G-shock Tough solar problem

supes

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I have a G2800 Casio G-shock Tough Solar powered watch. Almost a week ago, the power level meter went to the last level and it now won't show anything except the level meter. I tried to put it under a lamp to charge but no luck. I then tried my X5T with used SF batteries from my incand. lights for a couple of days directly shining on the face of the watch. The level meter is still at it's lowest. What should I do? Thanks in advance.
 

stockae92

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changing the rechargeable battery fixed the problem on some of the tough solar g shock, but not all

you should try that to see if it works

i think some (g5600) has problem in their charging circuit
 

sotyakr

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The exact same thing happened to my just over year old GW300. Guess that shot down one of the main reasons for getting it in the first place (no maintenance). At least I had an out as it was purchased at Costco, and they have a great return policy. I need a new beater watch for work, and would like to give another "Tough Solar" G-Shock a shot, but needless to say, I'm a little hesitant.
 

supes

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I don't understand. If it was a battery problem won't the battery meter be blank?
I put it in the sunlight near a window today with no luck. It is still at Level 4 out of 5 levels with Level 5 being blank and no power. There is still the last bar on the meter blinking to signal it needs to charge.

I was thinking of using my SF L4 or SF M3 directed at it for like 5-10 minutes or something but I'm not sure it would work. The battery I would need to get is a CASIO-specified CTL1616. that's what it said in the manual. Is it possible to send it under warranty even if I bought it on ebay? Thanks for all the replies.
 

sotyakr

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You may want to give Casio's product support a shot. Here's a contact # off of their site - 800-634-1895. They're supposed to be available Mon.- Fri. 9am - 8pm EST. I'd be interested in what they have to say! Good luck.
 

billgr

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i have a different model casio solar and i can never get it to a full charge.......i always get 4 out of 5 bars also.....i live with it as it works fine though
 

supes

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Thanks for the replies.

sotyakr,
Thanks for the number. I called that and they directed me to the technical area but there were only open till 5pm so I'm going to try tomorrow.

In the meantime, I was thinking about getting another watch. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
 

Wingerr

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I had a similar problem with my Casio Solar Triple Sensor watch; battery indication showed it was charged, but when I tried using any of the higher current functions like backlight or magnetic bearing compass, it would wink out and reset. I charged it for days under my CFL lamp, so I figured it was charged, and the battery must be bad.
Tried contacting Casio, but they never replied, and I couldn't get them on the phone. I was about ready to write the Casio off, and revised my opinion of Casio customer service, which I formerly thought was good.

What I finally did was give it a *really* goood charge under full sun, and that brought it back to full operation.
The charging process really needs a good long charge under direct light if you let it discharge way down; it's definitely not a quick thing. Forget about charging with a flashlight, that just doesn't do a thing. If you look at the specs on how long it takes to charge, even normally with direct sun, it's a lot longer than I expected.
Anyway, leave it outside in the sunlight if you must, not just through a window, which filters out the high energy photons you want to capture- it should come back.
 

sotyakr

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Interesting. Glad to hear you got yours back into working order.

I work outdoors, so my GW-300 was exposed to unfiltered sun at least 7 hours a day. Then one day I strapped it on and there was no display, so I left it outside for a day, got a couple bars but it died again shortly thereafter leading me to believe the battery was history. Unlikely as it is, it made me wonder if it developed some sort of battery memory or deterioration issue from the effects of too much exposure to the sun.
 

Wingerr

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Well, your symptoms are different from what I had, so it does sound like you've got something wrong with it, especially if you charge it fully on a daily basis. My two solar Casios generally don't see much light except when I remember to stick it on the dash while driving, to collect what photons I can.
 

dg

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I find it odd that these 'solar powered' watches can suffer battery failure just like any other quartz watch.

Might just as well power it of a long life lithium and do away with the extra complication of the solar cell
 

sotyakr

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That's the conclusion I'm coming to (at least Casio's implementation of it), especially as most "conventional" lithium powered, quartz watches seem to get 2-5 years (or, possibly more) of battery life and my solar watch made it to just over a year.


[ QUOTE ]
dg said:
I find it odd that these 'solar powered' watches can suffer battery failure just like any other quartz watch.

Might just as well power it of a long life lithium and do away with the extra complication of the solar cell

[/ QUOTE ]
 

Minjin

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Well, these G Shocks seem to have problems. And the older Seiko Kinetics had lots of problems as well. But Citizen Eco Drives seem to be rock solid. I've rarely heard of a battery in an Eco Drive going bad and I recall a knowledgable Citizen rep saying that the cells were rated to 30 years...

Mark
 

Wingerr

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[ QUOTE ]
dg said:
I find it odd that these 'solar powered' watches can suffer battery failure just like any other quartz watch.

Might just as well power it of a long life lithium and do away with the extra complication of the solar cell

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the real benefit of the solar power is only for watches that use a lot of power, like my triple sensor. The magnetic bearing compass sensor draws a fair amount of current, so it would need frequent battery replacement with normal cells.
For a standard G-Shock, the usual lithium cells are much better, considering I must have gotten something like 5 years on the batteries and still going (never using the backlight or alarm functions on it much).
I don't know how much power the atomic watch uses, but the solar power is nice when you want to make frequent use of the backlight. Not having to break the seals to replace the batteries is a plus.
 

*Bryan*

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[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:
I think the real benefit of the solar power is only for watches that use a lot of power, like my triple sensor. The magnetic bearing compass sensor draws a fair amount of current, so it would need frequent battery replacement with normal cells.
For a standard G-Shock, the usual lithium cells are much better, considering I must have gotten something like 5 years on the batteries and still going (never using the backlight or alarm functions on it much).
I don't know how much power the atomic watch uses, but the solar power is nice when you want to make frequent use of the backlight. Not having to break the seals to replace the batteries is a plus.

[/ QUOTE ]

Would your watch be a Pathfinder? I am looking at one now and seems to have the same features you describe. If so, how do you like it?
 

Wingerr

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I have the Casio Protrek Triple Sensor; it's probably the same watch with some cosmetic differences.
It's handy for the compass and barometric features and works pretty well. The thermometer function is pretty much useless for me because it's sitting on the wrist and only telling you how warm it is under your sleeve.
It's a relatively large watch, so you may want to see if that's any concern before getting one.
I did have one problem where it discharged after not bothering to give it any light for a long time, but it came back after a concerted effort to charge it. Lucky for me, because my attempts to contact Casio about it was a dead end. I have an older non solar model, and the two tiny 395 batteries needed fairly frequent replacement, because the compass uses a lot of power. Solar is much better for this, so I'd consider it essential.
 

glockman99

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I've had a Casio Triple Sensor Tough Solar watch for about a year now, with NO problems. I had a Casio G-Shock GW-300 Tough Solar for about 6 months and never had a problem with it either, (aside from the strap being alittle too short for my large wrist). As mentioned before, the BEST way to re-charge the (Casio) solar watch is by direct, bright sunlight, (but make sure that the watch doesn't get over-heated while in the sun).

I also have a couple Citizen Eco-Drive Diver's Watches (200m & 300m), and have had NO problems with either of those, either.

I'd take the Citizen Eco-Drive over a Casio Tough Solar, anyday, 'tho...
 

Wingerr

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Wow, I still have 5 holes left over on my G Shock Tough Solar- and that still doesn't fit? It is shorter than the Triple Sensor band, though; got 7 holes open on that one..
 
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