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Garmin Vista C "bad Vibrations"


de_cache_man

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I'm having a problem with my Garmin eTrex Vista C. I use it almost exclusively for road biking. I ride my bike on paved roads and I use the GPS to measure speed, distance, elapsed time, elevation, etc. It's been an invaluable tool in my training program.

 

I mount the GPSr to my handlebars with the Garmin handlebar mount. It's sturdy and I've never been worried about hundreds of dollars' worth of GPS crashing to the ground.

 

The problem I have been seeing is that when there is vibration (such as a newly chip-sealed road or a cattle guard in the road), the GPSr powers down.

 

I send an email to Garmin tech support and they gave me an RMA number. I returned the unit to Garmin and they repaired it and sent it back to me. They said that the problem was due to a "loose keypad" and that they had replaced the keypad.

 

The day after the GPSr was returned to me, I went out for a ride and about 30 miles into the ride, the unit shut down again. I thought it was a fluke, but the next day, I rode on the same piece of road and the GPSr kept shutting down. The vibrations from that particular piece of road kept shutting the unit down. Different roads (smoother road surfaces) didn't seem to bother it. Larger bumps (like from railroad tracks or road damage that I saw too late to miss) didn't bother it. I went across a cattleguard and it shut right down. Apparently specific frequencies of vibration kill the unit.

 

I emailed Garmin tech support again and they said that the batteries were probably coming loose inside the unit and that a foam spacer between the batteries and the battery cover would fix the problem. I gave it a shot. I put folded paper between the batteries and the battery cover. It was so tight I could barely get the battery cover back on. A couple of miles later, I hit the same stretch of road, and the unit shut right down.

 

I've replied to Garmin tech support again. It's frustrating though. I have already paid to ship the stupid thing back once, and I'm pretty sure they're going to ask me to ship it back again.

 

Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex GPSr had such "bad vibrations?" Any ideas on how to fix this without sending it back to Garmin again? I'm not at all excited about paying to ship it back to Kansas again, because I'm not at all convinced of their ability to fix the problem.

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I have an old Vista that is/was subject to the loose connections problem. (scrambled screen, etc).

 

Additionally a gps, especially one that is being used on a bike, takes a quite a bit of abuse.

 

That said a C model under a year old should not be having this problem.

 

Let Garmin know they need to replace it for you, under warrantee.

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This is a topic that has been well covered here many times and is well documented with many different GPS units.

 

Apparently on a bumpy road the batteries jiggle off of the contacts for only a microsecond and that is long enough to cause a shutdown.

 

I have had the same problem with my motorcycle and quad and dirt roads with two different Garmin GPS models. Getting a new GPS will not solve your problem. I found Garmin to be of little help with the problem.

 

I came up with a simple solution:

 

Get a tube of di-electric grease/compound from any auto parts store. It's about $2-3 a tube. Place a large dab of the grease on each of the four electric contacts in the Vista. Your problem will be solved. The grease allows the batteries to maintain an electrical connection with the contacts even if you are riding on a bumpy road. We started using the grease about a year ago when motorcycle/quad riding and we haven't had a shutdown since.

Edited by GrnXnham
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i have always used rechargeable batterys in my gps. the other day i put in a set of regular alkaline batterys and noticed something. the regular batterys fit way tighter than the rechargeable ones. so i pulled one back out and compared the two..... the rechargeable one was just slightly shorter(mm shorter)

i dropped my gps with the rechargable batterys in it and it shut off. turned back on fine and still worked great, so after I noticed the slight differance in size, thought maybe this was why it turned off.

Edited by hogrod
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A couple other things you might try:

 

I'm not sure what kind of contacts your particular model has, but you might try bending the contacts outwards a bit. This can help them hold the batteries a little tighter to the contact.

 

If the contact is a folded piece of metal, this works well - as well as putting a bit of foam or something, inside the "V" shape of the contacts might help hold a bit tighter.

 

You might also visit your local Radio Shack and look for a product called "DeOxit Power Booster". You can get it in a "pen" form. Apply some of that contact cleaner to the contacts, as well as some on the batteries themselves. I use this stuff regularly on all kinds of electonics problems, and I've seen it work wonders. I've used MANY different kinds of "cleaners" and most dont work. This stuff does. (I do not have any ties to Radio Shack or Caig Labs (mfgr) - I'm a VERY satisfied customer.)

 

I've had the same issue with my GPS on occasion. A careful bending of the contacts, and a dab of the DeOxit, and it's "better than new".

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Dear de_cache_man,

 

I invite you to read my posts in this thread: Etrex Vista, Powering off by itself... and especially this one.

 

I had exactly the same problem (Vista C + Garmin Handlebar holder; shut down while riding road bike). My conclusion is that the problem does not have to do with loose batteries. Of course if the batteries are loose, the unit will shut off but in my case, it wasn't the cause. I have tested my unit with an external power supply (in my jersey pocket) connected to the unit by wires that were SOLDERED on the battery clips. The unit would still shut off when riding.

 

I did another experiment, I connected this outside power supply to the USB port. The unit never shut down.

 

Conclusion: there is a bad contact somewhere between the battery clips and the PCB.

 

I got a new unit from Garmin a month ago and it works fine until now. So I don't know if this was a defect on a specific unit or a design defect that happens on all Vista C units...

 

Anyway, I have bought a RAM mount and I'll try it this weekend.

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My improvised solution to this problem has been to add some padding (a small piece of paper towel) between the Garmin mount and the GPSr. So far, with several hundred miles of road biking in this mode, it seems to be working well. It seems to have been rapid back and forth shaking in the mount, rather than a single big jolt, that was the most likely to cause a shutdown.

 

Keith

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Thanks all for your input and ideas.

 

I have a new RMA from Garmin to get my GPSr serviced again. I complained to them about having to pay shipping AGAIN with no guarantee that the problem will be fixed. There was no reply to that particular complaint.

 

I'll give them one more shot, and if it's not fixed, I'll be more than a little bit angry. If they send back the same GPSr that I have now, I won't be happy, but then again, maybe a new (refurb) GPSr wouldn't be any better. After all, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, right.

 

I'll probably end up buying a cycling computer for my training anyway...

 

:rolleyes:

Edited by de_cache_man
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A couple other things you might try:

 

I'm not sure what kind of contacts your particular model has, but you might try bending the contacts outwards a bit. This can help them hold the batteries a little tighter to the contact.

 

If the contact is a folded piece of metal, this works well - as well as putting a bit of foam or something, inside the "V" shape of the contacts might help hold a bit tighter.

 

You might also visit your local Radio Shack and look for a product called "DeOxit Power Booster". You can get it in a "pen" form. Apply some of that contact cleaner to the contacts, as well as some on the batteries themselves. I use this stuff regularly on all kinds of electonics problems, and I've seen it work wonders. I've used MANY different kinds of "cleaners" and most dont work. This stuff does. (I do not have any ties to Radio Shack or Caig Labs (mfgr) - I'm a VERY satisfied customer.)

 

I've had the same issue with my GPS on occasion. A careful bending of the contacts, and a dab of the DeOxit, and it's "better than new".

I have used that stuff we call it magic fluid and feel like I know something about electronics because it has solved sooo many electrical connection problems Ed ke6bnl

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I've read through this posting, and feel I MAY have something to add. I purchased a Vista C in May. In about mid-June, while changing batteries, I noticed a few flecks of "glitter" in the battery compartment. Upon closer inspection, I found that the plating was actually flaking off from the battery terminals in the unit.

 

Knowing a bit about electronics (and having just paid quite a bit for this unit), I called Garmin. They acknowledged that this wasn't right and gave me a RMA number. Being a bit impatient, my wife suggested that I call Cabela's (the retailer) to see if they would exchange it. I did so, and they were happy to exchange it. (They have a store near here and they were happy to help... a true class act). I'm rambling a bit, but long story short: The plating on the battery terminals of my first Vista C flaked off. This condition most assuredly could lead to corrosion of the actual terminals (the plating is designed to prevent terminal corrosion), thereby resulting in a bad battery connection. A bad connection could be apparent when the unit is vibrated, or bounced around a bit.

 

I didn't actually experience any shutdowns because of the plating loss, but I speculated that this could indeed become a problem. Of course, corrosion of the non-plated terminal could take weeks... perhaps months... and I had the unit for a few short weeks before I even noticed the problem and never subjected it to the vibration that you describe.

 

As a suggestion, you might check the battery terminals in the unit to see if any plating loss has occurred. Without plating, corrosion will indeed begin to occur. In fact, corrosion may not even be visible (i.e. the region affected may not look 'corroded', but a micro-layer of non-conductive material may be present'), but if plating loss has occurred, it should be detectible by eye. On mine, the region of the terminal where the battery touched was actually visibly dull when compared to the adjacent terminal. I could see a very clear dividing line where the flaking had stopped. Just look at all four terminals and compare closely. Try to assess whether the plating has flaked away.

 

As I mentioned, I caught this problem early and never experienced the problem that you've described. I'm certain, however, that a loss of plating could cause the problem that you've described. This could occur as follows: Assuming that the plating has flaked off and a thin film of non-conductive corrosion product exists, you install new batteries. The physical action of installing the batteries scrapes off the non-conductive layer of the non-plated surface and the unit seems to function properly. When installing new batteries, the mere installation of the battery ensures a good connection... i.e. it scrapes off the non-conductive layer. As time passes, the just-scraped-off layer of oxidation product (corrosion) begins to re-oxidize. The area of the unit terminal where the battery terminal touches is not subject to corrosion (no oxygen at the exact point of connection). Once the unit vibrates, the batteries move verrry slightly and the batteries momentarily contact the non-conductive layer and shut the unit down.

 

I realize that this is a bit of a reach... based on theory and speculation, but I observed plating loss on my first unit and recognized that this condition could lead to future problems.

 

This may or may not be your problem, but I hope it helps. If you have any other questions, please let me know.

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All of the above are good ideas. One that I have used is to simply put tape on the battery. Make sure you keep it away from the O-ring that keeps the water out. But a small patch of ele. tape will hold them still. I have been able to keep mine powered up on my quad for months now that I heard about this.

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