Troubleshooting and Repair of the Automatic Winding Module Caliber 3130
We’ve got a worthy patient on the workbench. This watch is familiar and pleasant in every way. It’s a black Rolex Submariner (with no calendar), a member of an endangered ‘tool’ watch species – reliable, with minimal add-ons, great for any situation.
Movement Troubleshooting, Rolex Caliber 3130:
The problem here is that although the watch runs quite accurately, the power reserve just isn’t enough. After manual winding, the watch can run for over 40 hours by itself, but when worn on the hand, the mechanism can’t even last a full day. This means that we shouldn’t focus too much on the escapement mechanism, and should instead direct our attention to the self-winding module.
Let’s get straight to it – we remove the automatic winding module and examine the mechanism. The components all seem to be in excellent condition, everything is clean under the module.
Inspecting the self-winding module.
Red ceramic wheels, signature for Rolex. The teeth are fine, the top side looks close to perfect.
Once we zoom in quite far, some dirt and excess grease residue are visible on the underside of the module.
And here’s the root of our problem: the self-winding rotor post. The grease around it has dried out and formed some rust.
A rather common problem for the Rolex 3130 automatic winding mechanism, it can damage the mechanism quite severely if not fixed in time. Whenever the watch was last serviced, the self-winding module was likely neglected. The escapement and main mechanism were serviced and greased well, no touch-ups needed. However, the watchmaker must’ve either assumed that the module was reliable (which is generally the case) and decided to save some time, or he may have forgotten altogether to disassemble and wash it. Not great either way, let’s fix it.
Servicing and Maintenance
Thankfully, we identified the problem very quickly. If the watch had been forced to run for an extended period of time, the rust around the axis would eventually wear it out and the self-winding module would hang loose and scratch the surrounding parts. In that case, the repair would be considerably more complicated and expensive.
We disassemble the module and clean it, washing every single part. The pivot is cleaned of corrosion and slightly polished.
After reassembly, the module is checked under a microscope and with a cyclotest device. Everything is in order.
In general, this movement is lovely to work with, and one of the most recognised in the history of Swiss watchmaking. I hope that someone will find a way to honour the Rolex 3130 movement in a song or film one day – it is an absolute technological masterpiece!
Final Notes
If you notice that your automatic watch is not winding as well as it used to, it’s worth inspecting the self-winding module (especially if the movement runs well when wound via the crown). We will always try to find the simplest, most optimal solution when it comes to watch repairs, and a timely service will save a great deal of money in the long run.
