sean0965 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 (edited) My Garmin Colorado 400c is less than a month old and it died. I've handled it with kid gloves since it was so darned expensive, so I know it wasn't a handling problem. I was using it on my sail boat and it froze a couple times while navigating a particularly twisty channel in Potts Harbor Maine. I was not happy to say the least. It froze a couple more times after that. I had to pull the NiMH batteries out and re-install and it apparently worked ok. I then had it out on the boat and it would not even power up. I had freshly charged NiMH batteries which worked fine in my camera. THe unit would power up to the Garmin screen, then slowly fade and turn off. Tried plugging into the PC and did the same thing. Blech.........So much for Mean Time Between Failure. Anyone suffer similar problems? Edited July 6, 2008 by sean0965 Quote Link to comment
+twolpert Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 This could be any one of several frequently reported issues. See the excellent issues list here. Since you recently purchased the unit, it seems appropriate to ask what version of the firmware you are running. If you are not running the most recent version, you can upgrade to the latest production version using web updater. This will get you to 2.40 (with chipset firmware 2.60). The very latest is 2.54 beta, which must be downloaded and installed manually from here. Note that this link is for the 400t. The beta is not listed for the 400c. I would imagine that the software is the same, but I have no actual experience with this so proceed at your own risk. Also note that some newer units shipped with 2.50, so you may already be up to date. If you are running 2.40 or better, then it may be time to return the unit. It may well be a hardware problem anyhow since the unit previously functioned well and now has problems. Quote Link to comment
+storm180 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I agree update the firmware and if not call garmin and have them rma the unit. Boating you defintley need a working GPS. Quote Link to comment
+Klatch Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I agree update the firmware <snip> Tough to do when the unit won't power up. Quote Link to comment
+g-o-cashers Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 If you have an SD card inserted have you tried removing it and powering on? GO$Rs Quote Link to comment
sean0965 Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 I ended up speaking with Garmin after hanging on the line for 40 minutes. They asked me to ship the unit back, which I've done. We'll have to see how long it takes to get it back. In the mean time I've seen that the new Garmin Oregon has come out. Any thoughts on having a touch screen for a trail model which will be used in boating/hiking. I'd be concerned with Mud and Salt water constantly being scraped across the screen. Quote Link to comment
+Mars Express Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I ended up speaking with Garmin after hanging on the line for 40 minutes. They asked me to ship the unit back, which I've done. We'll have to see how long it takes to get it back. In the mean time I've seen that the new Garmin Oregon has come out. Any thoughts on having a touch screen for a trail model which will be used in boating/hiking. I'd be concerned with Mud and Salt water constantly being scraped across the screen. Don't count on your Colorado being waterproof.. Quote Link to comment
sean0965 Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Garmin shipped me a brand new unit w/SW version 2.50 and GPS Version 2.60. No explanation of why it died.....that kind of fries me. I try to e-mail customer support to cite my concerns and their e-mail link freezes up. I then try to call customer support only to find out that it is a 35 minute wait...... I guess I'll just use the unit until it crashes again Quote Link to comment
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