+Rocky Balboa Posted March 29, 2002 Share Posted March 29, 2002 I was using my etrex today (the yellow hand held one) when the battery ran out. I got home, changed the batteries and it wouldnt switch back on. I have tried about 10 batteries now including a pair of brand new ones, this doesnt help. Does any one have any ideas on what i could do to fix this or has it happened to anyone else? I planted a new cache yesterday and now i dont have the coordinates to post and i cant revisit because its over 150 miles away! any replies would be most greatly recieved, cheers, Dan. Quote Link to comment
wondergirl Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Hmm, that's odd. You might try the Garmin Web site at and check customer support... wondergirl Quote Link to comment
BLAZER12 Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Your contrast may be off, try this. Be sure your batteries are installed right. Than turn on the unit by pressing the power button for at least 10 seconds. At this point it still may look as if the unit is not on. Push the up/down button in the up direction and watch the screen you should see the display return to normal. I hope this corrects your problem, I found out by accident that the contrast can be controlled from the system page by pushing the up/down buttons. I diden't read this little trick in the directions and when it happened to me I thought my unit was dieing. Good Luck ! Quote Link to comment
+Butano Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 I had the same problem with my eTrex. The batteries ran out. I would turn it back on for a few seconds, then it shut down not to be turned on again. I contacted Garmin, who responded quicker that you can say Geocache Stash. Here were their instructions that fixed my problem: Thank you for your message to GARMIN. I believe that there may be an issue with the units' EPROM. Unless I am mistaken, your eTrex is actually powering up but not processing the screen drivers. The correction is relatively simple and please follow the steps below. 1. Place a fresh set of batteries in the eTrex. This will insure that you have sufficient voltage and that the unit is in an "off" condition. 2. Download the current version of the eTrex unit software, v2.11 from this link to our website, http://www.garmin.com/support/download.html Please follow the on-screen instructions to download and apply the unit software upgrade. Please press the power key just prior to running the updater. 3. Run the update and the eTrex should say LDR on the screen. 4. Reset the units' firmware by first removing from serial cable and then turn the unit off. a. Press and hold the following keys UP + PAGE + ENTER + ON. b. Continue to hold for about 5 seconds. This will reset the software c. Take your eTrex outside to reinitialize. I never get lost! I simply investigate alternate destinations! Quote Link to comment
+inceptor Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Butano: I had the same problem with my eTrex. I had the same problem with mine. I took it back and they gave me another one. My question is, if it happens again, when you downloaded the upgrade did you lose the data you had? inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys Quote Link to comment
+inceptor Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Butano: I had the same problem with my eTrex. I had the same problem with mine. I took it back and they gave me another one. My question is, if it happens again, when you downloaded the upgrade did you lose the data you had? inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys Quote Link to comment
+Butano Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 I believe that until step 3 you won't lose your data (if it is still there). Step 4 will definitely remove any data that you had in it. I am not sure if you can skip the step or not. It might be worth a try if there is data that you want to keep. You might also want to backup your data that you want to keep as well. I never get lost! I simply investigate alternate destinations! Quote Link to comment
CountryLover Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 If the Garmin reply is that the system is powering on but not running the screen drivers it could mean that you may still be able to download the waypoints and other stuff. May be worth attempting before resetting the unit and losing the valuable data. Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted April 5, 2002 Author Share Posted April 5, 2002 I finally got intouch with garmin and they requested that i sent it back. So hopefully i will have a new unit in the post within a week or 2. Whats the betting i never hear from them again though! Quote Link to comment
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