profile of the wheels axle. Without chronograph centre wheel jewel support you will risk dislodging the jewel and ruining the chronograph bridge. So far though I have fitted about half a dozen new sweep hands without damage but be warned it is a disaster waiting to happen. I have a few spare chronograph bridges and that helps to relieve the tension as I know I have a spare I can fit.
CHECKING AND ADJUSTING
As mentioned previously for all the necessary adjustment procedures and oiling etc you must refer and digest fully the excellently informative Seiko Technical guides. They provide clear instructions and line diagrams but you will need to persevere with the chaos and unconventional language.
A good movement that has not been messed with will invariably need no adjustments made to the operating levers, chronograph finger or minute recording wheel click.
TROUBLESHOOTING The 6139 calibre is a well executed unit designed for economic manufacture and although because of this it may lack the aesthetic opulence of an expensive Swiss but not reliability, performance and serviceability.
Mass production has the upside of interchangeable parts which helps when replacing old worn and damaged components. The spare part/s from a donor movement (of the correct calibre revision) will invariably fit and work. I have found this true of all the Seiko calibres I have worked on so far.
From experience I have found that the most problems arise from previous miss maintenance, broken hair springs, staffs, missing and misplaced components etc. An old 6139 that has sticking pushers and badly resetting hands but has not been tampered with can more often than not be restored to fully functioning with a service.
The Seiko Technical Guides/Service sheets and their relevant addenda cover troubleshooting, adjustment and repair in some detail and must be referred to for the correct manufacturer recommended method and procedure. The following items covered below I can relate from my own experiences:-
Chronograph pushers
No matter what the problem with the chronograph operation always start with the pushers, they can cause some strange effects and may result in a simple fix. Check the following:- Cleanliness, condition of seals, straightness, are there springs fitted?
I have had randomly resetting chronograph hands that was caused by a gummed up flyback pusher which limits the travel of the pusher/flyback lever and hammer. The hammer does not strike the heart/s deep enough to reset the hands to a definite zero position.
Day/date quickset
The mechanism is reliable but if pushing the crown struggles to change the day/date there may be dirt behind the crown or the stem may be too short. As covered in the reassembly section check the day/date finger is not trapped beneath the date dial guard.
Chronograph sweep hand
If the chronograph sweephand does not reset to zero and dirty/defective pushers have been eliminated the hand may have slipped on the axel, see Seiko Technical Guide. There could be dirt on the heart/flyback hammer interface or the chronograph centre wheel itself damaged (needs replacement).
Chronograph minute recording hand
If this does not reset to zero it may have moved on its axel or the flyback pusher is dirty. I have had a few minute recording wheels that the heart has become detached, this requires a replacement.
Movement stops when the chronograph is not running
The chronograph centre wheel is the heart of the chronograph complication. It comprises of a central axel to which one end the sweep hand is attached and at the other the finger that advances the minute recording wheel. The fourth wheel is mounted on a bush/bearing and is free to rotate independently of the axel (where on a conventional movement it would be fixed). A clutch ring and spring connects the two to run the chronograph and this is worked by the operating levers.
So when the chronograph complication is not running the operating levers are lifting the clutch and any damage, wear and miss adjustment here causing friction will stop the movement.
The operating levers are not lifting the clutch evenly due to being out of synch. This can be adjusted with the eccentric screw fulcrum of the second operating lever. See Seiko technical manual.
The fourth wheel could be binding on the axel, could be dirty/lack of lubrication
The clutch ring damaged/bent, see photograph below for an exaggerated example that I think must be caused by miss maintenance. Replacement chronograph centre wheel required.
The left hand chronograph centre wheel is from a 6139B and the right is a 6139A. You can understand why it is important to obtain the right calibre revision for the complication parts as you can see the relative heights of the clutch rings differ.
Movement stops when trying to run the chronograph
In this condition the operating levers are not contacting the clutch ring so the only cause to stall the movement will be related to the following:-
The chronograph centre wheel finger is either out of adjustment or bent (or has been miss bent) and is contacting the intermediate minute recording wheel at the wrong angle.
The minute recording wheel jumper is out of adjustment in either tension, or length causing the intermediate minute recording wheel to park in the wrong position.
Binding of the minute recording wheel or intermediate minute recording wheel axel/ bearings.
Flyback lever/pusher not working 6139B
The pusher seems floppy and not connected to anything. Open the case up and make sure the end of the hammer spring is hooked over the flyback lever.
Flyback pusher requires excessive pressure to operate.
The hammer click holds the force from the pusher to release it at a pre determined force necessary to whack the hearts and zero the chronograph hands with a positive snap.
A great deal of hammer force is unnecessary and only puts undue wear on the hammer and chronograph wheels. See the Seiko technical manual for the adjustment procedure. I always check and adjust the hammer click if necessary by bending the click a little at a time to achieve a light but positive resetting click.
The chronograph complication is gaining time relative to the timepiece.
This effect can be quite marked and is caused by a weak chronograph clutch spring. Over time the spring looses its tension and the friction between the fourth wheel and clutch ring is overcome by the beat inertia of the sweep hand/axel/finger.
To preserve the clutch spring the chronograph complication is best left running.
The only cure is a replacement chronograph centre wheel from the correct revision.
When I service a 6139 or swap chronograph centre wheels I check the condition of the clutch spring by holding the axel and feeling the torque applied to the fourth wheel to overcome the clutch friction. I have had the opportunity to compare several unserviceable units with good ones and have developed an empirical feel for them now.
Day wheel does not line up with the day window
The day disc has slipped on the star. If not too loose it may be simply pushed back into alignment once removed from the movement. Otherwise the day wheel can be Superglued to the star, but if you do make sure the glue has 100% cured before letting anywhere near the movement as the fumes will deposit on the surfaces. I prefer to fit a replacement.
The stem fails to reset on insertion
This seems to be a particular foible related to the 6139, although not exclusively.
It has been related by others (and I found out myself) that persevering with wiggling and fiddling upon insertion of the stem can often yield results and the stem eventually resetting.
There must be a mechanical explanation for this so I decided to look into it. This phenomenon will only happen when the setting lever and clutch are in the hand setting position as illustrated below. What happens is when the setting lever axel (release pin) is pushed in too far the clutch yoke can slip under the setting lever preventing the setting pin from seating in the stems setting pin groove. This cannot happen in the crown in position because the setting lever is restrained by the date corrector.
date corrector
yoke under setting lever
setting lever in hand
setting position
To fix this problem you will need to insert the stem at an angle to push into the end of the clutch (not enter its hole) this will then drag the yoke from under the setting lever and allow the setting pin to re-enter the stems setting groove. Note the angle of the stem rocking the clutch toward the dial side.
clutch releases yokr aim to push the end
from being trapped of the clutch with under setting lever the stem
So there you have it always remove the stem with the crown in the non-setting position and if you forget and the setting lever becomes stuck, no need to strip down.
CONCLUSION Initial impressions of the 6139 calibre are that is appears to be a blend of industrial and Heath Robinson in general appearance but this belies its underlying functional simplicity. A tinkerer who has mastered basic movement servicing and possessing aptitude will have no trouble with the added complications that are tacked onto the base calibre once its mechanics are understood.
