Garnin 60csx Smoked

[+wildbill-tn]

My daughter called me this morning and said that they had just put recharged batteries in their 60CSx and didn't turn it on, walked away and the thing melted down. Has anyone heard of this happening to anybody else? She is going to call Garmin tomorrow and see what can be done with it.

 

Wildbill-tn

[+Miragee]

I haven't heard of that. I use the 15-minute NiMH 2500 Energizer rechargeables in my Vista C and have used them successfully for months now. I love being able to get "fresh" batteries in only 15 minutes.

 

What kind of batteries were they?

[+klien]

60cs

i bought my 60cs from amazon.com

 

i had to send it back i think 2 times total before garmin replaced the unit .. since being replaced i have had no problems at all... i really wish i had bought mine at REI i could have taken it back instead of wasting shipping costs..

 

the suport person that helped me the final time had not seen any problems like it before so sent me a new one..

 

the problems

 

one i could hear it power up nothing on screen this was after hitting the carpet in my apartment from less then 2.5 feet high

 

other time nothing it just quite working period..

 

my new one i have dropped on rocks and other things no problems at all and so far its held up well..

 

my experience with electronics are that some times no matter what there are problems or chance for a lemon just contact garmin or where u bought the unit they should replace it

[kb9nvh]

Sounds like a battery problem more than a gps problem. I dont think NiMH can source enough current, even in a shorted condition for them to get so hot as to melt plastic. (If I'm wrong someone correct me please). If the batteries were damaged due to overcharging or something like that then maybe the internals wer compramised. Has she ever had any battery problems before?

 

I haven't heard of that. I use the 15-minute NiMH 2500 Energizer rechargeables in my Vista C and have used them successfully for months now. I love being able to get "fresh" batteries in only 15 minutes.

 

What kind of batteries were they?

Edited April 3, 2006 by kb9nvh

[peter]

My daughter called me this morning and said that they had just put recharged batteries in their 60CSx and didn't turn it on, walked away and the thing melted down. Has anyone heard of this happening to anybody else?

Yes, but not recently. When Energizer first came out with NiMH cells (I think they were 1300 mA-hr back then) they had a poor design for the insulation on the + terminal end of the battery. And Garmin used an unconventional design for their battery compartment in some of the eTrex/Legend/Vista models that had a conical spring at the positive end (most devices just have a spring at the flat negative end).

 

The result was that sometimes the spring would get a little off-center and short out the Energizer cell and since NiMH cells have very little internal resistance they can generate lots of current when shorted. It resulted in a number of reports of melted units and a few that even burst into flame.

 

Energizer changed the design of their NiMH cells and they now have a little fiber insulating ring around the + terminal, and Garmin changed the shape of their spring contacts to avoid this problem. Do you know the brand/type/date of the batteries that were used?

[+wildbill-tn]

I just talked to my daughter again and they were using NiMH 2500 Neuron batteries and have never had any problem with them. She also said that the battery compartment did not melt and the micro sd chip was not harmed, but that the screen melted a hole in it.

 

Wildbill-tn

[peter]

I just talked to my daughter again and they were using NiMH 2500 Neuron batteries and have never had any problem with them. She also said that the battery compartment did not melt and the micro sd chip was not harmed, but that the screen melted a hole in it.

Since there was no damage inside the battery compartment this sounds like a different issue than what caused the previous problems. Even when not turned on, a GPS receiver still has some circuitry active to keep the internal clock running. I'd suspect some fault in the electronics resulting in a short circuit that caused the overheating. Garmin should take care of it as a warranty repair/replacement.

If you have some optional maps with unlock codes be sure to mention that when you send the unit back so they can issue you a replacement code if they replace the unit and therefore change the serial number.

[+wildbill-tn]

My daughter called and said that they had just got home from a day of Waymarking. She said that they put batteries back in the unit and turned it on. Believe it or not the unit turned on and the screen lite up except for the part with the hole.

 

Wildbill-tn

[kerecsen]

She also said that the battery compartment did not melt and the micro sd chip was not harmed, but that the screen melted a hole in it.

 

When the first units of the x-series were sold, someone reported the same problem...

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...dpost&p=2021271

[+JohnInDC]

My first 60csx worked fine for about 3 hours before dying completely - it just wouldn't power on. It certainly hadn't suffered any trauma in the brief time it took me to load maps and waypoints onto it! Anyhow, nothing made any difference, not external power or new batteries or anything. REI took it back with little comment and the replacement unit has been working fine. Haven't subjected it to any tough field test yet though.