Repairing eTrex rubber surround

[gallet]

My eTrex 20 is out of warranty and I was wondering if anyone knows if the outside bands are self repairable. One of the waterproof coverings has worn out.

 

thx

 

[+noncentric]

Wow, your Back button has certainly taken a beating.

 

I've seen numerous eBay auctions for eTrex parts. They are being sold from Russia, so the shipping takes a while. But you might be able to find something there. For example: new back case Searching for 'etrex part' or 'etrex repair' will bring up results. I have never purchased from the Russian sellers.

 

Last summer, I needed a replacement battery cover for my 20. I ended up purchasing one from gpscity.com - so you might want to try them.

 

Good luck!

[gallet]

Yeah it gradually cracked around the edges then it hung on for a while like a chad from a Florida election ticket, before finally giving up the ghost! I'm in Australia so spare parts or repairs are probably going to be tough here, I thought perhaps this was a common problem and someone would have some answers.

 

Wow, your Back button has certainly taken a beating.

 

I've seen numerous eBay auctions for eTrex parts. They are being sold from Russia, so the shipping takes a while. But you might be able to find something there. For example: new back case Searching for 'etrex part' or 'etrex repair' will bring up results. I have never purchased from the Russian sellers.

 

Last summer, I needed a replacement battery cover for my 20. I ended up purchasing one from gpscity.com - so you might want to try them.

 

Good luck!

[+noncentric]

If the button part that gets pushed in is still there, then maybe you could put something like an eraser in there and then put some electrical tape over it? That's probably what I would try. Not that that means it would work.

 

Hopefully someone else has some ideas.

[+Red90]

Wrong color, but will work. They seem to be out of the right ones at the moment: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Front-case-Garmin-eTrex-30-without-glass-20-30-20x-30x-genuine-part-/262927035670

 

Correct one, but a little pricey. http://www.gfixer.com/en/product/1526064/

[+kunarion]

If the button part that gets pushed in is still there, then maybe you could put something like an eraser in there and then put some electrical tape over it? That's probably what I would try. Not that that means it would work.

 

Hopefully someone else has some ideas.

Sugru:

http://www.target.com/p/sugru-mouldable-glue-black/-/A-16889111

 

I've never tested it. But according to the box, it's pretty cool.

[Nmw]

If the button mechanism is ok, I would put cyclinder made of eraser in the hole with a bit of Silastic joining the mechanism and sealing the edge of rubber to the outside edge of black rubber. I would cut a section of mountain bike tyre tubing to form a short tube and stretch that over the existing rubber and maybe add some silastic to the edges if it sticks ok? Or try rubber cement/glue from the bike tube repair kit.

All the buttons should still operate with the thin layer of rubber tubing installed.

 

That stretchy silicon tape should also work very well and I expect would be a better solution that the bike tube.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Nmw

[+colleda]

Yeah it gradually cracked around the edges then it hung on for a while like a chad from a Florida election ticket, before finally giving up the ghost! I'm in Australia so spare parts or repairs are probably going to be tough here, I thought perhaps this was a common problem and someone would have some answers.

 

Wow, your Back button has certainly taken a beating.

 

I've seen numerous eBay auctions for eTrex parts. They are being sold from Russia, so the shipping takes a while. But you might be able to find something there. For example: new back case Searching for 'etrex part' or 'etrex repair' will bring up results. I have never purchased from the Russian sellers.

 

Last summer, I needed a replacement battery cover for my 20. I ended up purchasing one from gpscity.com - so you might want to try them.

 

Good luck!

I'm in OZ and have bought parts for my Etrex from the Russian seller. Good parts and good service. Shipping is about 2 weeks.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ssn=garmin_parts&hash=item3acc9c8205%3Ag%3AMswAAOSwqu9U-Xo2&item=252540912133&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xetrex.TRS0&_nkw=etrex&_sacat=0

I did read somewhere that someone did a fix using Silastic but it was not as far gone as yours, it was just small hole from wear. Perhaps try a hobby store for rubber or latex repair kit of some sort.

[gallet]

Hi Guys, thanks for the thoughtful replies. Ended up springing for a new 20x because it was on special for AUD$211 (168 USD) and we needed another one for our bikes after I just discovered that the in car GPS are useless in the sunshine.

I think the bit of rubber and silastic is going to work because the switch is fine. I opened it up today after I discovered that my pentalobe screwdrivers for my mac will fit the etrex. Looks like a spare front might be too difficult because the circuit board appears to be glued to the front and I don't really want to force it.

However, I spill some coffee beans on the counter and while collecting them I found one that fit perfectly, in fact it fit so well that it would not fall out and has a nice dome shape as well. I might get the bean out and put a bit of filler on the inside so it doesn't crumble away, then just a thin bit of rubber glued on should do the trick, or maybe even some silastic directly onto the coffee bean?