On solars dial is the solar panel.afaik

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I don't see anything on photos of the movement that looks like an electrical connection to the dial. That's why I'm uncertain.

 

Dial has to be transparent enough to allow light to pass through to the solar cell which sits beneath it. I think if you look at the edge of that mov’t you can see three metal tabs upon which the cell rests to pass energy to the ‘battery’. I’ve not had one apart yet some am not 100% about the contacts, but I am certain the dial has to allow light to pass through it.


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Either the solar panel is built into the dial itself, or the dial has to be translucent enough to let light pass to the solar panels behind it. In either case, I doubt you'll be able to use a dial intended for a regular Seiko on a solar powered one.

 

+1
On the translucent ones the dials are so opaque that I've yet to notice the solar panels beneath so don't be surprised if you look at the dial and see nothing.

 

So an update on this thread: I took apart my solar tuna to see if the dial could be swapped, it looks like it could only be swapped with another solar dial of the same dimensions. The dial is definitely where the solar panel is and the dial is not entirely round (has indents on the edge to match up with the chapter ring).

I saw no reason why the hands and the crystal couldn't be modded, but you're probably stuck with the original dial on solars. Unfortunately I neglected to take any photos

Since I couldn't swap the dial, I decided to fill it with SubmergeDeep oil instead:

And while I was at it, I figured wth lets fill an old kinetic I have with SubmergeDeep oil too:

Several weeks have passed and the oil seems to have no effect on the watches.

 

That looks fantastic. Have you had any issues on the kinetic watch with keeping it charged since filling it with oil?I would think the oil has to provide more resistance to the rotor than air. Great mod.

 

Interesting thread as the solar line is definitely an oddball. Was never happy with the dial color on my SNE435 soalr PADI, the blue was too deep for me. I do however love my SNE437 after modding it.

 

No issues with it, the oil I used is less viscous than water, still more viscous than air. The problem is I have so many watches on my rotation that it only gets worn about once a month, or even less. But when I do wear it I just shake it a bit to get it started and then by the end of the day its charged. I think if I wore it on a regular basis it would be fine.

 

Hi guys! This is my first post on the forum.

Found this thread when I was looking for solar dive watches Citizen/Seiko and possible future mods and since it helped me, I'm going to put some information that can be useful for future tinkers.

Seiko dive watches use the movements called V157 (only date), V138 (day date).
Epson sell the same movement at the name VS43 for 40 bucks on Ebay and it does came with new rechargeable battery and a new photocell.

• The dial is not compatible with mechanical dive Seiko cause it has to be transparent and is mounted different too.
• The hands are not even close to be compatible with NH3 series mechanical movements cause the holes are different

• NH35/36 hands are 150/90/21 (hour/minute/sweep second).
• V158/VS43 hands are 110/65/20, so any hands made for the NH3 series will be loose. This holes sizes are more common in Seiko quartz watches, so maybe is a way to find it (I could not). Ordinary quartz hands are 120/70/10.

Final thoughts:

• If you want a watch to mod, better to stay on the NH3 compatible mechanical series.
• If you want a solar for keeping better time, choose the Seiko without blinking cause you can easily change all the movement and solar cell for 40 bucks. The Citizen hasway more expensive parts.

After a lot of research, this whole solar thing do not makes sense to me anymore cause the rechargeable battery on very a well used solar watch will last 10 to 15 years fail.
That are quartz movement that that can last more than 10 years without stopping ( 3v CR2016 battery, for example).

So, for the sake of keeping time that is no real good reason for the solar complication. Better to have a long life movement to service it at 5 to 8 years interval to replace the battery and the gaskets.

My dream quartz dive would be sweeping seconds, long life movement that fits the dials, case and hands of the mechanical ones, so we could do all the Seiko mod we want. =)