It died again.
The battery in the NIXON SUPERTIDE.
I had replaced the battery myself before and revived it, but this time the display disappeared sooner than I expected.
“What, already?”
was my honest reaction.
The SUPERTIDE is a surf watch that shows tide movements.
That said, the number of times KAZUKIN has seriously used this feature in the ocean is not that high.
Even so, if the battery dies, I replace it.
Because the SUPERTIDE is there.
Maybe the five-year-old battery was the culprit
The replacement battery I used last time had been bought quite a while ago.
Checking, I had purchased it about five years earlier.
It was unused, of course, but an unused battery does not stay fresh forever.
It degrades little by little while stored.
I can't tell whether the old battery was really why the last one died quickly.
The watch's own power consumption may have increased, or it could be mere individual variation.
But the mere fact that I put in an old battery makes it look plenty suspicious.
Was it you? Five-year-old battery.
So this time I decided to swap again with a freshly prepared battery.
It's no longer a battery swap. It's resuscitation
Open the case back, take out the old battery, set the new one.
Written out, it's simple.
In practice, though, I have to take care not to lose the tiny screws, check the gasket position, and work carefully so as not to touch the delicate internal parts.
Even on a watch I've opened several times, I can't let my guard down.
Still, this time the swap went relatively smoothly.
The LCD display came back.
Good. The SUPERTIDE lives again.
KAZUKIN, reviving it again and again. This is tenacity.
And then I bent the side-button bracket
If it had ended here, this would have been just a battery swap success story.
But KAZUKIN LAB doesn't end that easily.
While putting it back together, I apparently bent, just a little, the small metal piece that connects the side button to the inside.
After reassembly, the button responds poorly.
A light press does nothing.
I have to push quite hard before it finally works.
What used to respond with a crisp “click” has become a design that checks my resolve:
“Do you really want to use that function?”
Viewing tide information now requires strong willpower.
Did I fix it, or break it?
The battery swap safely restored the watch's display.
Meanwhile, the side button has clearly become harder to press.
Lining up the pluses and minuses calmly, it's a tough call.
It went from a watch with no display to a watch with a display but a hard-to-press button.
Can I call this a successful repair?
At least it's running as a watch again.
Then let's call it a success this time.
By Ore-shiki standards.
I won't let it go easily
Normally, after this many battery swaps and now a poorly responding button, you might think of buying a replacement.
But I'm attached to this SUPERTIDE.
It's not about the low number of times I've used it in the sea, or that I barely use the tide function in daily life.
Things you keep for a long time develop an attachment that performance and frequency of use can't explain.
So I won't let it go easily.
If the LCD goes out, change the battery.
If the screw is stuck, change the tool.
If the button gets hard to press, press harder.
The solutions do seem to be getting a bit more brute-force, but it can't be helped.
As long as the SUPERTIDE runs, KAZUKIN will keep using it.
Summary
I don't know whether this battery failure was due to the old battery bought five years ago.
Even so, after swapping in a new battery, the NIXON SUPERTIDE started running again.
However, I bent the contact bracket for the side button during the work, and now the button only responds if pressed quite hard.
I thought I'd fixed it, but broke another part a little.
Maybe that's part of the charm of DIY battery swaps.
Probably not.
Even so, the SUPERTIDE is keeping time on KAZUKIN's wrist again today.
I'll revive it again and again. I won't let it go easily.
This is less love for a watch than tenacity.
NIXONいいよね
KAZUKIN Rating
- 🔋 Skill at battery swapping — ★★★★☆
- 🕵️ Persuasiveness of the five-year-old-battery culprit theory — ★★★☆☆
- 🔧 Bracket-bending accident during assembly — ★☆☆☆☆
- ♻️ Tenacity to revive it again and again — ★★★★★
- 😅 Temperament that can't end at “just a battery swap article” — ★★★★★
This article is a personal opinion and record. KAZUKIN LAB has no relationship with NIXON. I'm just a NIXON fan. Disassembly such as battery replacement is done at my own risk. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
The illustration is an image based on KAZUKIN's experience. It may differ from real stores and products. It is not an official manufacturer image.