TC V6 Bezel Comes Slightly Off @ 430 Position (Updated)

[mmonesix]

...and allows the bezel to rotate clockwise. 

 

My newly-acquired TC V6 sub has a quirk where in general wear and with little effort (read: w/o my intervention) the bezel will lift at the 430 position - right where the end of the click spring is - and allow it to rotate clockwise.  It does not, however, come off, only turns free.  I took the whole assembly off last night just to check that everything was in place, and nothing appears off except maybe a little warp to the retainer ring, which I took as normal (but I cannot confirm with extensive search). 

 

Seeing as it is a rep, it is possible that the materials aren't up to snuff and this is entirely within the realm of expentancy, and I didn't bother to bring it up with the sell after noticing it out of the box.  I will be taking it off again in a few days to put on the gen insert I ordered and would like to handle it all at once if possible.

 

Thanks

 

 

Edited February 3, 2015 by mmonesix

[droptopman]

I would contact TC, he is usually pretty good about standing behind his work.  

[dbane883]

"Warp to the retainer ring"?

Could be the issue. Sometimes the click spring should be slightly bent to grab the teeth in the bezel.

In the worst case, contact Thomas. He will make it right (although it might take 2-3 months)

[jigelow]

Yeah. It's one of three things, right? Retainer ring, click spring, or outer bezel. Is suppose the crystal retainer could be out of round causing it, but I find that less likely.

[mmonesix]

Wanted to post some updates to this, in the event that anyone experiences the same with their TC sub:

 

I removed the bezel assembly to take a look under the hood.  To get a better look at the mechanics, I removed the insert and then put the bezel back in place to see how it both rotated and bobbed (whatever you would call the movement when pressed, not turned).  What I found was that the free-turning was caused by the click spring popping below the bezel and not going back in place until pressure was applied above the spring.  I knew this to be the case before hand, but it was nice to see firsthand. 

 

So I removed the bezel again and took a closer look at all the pieces:  bezel, bezel spring, and click spring.  The bezel - to my untrained and half-blind eye - was in perfect condition; no deformities or irregularities, and the teeth all in good, clean condition.  The bezel spring had a little deformity to it, but not enough to be of any issue or concern.  The click spring, however, was immediately pegged as the likely culprit.  If you look at the spring, it makes a left turn after the "L" that sits in the hole.  It then wraps under the hood before making a turn out the meet the bezel, and should have a very slight downturn to it.  Well mine appeared a little more than normal - again to my untrained and half-blind eye. 

 

Long and short:  being a spring, it would be quite tedeous to bend just the tip enough to make an adjustment and not totally screw it up - or break it off.  My poor-man's watchmaker solution was to put the click spring back in its spot, wrapped under the hood as it would sit in place.  I then took my bezel removal knife, placed it underneath the spring, and bent it a tiny bit upward using my fine-tuned senses.  Then I placed the bezel spring and bezel back on and gave it a whirl - and to my surprise it worked like a charm!  The bezel would no longer come above the spring during wobble or rotation, and the "click" was both audibly and tactilely stronger, and the anti-rotation (rotation backward as the spring settles between the teeth after each click) improved as well. 

 

So there you go.  If it happens to any of you, make sure all the pieces are in functional shape and then do some prying. 

 

And/or do what I did last night - replace the whole thing with Star Time parts.  Night and Day tactile change for the better. 

[dbane883]

Did you place the friction washer above or below the click spring?

[mmonesix]

Did you place the friction washer above or below the click spring?

 

Below

[dbane883]

ok.. just checking...  congrats on fixing it.   Better than a 2+ month wait for a very simple fix.