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Garmin GPS III Backup Battery
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| Victor Roberts 2005-10-03, 11:48 pm |
| I have an old Garmin GPS III and the backup battery seems to
need to be replaced. Can this be done by a user with
sufficient skill or must it be sent back to the factory as
Garmin says?
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
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| Victor Roberts wrote:
> I have an old Garmin GPS III and the backup battery seems to
> need to be replaced. Can this be done by a user with
> sufficient skill or must it be sent back to the factory as
> Garmin says?
>
> --
> Vic Roberts
> Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
I'm not familiar with the case on a GPSIII but have seen this question
asked a lot for the GPS12 series. It seems that getting the case opened
is tough as it's welded and resealing it afterwards is difficult. Not
sure if that's true for the III.
Have you tried putting in a new set of batteries or leaving it hooked up
to external power for a few days. The backup battery charges off of the
AAs or external power.
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| Mike wrote:
> Victor Roberts wrote:
>
>
> I'm not familiar with the case on a GPSIII but have seen this question
> asked a lot for the GPS12 series. It seems that getting the case opened
> is tough as it's welded and resealing it afterwards is difficult. Not
> sure if that's true for the III.
>
> Have you tried putting in a new set of batteries or leaving it hooked up
> to external power for a few days. The backup battery charges off of the
> AAs or external power.
This thread on the Groundspeak forums talks about the battery
replacement on GPS12 series. It may point you to instructions that would
be helpful with your III
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/in...wtopic=38975&hl
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| hermans 2005-10-05, 5:48 am |
| Victor Roberts schreef:
> I have an old Garmin GPS III and the backup battery seems to
> need to be replaced. Can this be done by a user with
> sufficient skill or must it be sent back to the factory as
> Garmin says?
>
> --
> Vic Roberts
> Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
Does a Garmin GPSMAP76S also have a backup battery?
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| Gilbert Smith 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>I have an old Garmin GPS III and the backup battery seems to
>need to be replaced. Can this be done by a user with
>sufficient skill or must it be sent back to the factory as
>Garmin says?
I replaced my own, the unit comes apart easily but the soldering job
requires a good desoldering device. The battery is a VR1220 with tags
for vertical mounting. Note that this is a rechargeable battery, as
opposed to a CR1220 which is not.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 12:47:10 +0100, Gilbert Smith
<nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>
>
>I replaced my own, the unit comes apart easily but the soldering job
>requires a good desoldering device. The battery is a VR1220 with tags
>for vertical mounting. Note that this is a rechargeable battery, as
>opposed to a CR1220 which is not.
Thanks. I opened the case last night. Very easy since it
uses just a rubber gasket and six screws. Yes, the soldering
job looks difficult. Well, not the actual the soldering, but
taking care not to disturb too much of the wiring between
the two case halves since that may change the performance of
the RF circuitry.
I didn't realize that the battery was rechargeable. It may
have run down because I had dead AA cells in there for too
long a time. How long should a fully charged backup cell be
able to maintain the memory without any AA cells installed?
If the battery is just a bit weak, but can hold a charge for
the time required to change the AA cells, then I think I may
delay replacing it for now :-)
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 23:41:01 GMT, Mike <m@shaw.ca> wrote:
>Victor Roberts wrote:
> I'm not familiar with the case on a GPSIII but have seen this question
>asked a lot for the GPS12 series. It seems that getting the case opened
>is tough as it's welded and resealing it afterwards is difficult. Not
>sure if that's true for the III.
The case of the III is rather easy to open . The two halves
are sealed with a thick rubber gasket, and held together
with 6 screws. I opened the case last night, and found that
the battery was soldered in.
>Have you tried putting in a new set of batteries or leaving it hooked up
>to external power for a few days. The backup battery charges off of the
>AAs or external power.
I didn't know that the backup battery was rechargeable until
I read the various responses today. If I can get it to hold
a charge for a reasonable amount of time, I may delay
replacing it.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:08:28 GMT, Mike <m@shaw.ca> wrote:
>Mike wrote:
>
>
>This thread on the Groundspeak forums talks about the battery
>replacement on GPS12 series. It may point you to instructions that would
>be helpful with your III
>
>http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/in...wtopic=38975&hl
Thanks!
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Gilbert Smith 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 12:47:10 +0100, Gilbert Smith
><nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>
>Thanks. I opened the case last night. Very easy since it
>uses just a rubber gasket and six screws. Yes, the soldering
>job looks difficult. Well, not the actual the soldering, but
>taking care not to disturb too much of the wiring between
>the two case halves since that may change the performance of
>the RF circuitry.
>
>I didn't realize that the battery was rechargeable. It may
>have run down because I had dead AA cells in there for too
>long a time. How long should a fully charged backup cell be
>able to maintain the memory without any AA cells installed?
>
>If the battery is just a bit weak, but can hold a charge for
>the time required to change the AA cells, then I think I may
>delay replacing it for now :-)
That worked for a friend of mine who thought that he could live
without AA cells if he always ran the unit off 12v external. It
recovered after a day or two with AA cells in situ.
Mine was dead, the unit always had AA cells, but lost its data every
time I changed them.
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| Victor Roberts 2005-10-05, 5:48 pm |
| On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 21:05:12 +0100, Gilbert Smith
<nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>
>
>That worked for a friend of mine who thought that he could live
>without AA cells if he always ran the unit off 12v external. It
>recovered after a day or two with AA cells in situ.
>
>Mine was dead, the unit always had AA cells, but lost its data every
>time I changed them.
Just tested mine. It will hold the data for the time it
takes to change AA cells, but not more than 10 minutes. Not
sure of the exact time, but it is short enough that I think
I should replace the battery or have it replaced by Garmin.
Just checked the cost and it would be $99 plus my cost of
shipping to them.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| budgie 2005-10-06, 2:48 am |
| On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 16:24:29 -0400, Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com>
wrote:
>On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 21:05:12 +0100, Gilbert Smith
><nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>
>Just tested mine. It will hold the data for the time it
>takes to change AA cells, but not more than 10 minutes. Not
>sure of the exact time, but it is short enough that I think
>I should replace the battery or have it replaced by Garmin.
>Just checked the cost and it would be $99 plus my cost of
>shipping to them.
Is that 10 minutes before having healthy AA's in place for 24 hours? If so,
measure again after having AA's in there. It takes a while to put a significant
charge into the backup.
| |
| Brian Mitchell 2005-10-06, 5:48 pm |
| I was told to install fresh AA's and to leave the unit on. This apparently
charges the backup battery. Switch off unit after 12 hours or just before
battery goes dead.
Brian
"Victor Roberts" <xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote in message
news:0hd8k11m15k2jch
tovbep0rlqclhvof35a@
4ax.com...
> On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 21:05:12 +0100, Gilbert Smith
> <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>
> Just tested mine. It will hold the data for the time it
> takes to change AA cells, but not more than 10 minutes. Not
> sure of the exact time, but it is short enough that I think
> I should replace the battery or have it replaced by Garmin.
> Just checked the cost and it would be $99 plus my cost of
> shipping to them.
>
> --
> Vic Roberts
> Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-06, 5:48 pm |
| On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 11:15:50 +0800, budgie <me@privacy.net>
wrote:
>On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 16:24:29 -0400, Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com>
>wrote:
>
>
>Is that 10 minutes before having healthy AA's in place for 24 hours? If so,
>measure again after having AA's in there. It takes a while to put a significant
>charge into the backup.
The system was used for a road trip last weekend. It was On
and operating on external power for perhaps 8 hours over two
days. Before and after that trip it has had charged
batteries installed until I removed them for the test
yesterday.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-06, 5:48 pm |
| On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 18:15:05 +0800, "Brian Mitchell"
<topline@iinet.net.au> wrote:
>I was told to install fresh AA's and to leave the unit on. This apparently
>charges the backup battery. Switch off unit after 12 hours or just before
>battery goes dead.
>
The system has had good batteries installed for over a week
and was used on external power for 8 hours this past
weekend.
I'd be surprised if the system had to be on to recharge the
backup battery. This would mean that the backup battery is
being run down whenever the system is off, even if it has
charged batteries installed. However, I will call Garmin to
confirm.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| Victor Roberts 2005-10-06, 5:48 pm |
| On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 10:22:53 -0400, Victor Roberts
<xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 18:15:05 +0800, "Brian Mitchell"
><topline@iinet.net.au> wrote:
>
>
>The system has had good batteries installed for over a week
>and was used on external power for 8 hours this past
>weekend.
>
>I'd be surprised if the system had to be on to recharge the
>backup battery. This would mean that the backup battery is
>being run down whenever the system is off, even if it has
>charged batteries installed. However, I will call Garmin to
>confirm.
The Garmin web site says the memory battery should recharge
with fresh AA cells after 5 days with the unit off or after
three days connected to a 12-volt power source. I have a
portable 12 volt battery with a lighter socket that I use to
power a small telescope. I'll connect the GPS III to that
until Sunday and see if the backup battery will take a
charge.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
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| Victor Roberts 2005-10-10, 5:48 pm |
| On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:36:05 -0400, Victor Roberts
<xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 10:22:53 -0400, Victor Roberts
><xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>
>
>The Garmin web site says the memory battery should recharge
>with fresh AA cells after 5 days with the unit off or after
>three days connected to a 12-volt power source. I have a
>portable 12 volt battery with a lighter socket that I use to
>power a small telescope. I'll connect the GPS III to that
>until Sunday and see if the backup battery will take a
>charge.
The GPS III was connected to an external 12 volt battery for
almost four days. The internal data is lost when the
internal batteries are removed for more than about 3
minutes. The system will be going back to Garmin for repair.
Quiet to my surprise, an e-mail I received from Garmin tech
support on Friday stated that the unit would be repaired
under warranty. based on the serial number the unit was
manufactured in 1998 - so I'm surprised that they will
replace the battery under warranty. I only hope this was not
a typo.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
| |
| budgie 2005-10-11, 2:48 am |
| On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:35:13 -0400, Victor Roberts <xxx@lighting-research.com>
wrote:
>On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:36:05 -0400, Victor Roberts
><xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>
>
>The GPS III was connected to an external 12 volt battery for
>almost four days. The internal data is lost when the
>internal batteries are removed for more than about 3
>minutes. The system will be going back to Garmin for repair.
>
>Quiet to my surprise, an e-mail I received from Garmin tech
>support on Friday stated that the unit would be repaired
>under warranty. based on the serial number the unit was
>manufactured in 1998 - so I'm surprised that they will
>replace the battery under warranty. I only hope this was not
>a typo.
There was a period when the II+ had a "faulty" configuration for recharging the
backup battery. Garmin acknowledged this, and rework (including replacing the
original battery) has been treated as a FOC warranty issue ever since. Quite
possibly the same problem/fix relates to the III, as the II and III ran
concurrently for quite a while. The III+ was around when I purchased my II+,
and mine was repaired under warranty.
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| Victor Roberts 2005-10-22, 5:48 pm |
| On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 09:57:16 -0400, Victor Roberts
<xxx@lighting-research.com> wrote:
>I received the RMA late yesterday and still no request for
>CC or other means of payment. So, the original "fix under
>warranty" was not a typo. They didn't even ask for the sales
>receipt, which is normally required for in-warranty repairs.
>I'm not sure I could find it after 7 years. Garmin has just
>risen to the top of my list of first-class companies.
Garmin received the GPS III on Monday of this past week. I
received it back yesterday - Friday. They had changed the
backup battery, upgraded the backup battery charging
circuit, upgraded the software, replaced the rubber cover on
the external power/data socket and field tested the system.
All for no charge on a system that was purchased in 1998.
Garmin is a class act and they will get my business when I
purchase a new GPS.
--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.
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