Introduction: Watch Story Part I: Reenergize

About: In my free time, I enjoy building/modifying/dismantling anything I can get my hands on. I am currently an engineering student at UCLA and look forward to sharing more projects with the Instructables community…

Imagine this scenario:  You've just arrived into the classroom to take your SAT, ACT, MCAT, etc. (you name it).  You are stressed out because it is a timed test but no worries, you've got your trusty watch to keep you on track.  Whew!  (Fast forward 20 min)  In the heat of the battle, you glance at your watch to make sure you are on schedule and hitting your marks.....a blank screen.....WOA WHAT??? Did MY watch just die on me?  (Insert colourful language)  Now your routine is messed up for the whole test, shucks.  You get your test scores back, your worst ever.  

You ask yourself, what could I do to prevent this from happening again? Well I present to thee my version of the answer to your particular question.  Fix it yourself!

Part I of my quest: Reenergize (aka. replace battery)

Step 1: Stuff Needed to Build It and Make It Happen

In order to fix the watch (this works for most digital watches), you need the following materials and tools:

~Materials
-Watch
-Watch battery (in my case, a Maxwell CR2016 3V  http://amzn.to/1cshEoP, yours may vary)

~Tools
-Mini screwdriver set

Step 2: Remove the Back Plate

Use your screwdriver to unscrew the four screws on the back plate to access the battery below. 

Step 3: Access Battery, Replace

This may be the trickiest part depending on each watch.  The two screws that hold the battery down are devilishly small and hard to deal with if lost.  I highly recommend magnetizing your screwdriver if it is not already magnetized to ensure that these screws don't fall off when being taken out or replaced.

After taking out the old battery, put in the newly bought one.

Step 4: Finish Up

Replace with new battery, screw the holder back in, check to see if the screen is on, if so, screw back plate back on.
If not, make sure everything was properly taken apart (ie. nothing was severed, mis-screwed, etc.). Sometimes it may just be the battery.

Step 5: Safety

This may sound stupid, but I actually managed to give myself two cuts when trying to wrestle in the back plate of another watch shortly after.  Be careful!

Step 6: Finale

Hope you learned something and saved some money doing it yourself!

Thanks for viewing this Instructable!

Weekend Projects Contest

Participated in the
Weekend Projects Contest