How often you are shorting the batteries per video?

@@mititeimaricei shorted out quite a few actually. Thanks for watching.

@@AvgJoeWatchReviews I've learned it in the hard way. Solution: plastic tweezers and wood tooth picks.

That is awesome. Citizen really is a great company.

I have the same situation, except I've had my Cal. 8700 Eco-Drive for about 17 years now. No problems except on occasion I would need to leave it on a window sill for several hours to give it a nice prolonged charge from direct sunlight like once or twice a year, in addition to the light (natural and artificial) that it normally receives while on my wrist. However, recently it seems like it doesn't want to charge properly no matter how long I leave it in direct sunlight or under a lamp. I'm thinking the battery after 17 years of use has been worn down and can no longer hold a sufficient charge, so that's why I've been searching for videos on how to go about replacing it. But you're saying that Citizen actually offers a LIFETIME warranty on this sort of service? That's not what I heard though... and in fact many Eco-Drive watches that I see on ebay nowadays come with a little booklet saying that the warranty/guarantee is only 5 years on these watches (although they should last and function much longer than that as yours and mine has if properly maintained and not abused). I'll have to see if I can get hold of a Citizen service rep that can agree to replace the battery/capacitor or the entire drive if that's what is needed for free. Otherwise, I'll just do what the OP did here and try to replace the battery.

@@xombieo0723 I wrote a reply to your comment but I can't find it so maybe it didn't post. In essence it said the reply I received from Citizen said the Eco Drive watch movement has a 5 year warranty but the energy cell has a lifetime warranty. The price of the Eco Drive movement was $25. Factor in shipping & insurance, to have a good watched repaired for around $50 wouldn't be bad. I wish you positive results.

Same story here apart from Citizen charging me £80 to replace the capacitor. If I did not love this ultrathin watch I certainly would not have said it was worth paying that much.

That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Awesome, that's value for money! I've always preferred mechanical movements but that said they can't compete with the out and out practicality of a decent solar powered watch. Only a radio controlled watch needs less input from the wearer. I'm a little surprised that anyone bothers with regular battery quartz movements anymore.

Tony Vis agreed! Thanks for watching and sharing.

Which one do you have?

I’m a huge fan of Citizen personally. Sounds like you have a nice collection there. Thanks for watching!

I have a collection of Walmart watches + an ordered Citizen titanium PCAT on the way. Can’t beat the sapphire crystal citizen offers in their low price ranges.

We'd have to agree with bulletproof, had a friend run one through a full cycle wash and it still worked fine. They make quality movements for a reasonable price.

U RICH?

Thanks for watching. It’s a great watch.

I have eco drive (E101 module), in one week. Something odd is happened? At first I put it right time. Next day delay was 2 seconds and it is same after one week!

Please how because mine only works in the light

Hussein’s Vlogs - I own two eco-drives: a Promaster diver’s 200m meter diver. and a Military 20m. I have also owned in the past (until it got stolen) the one described in the video. I never had any trouble with power storage, one having lived in dark of the sock draw for three months and still working perfectly. In a nutshell, it would appear that your battery/capacitor has turned up its toes and needs replacing.

RE: Mark, Same with me. My eco-drive is a 2004 model I got as a gift. Never needed to replace the battery. It just needs real sunlight, not indoor light to charge correctly. Citizen clearly states that in the manual. The capacitor will wear out over time, but it's hardly noticeable if you use the sun to charge it. Mine is 16 yrs old, guess we'll see.

Yeah totally agree here. I've had one for 20 years and just got another, only because the bezel wore out and came off.

Same experience here. I've had a Citizen Stiletto with eco-drive for 15-20 years and it's still running well after charging with sunlight. I've never bought a new battery/capacitor.

Thank you for that. Please subscribe and help support the channel. I’d appreciate it.

Thx for watching

Can’t beat an Eco!

Same here. Bought in '05 on a cruise ship but stopped sometime in 2020. It was put in a box after years of usage, pretty sure that wasn't the proper way to store it. Edit: The thing came back to life. Pulled the crown out and held a flashlight close to the watch face and it started ticking after a few seconds.

Couldn’t agree more. I keep mine around a window now as well.

man350z thanks for the feedback and for watching.

Makes you wonder why all those other watch brands don't just license this technology from Citizen and save the environment in the process as well!(just think of the millions of batteries and money saved yearly by this!) Why would anyone bother buying a normal quartz watch?!!

tony c thanks for watching! Putting them in a drawer doesn’t help. I keep mine in a window sill. They get a nice tan. 👍

Jim Brown wow! Thanks for sharing. That’s pretty amazing. I’m liking these watches more and more as I read the comments.

love it!

Thanks so much Shane for the kind words. I’m actually going to do a video on Citizen’s false claims to charging this watch and set the record straight. Thanks for the feedback and support brother. 👍

That’s awesome. Thx for watching.

I’ve heard the same. Citizen owns the solar market as it’s Eco Drive is the best money can buy.

I used the headlight from a bike. Very very bright. Worked well.

Edgar Hilton awesome. Thanks for watching.

Raymond Makul awesome. I love mine. Definitely quality watches. Thanks for sharing!

8 Eco Drives, let me guess... 1 for everyday of the week + 1 for special occasions?

@@TheNuclearBolton Four stay on Standard time, three on daylight savings time, and one on GMT when I am playing amateur radio.

13noman1 thanks for watching and please keep us updated.

Scott Montgomery that’s some good knowledge there. Didn’t know that about the tab. Thanks for sharing and watching.

My ten year old H11 has a capacitor with five contacts.

Lithium-ion.

For me, I simply leave it in the window sill. No electric bill to worry about. 😉

I keep my 20 year old Eco-drive watch on the window sill when its not worn so it is always fully charged.

Thx for watching

lithium-ion

Albert Chong awesome watches brother. Thanks for sharing. Please subscribe and help support the channel.

John Raymond thanks for sharing. Please subscribe and help support the channel. That’s a long time on the same battery. Impressive.

Stu Sims awesome explanation. Thx for sharing that and watching. Please subscribe if you haven’t already.

Thanks for the information. My Dads watch has been in a box for some months now.

DM RM my pleasure. I hope the video helped you.

So I wear my watch non stop everyday. Constantly in light, what would cause mine too completely quit working?? I hate to think I have to pay to send it off and get this capacitor replaced

Candace Whitfield watch my videos on how to replace a battery and change it yourself. 95-5100 Genuine Original Citizen Watch Energy Cell - Battery - Capacitor for Eco-Drive Watch (Same 295-51)- amzn.to/336trWq

It’s pretty phenomenal! Glad to see you got it ticking again.

Exactly!

Change the capacitor. A little over 20 bucks in Amazon and takes only 5 minutes to replace

Jeffrey Wiley good to know. Thank you 🙏

Jeffery, I have to give you a mad shout out of thanks. I have a Citizen B873-S057892 and it just stopped working and I couldn’t find anything or replacing the battery even though it’s a EcoDrive. I took your advice on two clicks out and wait 30 seconds and low and behold BANG it started right back up. Thank you so much!

Thanks for watching. Timex has the patent for indiglo.

but not the room as the solar panels are inside now where the movement is as well

Thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.

I would like to point out I only discovered this after watching your video and deciding to poke my eco drive watch which I too thought was broken.

Chris Hill that’s awesome man. Thanks for sharing. Please subscribe and help be part of the Avg. Joe family and support the channel. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a good holiday my friend.

RealityHurts923 thanks for watching. Check out my follow up video where I did exactly what you said and fixed the issue.

Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t done so already.

If only men would read the instructions the needs of light to top up the battery would have been known..... But men and reading instructions rarely go together or so they say...... Of course the foregoing is a blanket statement as there are many of us men who do read carefully the instructions for caring for solar powered watches.....Some very good advice in the comments above..... Incidentally i have two Citizens that are solar powered plus one Seiko.... They are all amazing time pieces and keep fantastic time almost to the second....

lithium-ion!

Good eye. Appreciate you sharing.

Lithium-ion

My "gimmick" has gone 17 years without needing a new battery

Seiko's solar Tuna-Lite can fully charge (10 months) in 9 hours of full sun, altho' I always a bit wary of it overheating, tend to keep mine out of direct summer sun if possible.. I keep it in a glass jar so even when stored it's getting some light, and it's simple enough to stand on the window sill to catch some free energy.

You’re correct sir. Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching. Please subscribe if you haven’t already.

You have to the discharge it first

wrong lithium-ion

@@frankgregory8891 Do you repair watches too?

These watches need sun unlike Dracula 🧛‍♂️. 😂

lithium-ion

labrat7357 I actually do know what I’m doing and change the batteries in my watches and actually change batteries for family and friends. Thanks for watching and supporting the channel.

They’re great watches. I got mine working again by keeping it in the window sill for a few days. Thank for watching.

Best explanation I’ve seen yet. Thanks for sharing. 👍

That’s awesome! Thanks for letting me know.

The Real Killa C thank you! Please subscribe and help support the channel.

Wrong not a capacitor lithium-ion.pulling the crown out will not speed up the charging.and its not in a power saving mode lol!

Philip Janes window sill my friend. Will keep a charge guaranteed! Thanks for watching sir.

rationalguy If you only knew what a capacitor was it’s just a little bit a dielectric fluid that multiplies electrons sounds a lot more complicated than it is

@@Erk0806 I'm an electronics tech. I know what a capacitor is.

rationalguy Then you should how low technology it actually is I was this close to buying a Citizen after figuring out what eco-drive actually is I would never consider buying a citizen rather buy a tag Heuer

lithium-ion

Trishanu Ray yes sir! Happy New Year to you and thanks for watching.

Did you get it?

Patrick Luby agreed. These were meant to be everyday wearers and not watch box warriors. Thanks for watching.

SpEd thanks for the feedback and watching. Appreciate it, my friend.

That’s not bad at all! Thanks for watching.

I put this watch in my window sill for a few days and that did the trick. I put all my solar watches near a window now for at least a few days a month now to keep them charged. Thanks for sharing. Please subscribe if you haven’t already.

Agreed 👊

Thanks my friend.

Lithium-ion!

Awesome!! Glad we could help.

Some good points here. Keeping them in a drawer or depriving from sunlight for long periods is not good.

@@AvgJoeWatchReviews Yep that’s exactly what he did for the first seven years he had it he kept it in a drawer when he wore the other ones and that just completely destroyed the battery

Thanks for watching! Please subscribe and help support the channel.

What makes you sure this is a capacitor (I tried to find any clear evidence for this strange claim/info by several people, but I completely failed)? In my understanding this is a special kind of lithium rechargeable battery called MT621 which is produced for example by Panasonic, but somebody has welded an additional contact on it, so it becomes a rechargeable batterie specific to one or several Citizen watches. Why is this my understanding? I know a battery can store energy and I know many devices like cell phones, laptops, power tools, .... are using this technology since about 30 years. A capacitor can also store energy, but I am not aware of any application where a small size/low cost capacitor is able to hold its charge for 180 days as Citizen rates for many Eco Drive watches. I am also failing to understand why a capacitor would have a life time quite exactly between 10 and 20 years, I think for many capacitor types it is much longer. The really strong argument however is what you can find here: industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/batteries/secondary-batteries/coin_rechargeable_lithium/models/MT621 I believe Panasonic's headline "MT series Manganese Titanium Rechargeable Lithium Batteries". Finally Citizen themselves mention the word battery in their Eco Drive Manuals 3x as: (I could not find the word capacitor at all) 1) A secondary battery is used in this watch to store electrical energy. This secondary 2) F. REPLACING THE SECONDARY BATTERY 3) J. SPECIFICATIONS … 10. Battery: Secondary battery Note: Secondary Battery = Rechargeable Battery And here www.citizenwatch-global.com/technologies/eco-drive/ Citizen describes the cell where energy is stored als Lithium-ion cell, which is exactly my understanding.

Wrong lithium-ion

C Wang thanks for watching. Please subscribe and support the channel.

A CAP IS A BATTERY

John Lockman thanks brother. Was trying to be nice. 😁

wrong lithium-ion!

Robert Wilder just needed to keep in the sun longer. All is good now. Thanks for watching.

no watch is solar powered...light powered.

Awesome. Thanks for commenting and engaging, which helps the algorithm. It’s because of people like you, that this video has become so popular. I thank you. 🙏