COLORADO MELTDOWN?

[Mjølner]

In the Colorado settings, i can choose 3 types of batteries: Alkaline, NiMH and Lithium. 2 Alkaline 1,5 volts give 3 volts, My power cable in the car gives the Colorado 5 volts, which gives much better backlighting. But the only rechargeable Lithium batteries i can find, gives 3,6 volts each, and 2 of them will feed the Colorado with 7,2 volts.

Has anyone got any experience with this? Did the unit die with rechargeable lithium batteries?

[dopoka]

I believe Lithium refers to non-rechargeable Lithium batteries such as the Energizer E2 brand which are about 1.65-1.7V each.

[+kmccanta]

In the Colorado settings, i can choose 3 types of batteries: Alkaline, NiMH and Lithium. 2 Alkaline 1,5 volts give 3 volts, My power cable in the car gives the Colorado 5 volts, which gives much better backlighting. But the only rechargeable Lithium batteries i can find, gives 3,6 volts each, and 2 of them will feed the Colorado with 7,2 volts.

Has anyone got any experience with this? Did the unit die with rechargeable lithium batteries?

 

I dont know... just got mine yesterday... I put eneloop low discharge NiMH in mine.

 

I do recall from many digital camera threads that "lithium" refers to many kinds. some with regulated voltages etc...

 

read at thomas-distributing.com for all your battery pleasure.

[+RRLover]

In the Colorado settings, i can choose 3 types of batteries: Alkaline, NiMH and Lithium. 2 Alkaline 1,5 volts give 3 volts, My power cable in the car gives the Colorado 5 volts, which gives much better backlighting. But the only rechargeable Lithium batteries i can find, gives 3,6 volts each, and 2 of them will feed the Colorado with 7,2 volts.

Has anyone got any experience with this? Did the unit die with rechargeable lithium batteries?

I would not use the 14500 batteries (either rechargeable or disposable) in the Colorado w/out

asking Garmin directly.

These things use magic smoke to work their marvelous tricks, and if you let it out . . . bad juu juu happens!

 

Norm

Edited May 8, 2008 by RRLover

[Mjølner]

I would not use the 14500 batteries (either rechargeable or disposable) in the Colorado w/out

asking Garmin directly.

These things use magic smoke to work their marvelous tricks, and if you let it out . . . bad juu juu happens!

 

I did ask Garmin-Denmark directly, but i did not like the answer!

I asked the same way as i asked you here on this site, and i got somewhat the same answer: Yes you are probably right 7,2 volts is to much, so i will not recommend that you try.

What is that for an answer? I almost put it in his mouth, the way i asked.

If he had said clearly that it was only for disposable, and not rechargeable, then i would have liked the answer.

 

Maybe someone will ask Garmin-US, and get a more clearly answer for me? Thanks.

[+Michael]

7.2 volts in the battery compartment is too much voltage. At the least you will blow a non-replaceable fuse.

[+ruggedswordfish]

Alas, maybe thats why my Colorado is dead!!! Will have to check the batterys i was using... gee, i didnt think batterys could have done it

 

Will i be covered by warranty?

[+Kabuthunk]

I'd think that if it doesn't document anywhere the maximum voltage batteries that can be used, I'd think it would be covered by repair. Unfortunately, what I think and what companies do usually tends to be different... but hey, I'd call Garmin and ask.

[+qlenfg]

While the documentation may not say what batteries you can't use, it probably does say which batteries *to* use -- ie AA alkaline, AA NiMH and AA lithium. If the other batteries are not specified as AA replacements, then the warranty will probably be rejected.

[MT_Ranger]

If you use 2 "AA" batteries in your Colorado, then your working voltage should be between 2.4 and 3.5 volts. Rechargeable batteries have a rated voltage of 1.2 volts per cell. And, alkaline or lithium batteries are rated for 1.5-1.7 volts per cell. The advantage to using Lithium is a very long life before you need to replace them.

 

When you hook up the USB to your unit, the voltage is converted down to approx. 3 volts. Your screen will be brighter because the unit detects that it is no longer running on battery power. This means that the unit will no longer attempt to conserve battery power. This is also noticeable on notebook computers, when they are connected to AC power.

 

In order to get 7.2 volts from a rechargeable battery pack, then the pack must contain 6 cells. This, of course, would be way too many.

 

As far as Garmin's warranty is concerned, I doubt that this is covered. Since I do not own a Colorado, and the Garmin website would not let me look at the manual for a Colorado, I can't say for certain that this is true. But, most electronic items are not covered for this because it is considered "operator error".

 

Sorry

[+brammp]

Okay, so here's my guess... The circuitry for the batteries is different for the circuitry that handles the cables. This is probably a good thing. The power quality from batteries is reliable and clean. A cable can be any number of sources, of which may produce "dirty" power quality. As such, there are probably different resistors/capacitors and such on the cable side to protect the GPS circuitry from power spikes and other issues.

 

I can't fathom, though, why you'd want to stick batteries of the non-1.5V variety into this unit. That boggles my mind. The backlight issue is likely not an effect of having more power, it is likely an effect of the unit's power saving settings. In other words, the unit is designed to produce more backlight when it isn't consuming precious batteries. After all, the unit draws the power it needs to operate. The issue is when its components are given more power than they are designed for. Most components give off heat as a way of compensating for over-voltage, and in such a small footprint, they simply burn up.

 

I mean, if you want to see smoke, hook a seemingly innocent 9V "square" alkaline battery up to your unit. The results will not be good. Or heck, try a car battery.

[Mjølner]

The simple question was.... Do the Colorado support Lithium batteries??? Yes it does according to the manual and settings.

But the difference of Lithiums , the manual does not answer.... Disposables Lithium gives 1,6 volts each, but rechargeable Lithiums gives 3,6 volts each!!!!!

What does GARMIN answer to that question?

When they made Lithium settings, was it for the 3,6 volts, or the 1,6 volts, or both????

Simple question...!

[+brammp]

When they made Lithium settings, was it for the 3,6 volts, or the 1,6 volts, or both????

 

~1.5 volts is what they designed it for. I will agree with you that they should list voltage ratings in their owner's manual, to which they do not. All they say is "AA" batteries.

Edited May 9, 2008 by brammp

[+Red90]

The simple question was.... Do the Colorado support Lithium batteries??? Yes it does according to the manual and settings.

But the difference of Lithiums , the manual does not answer.... Disposables Lithium gives 1,6 volts each, but rechargeable Lithiums gives 3,6 volts each!!!!!

What does GARMIN answer to that question?

When they made Lithium settings, was it for the 3,6 volts, or the 1,6 volts, or both????

Simple question...!

 

Look if you put a Lithium Ion AA is ANYTHING you will fry it.... Nothing is designed for those.

 

http://www.batteriesamerica.com/newpage1.htm

Q: What is Lithium Ion?

 

A: Lithium Ion is the catchphrase representing a new, lightweight rechargeable battery. Lithium Ion batteries are often supplied with cellular phones, laptop computers, and newer, compact handheld transceivers. Lithium Ion batteries typically offer even greater capacity (operating time) than Nickel Metal Hydride batteries of similar size or mass. It is important to note that Lithium Ion battery cells are usually not compatible with Ni-Cd or Ni-MH cells. Whereas a Ni-Cd or Ni-MH cell is 1.2 volts nominal (Alkaline cells are listed as 1.5v nominal), a Lithium Ion battery cell is 3.6v nominal. A Lithium Ion AA-size cell CANNOT be used in place of an Alkaline, Ni-Cd, or Ni-MH cell. Furthermore, the discharging and re-charging characteristics of Lithium Ion products are VERY DIFFERENT from anything else. Lithium Ion battery products should ONLY be recharged with approved, dedicated Lithium Ion chargers.

 

Li-Ion AAs like these... http://www.onlybatteries.com/cat_featured_...62&uid=1106 are ONLY intended to be used for building battery packs for devices. They are never intended to be used to replace an AA battery

[+Red90]

The simple question was.... Do the Colorado support Lithium batteries??? Yes it does according to the manual and settings.

But the difference of Lithiums , the manual does not answer.... Disposables Lithium gives 1,6 volts each, but rechargeable Lithiums gives 3,6 volts each!!!!!

 

No the manual says "Lithium" which are not rechargeable. The Rechargeable batteries are called "Lithium-Ion". They are stating it correctly.

 

http://site.greenbatteries.com/blog/2006/1...ion-li-ion.html

One of the questions that we get frequently is "Where can I get AA, AAA, C or D lithium rechargeable batteries?" Problem is there is no such thing...

 

So where are you getting these rechargeable Li-Ion AA batteries??

[Mjølner]

where are you getting these rechargeable Li-Ion AA batteries??

 

I can get them here: http://www.batteribyen.dk/cr_sl760___sl_76...50dd4a16d713b4e

 

Not that i bought them yet. I just wanted to hear what professionals had to say about it first;-)

And thanks for the replies so far:-)

 

By the way, i read somewhere that lithium batteries which have an output of only 1,5 volts, is not clean lithiums, but are infected with an other metal, to keep the voltage down. Real lithiums always have an output of 3,6 volts.

[+Red90]

As I read it the normal "lithium" AA batteries are Li-FeS2 (Lithium - Iron Sulfide), which give the normal correct voltage. http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/l91.pdf

 

There are lots of Lithium chemistries, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery

[+Mindless-Focus]

So Energizer's E^2 AA's at 1.5v are fine correct?

[+RRLover]

correct!

 

Norm

[+ruggedswordfish]

i think im fine, all my rechargeable batteries are 1.2v. well, my unit is back at garmin, so we will see!

[gallet]

It's all explained here

 

There are several important differences. The practical difference between Lithium batteries and Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is that most Lithium batteries are not rechargeable but Li-ion batteries are rechargeable. From a chemical standpoint Lithium batteries use lithium in its pure metallic form. Li-ion batteries use lithium compounds which are much more stable than the elemental lithium used in lithium batteries. A lithium battery should never be recharged while lithium-ion batteries are designed to be recharged hundreds of times.

 

No, Lithium-ion batteries are not available in standard sizes. We believe this is because it would be too easy for users to inadvertently put them in a charger not designed for Lithium-ion batteries creating a potentially dangerous situation. (If an alkaline battery is put into the wrong charger it might leak or even burst, but a lithium-ion battery put into a NiCd or NiMH charger not designed for lithium-ion, might ignite. Also, because Li-ion batteries operate at much higher voltage (typically 3.7V per cell) than the 1.2 to 1.5V of most cell batteries, designing a 1.5V lithium-ion cell would be expensive.

Edited May 10, 2008 by gallet