Quartz Clock Movement Troubleshooting Tips

Created by Clock Shop Development Team, Modified on Tue, 11 Jul 2023 at 12:45 PM by Clock Shop Development Team

Quartz Clock Movement Troubleshooting Tips

Whilst the majority of quartz clock movements install and work perfectly, occasionally you might encounter an issue with the movement that needs some form of troubleshooting to fix. To determine if the movement is faulty, you first have to eliminate a few possible factors. If you are having trouble with a movement, simply follow our troubleshooting guide below to better understand what you need to do to diagnose a faulty quartz clock movement.

3 Most Common Fixes For Quartz Clock Movements

1. Replace the existing battery with a brand new, high quality alkaline battery.

This is the most common solution for the majority of quartz movement issues. More often than not, people will assume that a battery is simply a battery, and therefore put in the first battery they find in a draw. Even new batteries which have been sitting inside a packet in storage for some time are prone to losing charge, which results in the movement not working optimally (and in some cases, not providing enough charge to power the movement at all)!

Our recommendation is to always use a brand new, high quality alkaline battery which has been purchased directly from the shops within the last week or two. We recommend Panasonic, Duracell, or Energizer Max brands as these seem to perform optimally with our clock movements. Batteries from cheaper, bulk buy brands may not work optimally with clock movements, not providing enough power or lasting long enough. They are also more prone to leaking which will damage the clock movement. Please never use rechargeable batteries, carbon zinc or lithium batteries in a quartz clock movement as these are not optimal enough to operate the movement and power a clock.

We also strongly recommended to change the battery in a clock movement once a year with a brand new battery. This will ensure the battery performs optimally and doesn't cause the clock to slow or stop, whilst also reducing the possibility of battery leakage and corrosion.

2. Ensure The Hands Aren't Touching.

If a new battery does not fix the issue, check to see if your hands are touching either the dial, the glass lens, or each other. If they are, this will either slow or seize the movement entirely. To see if your hands are touching at all, look at your clock from a side on angle, ensuring the hands are parallel to each other as well as the dial. If they are angled at all, then they may touch at crossing points throughout their journey around the dial, resulting in the movement to slow or stop.

Sometimes this is hard to determine when the hands are concealed behind a glass lens. The best way to test this is to remove the movement from the clock and test it out of the clock.

3. Testing The Movement Independently From The Clock.

By testing the movement independently from the clock itself, you will be able to determine whether there has been an issue during installation of the movement or clock parts.

To perform this task, take out the battery and take off the hands prior to removing the movement out of the clock completely. Be careful not to damage the movement shafts whilst removing the hands. The best way to remove the hands is to carefully hold each side of the hand where the shaft is, and slowly pulling up and away whilst gently wiggling the hand. This will ensure you don't pull out any of the movement shafts, ultimately rendering the movement useless. Once the movement has been removed, re-attach the hands and insert the battery into the isolated movement, ensuring the hands are parallel so they do not touch each other. Next, you can set the hands to the current time using the time adjustment wheel at the back of the movement, ensuring to test the clock for the next few hours. It might be helpful to place the movement on the centre of your clock dial so you can roughly tell the time. This way you can check if it works, and if it keeps time. If testing a high torque it might be useful to hold the movement in place with a vice. Be sure not to squeeze the vice too tight and crush the movement.

If you find that the movement is driving the hands correctly outside of the clock, then the movement may have been installed incorrectly in some way. Next we are going to consider some common issues that can arise during installation:

Check to see if the hex nut or fixing nut have been screwed on too firmly, placing unnecessary pressure on the black casing and seizing the internal mechanisms
Check to see if the hand nut that is holding the minute hand is secure but not overtight. Sometimes people use a tool to tighten this nut, accidentally twisting it too much and damaging the minute hand shaft in the process. The amount of friction needed to secure the movement to the clock is quite minimal, and it should be just tight enough to hold the movement and not wobble around in the process. Finger tight will suffice, or a gentle tweak with pliers will also be sufficient. The hands should not be touching anything, and should be held firmly in place so they only move around the dial as the clock movement drives the hands. If they are wobbly, or not sitting firmly on the shaft then rectify this first.
If using a seconds hand, check to see if the hand has been pushed on too hard/ in too far, seizing the movement. It should be lightly pressed on so it grips the pin.
If the clock has a lens, check to see if the shaft length of the movement is too long, causing the hands touch the inside of the lens
Use the hand adjustment wheel at the back of the movement to spin the hand shaft around a few times to see if the movement starts to work. Occasionally they don't start straight away due to sitting with oil in the oil wells of the movement, but once free and running this is no longer a problem.

If the steps above have not rectified the issue, and the movement is not working outside of the clock, then you most likely have a faulty movement which will need replacing. If this is the case, it's best to reach out to Clock Shop via our support centre and submit a ticket. You can do this using the link here - Submit a ticket

Common Issues And Solutions

Issue	Possible Reasons	Solutions
The clock loses time over a period of hours or days	- Battery needs changing - Hands could be touching the dial or each other - The movement could be secured too tightly - The hands have been pressed on too firmly - There could be a battery leak	- Change the battery with a brand new, high quality alkaline battery - Ensure the hands are parallel with both each other and the dial - Test the movement independently from the clock - Check to see if there is any corrosion on the battery terminals
The clock stops at a certain time each day	- Ensure the hands are touching - Check to see if the hands have been secured too loose or firm	- Ensure the hands are parallel with both each other and the dial - Ensure the hands are secured onto the shafts, and are not loose or wobbly
The movement doesn't work at all	- Battery needs changing - Hands could be touching the dial or each other - The movement may have been installed incorrectly - One or more of the hand shafts have been removed - There could be a battery leak - The movement could be faulty	- Change the battery with a brand new, high quality alkaline battery - Ensure the hands are parallel with both each other and the dial. - Test the movement independently from the clock - Inspect the battery terminals to ensure there is no corrosion. If there is corrosion, you'll need a new movement - Inspect the movement to ensure all three shafts are still in their proper places. If any are missing or have been removed, you'll need a new movement
One or more of the clock hands drops down to 6 o'clock	- The hands are not secured on firmly enough.	- Press or secure the hands on with more pressure so they hold in place, and do not feel loose or wobble
The hands don't fit the movement	- The hands are the incorrect fit for the movement	- Purchase suitable hands for the appropriate shaft type you require. Ensure the hand hole dimensions will work with the shaft dimensions of the movement
The minute and hour hands move, but the seconds hand doesn't move / bounces in place.	- The seconds hand has been pushed in too firmly	- Gently wiggle the seconds hand out slightly using the directions above. Keep going until the seconds hand moves as normal. You may have damaged the movement by pushing it in too firmly. If the seconds hand doesn't work at all, you will need a new movement
The clock runs slow when moving the hands from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock, or the hands move normally down to 6 o'clock but the clock stops on the journey back up the dial.	- You are using the incorrect type of hands for the movement / incorrect movement for original hands	- If using a standard movement, ensure that your hands are 160mm or less in length from centre hole to point. If they're larger than 160mm then you'll need a high torque movement for your hands to power the hands fully around the dial

What To Do If These Solutions Haven't Worked.

Most high quality clock movements should last between 5 and 10 years, however in some cases cheaper movements may only last a few years before needing to be replaced. If your movement is older than 5 years and you have been encountering many issues, or you have noticed it has been losing more time than usual lately, then you might need to replace your movement entirely. To do this, follow our step by step helpful guides found in our solutions centre here - Step-by-step DIY movement replacement guide

If you have purchased your movement from Clock Shop and have tried troubleshooting the issue using our guides without avail, then you should reach out via our support centre and submit a ticket - Submit a ticket

If you have not purchased your movement from Clock Shop, and these solutions have not worked for you, then you may need to purchase a new movement for your Clock. You can find many suitable high quality replacement movements on our website here - Replacement clock parts

Thank you for reading our quartz movement troubleshooting guide.