Casio Mudman repair..any experience with their CS?

[GraysonK]

Hi guys and gals,
My Casio Mudman, only 3 years old, needs some repair I think.  The illuminator won't work anymore.  I think it's a battery thing, but I can barely read the time anymore.  Is it a battery issue?  I know that Casio says to send it in if it needs repair or a new battery...anyone have any experience with their customer service?  It's not atomic solar, just plain old Mudman.  Can I replace the battery myself if that's the problem?  Or should I send it in? 
Thanks,
Kel

[Swiss Man]

Hi guys and gals,
My Casio Mudman, only 3 years old, needs some repair I think.  The illuminator won't work anymore.  I think it's a battery thing, but I can barely read the time anymore.  Is it a battery issue?  I know that Casio says to send it in if it needs repair or a new battery...anyone have any experience with their customer service?  It's not atomic solar, just plain old Mudman.  Can I replace the battery myself if that's the problem?  Or should I send it in? 
Thanks,
Kel

If you have jeweler screwdrivers, good eyes and patient then you can do it yourself.

I had a Timex once that I replaced the battery and they had those Jesus screws ( you know the ones if you drop them you need Jesus' help to find them). I dropped one and it took FOREVER before I found it.

If you have a jeweler in the area I would suggest them (a real jeweler not a local department store or mall area).

[Sazabi]

Hi guys and gals,
My Casio Mudman, only 3 years old, needs some repair I think.  The illuminator won't work anymore.  I think it's a battery thing, but I can barely read the time anymore.  Is it a battery issue?  I know that Casio says to send it in if it needs repair or a new battery...anyone have any experience with their customer service?  It's not atomic solar, just plain old Mudman.  Can I replace the battery myself if that's the problem?  Or should I send it in? 
Thanks,
Kel

If you have jeweler screwdrivers, good eyes and patient then you can do it yourself.

I had a Timex once that I replaced the battery and they had those Jesus screws (you know the ones if you drop them you need Jesus' help to find them). I dropped one and it took FOREVER before I found it.

If you have a jeweler in the area I would suggest them (a real jeweler not a local department store or mall area).

A magnet could always come in handy, if you have carpeting, or simply do your work over a jar lid gripping square - the rubber equivalent of pot holders; the rubber should minimize bounce, and the color - if dark - would make the metallic screw(s) stand out in stark contrast.   The pot holder would also prevent undue scratching of the watch face, too.

[Threeme2189]

I have replaced a few watch batteries.
All you need is a tiny screw driver, steady hands and somewhere to put the tiny screws (a cup or similar).
It's pretty easy.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yes, no, maybe and twice.

One of the reasons Casio (and other watch companies) say to send the watch in or go to an authorized service center is because of the waterproofing.  You can do it yourself, but be careful of the super thin rubber gasket when you take the back off.  If it gets unseated (they often stick to the back of the case) then you have to make sure it goes right back into the small trough it came out of.  It's not difficult to do, but it is very important that you pay close attention to where it goes.  If it doesn't go back exactly right, your watch may not be waterproof anymore.

The other thing to remember is not to invert the watch for any reason.  Inside the back of the case on many digital watches is what looks like a round (usually white) sticker.  It's not a sticker, it's a piezoelectric speaker- where all the beeps come from.  There is a small spring that connects that to the board inside the watch, and that spring just sits in a hole, and isn't fixed to anything.  If you invert the watch when it's open you'll lose that spring and you'll have a hell of a time finding it or a replacement, and your watch may be silenced forever.

If you take your time and are extremely careful, you can change your battery yourself, but if you damage that gasket or lose the spring, you can find yourself sending it in for service anyway, only this time it'll probably cost more, and if you watch is still under warranty, it won't be anymore.

I did a lot of watch surgery when I worked at a place called "The Time Shop" where I fixed watches and jewelry.  The spring thing is something I found out the hard way, and think I used up at least three year's worth of luck finding it again!  The gasket thing was one I learned shortly after when I got lots of nice expensive watches in for repair after they'd filled up with water.  The only way to fix them then was to take the customer for a walk over to the watch counter and have them pick out a new one!

Def

[Top-Gear-24]

Yep, 3 years is the Average battery life on my G-Shock (an old DW6900) too, I always take it to the jewelry store where I buy all my watches, I've changed batteries myself in the past but I found myself losing sleep worrying if it was still waterproof, so no more "do it myself" for me  .

[Threeme2189]

One more little tip, If you do need to put the thin rubber gasket back on and it just doesn't want to stay put, smear a tiny bit of vaseline or similar substance on it.
it will make the rubber "stick" in place until you can put the metal plate back, without harming the rubber or the watch circuitry.


BTW this is my 800th post 

[Zed]

I do agree with def on this so if you have the money around £20 for it to be done in the uk i would, but ive changed all the batteries in my casios ive had and swam bashed etc etc with no problems, my prg-40 did well this week going down the water shoots diving down with real presure with no problems, if you do do it , sa def said watch gaskets etc, and remeber to AC the batteries to get them going 

[jekostas]

One more little tip, If you do need to put the thin rubber gasket back on and it just doesn't want to stay put, smear a tiny bit of vaseline or similar substance on it.
it will make the rubber "stick" in place until you can put the metal plate back, without harming the rubber or the watch circuitry.


BTW this is my 800th post 

Um... regular vaseline is a petroleum based product and should NOT be used on rubber gaskets.  Coupled with the fact that it's essentially sealed in and the petroleum cannot escape through evaporation, there's a decent chance your gasket will come out in pieces next time.

Silicone or petroleum-free lithium dielectric lubricants would be a much better idea.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was wondering about that myself...

Def

[Zed]

sorry forgot to say, use silicone grease on the gaskets, i do this to all my watches i get second hand with no problems, you can get silicone grease off ebay pretty cheap, just lightly lube and make sure there is no dust etc in the groove where the gasket goes 

[Threeme2189]

My bad...
Well I did it on a cheap watch, so I don't really care what happens to the gasket

[Cyclone82]

Be careful with the battery replacing. 2 times i did it but after the watchs were dead and i killed 2 that were working before hand. The only thing i could put it down to was that there must of been some static electricity in my fingers that damaged sensitve electronics somehow. Next time im wearing rubbergloves.

[Zed]

Be careful with the battery replacing. 2 times i did it but after the watchs were dead and i killed 2 that were working before hand. The only thing i could put it down to was that there must of been some static electricity in my fingers that damaged sensitve electronics somehow. Next time im wearing rubbergloves.

i think your pretty unlucky mate as had no problems and done lots, one main thing is to AC the battery once fitted to get the watch re-set and up and running,the only casio i had a problem with ac'ing it was my protrek and it was my fauly as held the tweezers in the wrong place    it does have pics of contacy points on these watches,