GARMIN GPS CUTTING OUT

[RJMRJM]

Hi ALL,
I have a Garmin 5inch GPS It is about 10 years old has always been looked after under cover and not exposed to the weather and stored below when not in use. It would have had about 1200 hours of charting operation at the most over that period It is used to follow routes or tracks which we have put in and has recently started to cut out after about 2 hours. It will start again without any problem .
The 12 volt cable and connections have been checked and are OK so can anybody suggest what might be causing this problem. I have been told its just old age and I should put out a $1000 to buy a new one but this cannot be right.
Any help out there please.

[tkeithlu]

This is the world of likely bets, AKA hypotheses. One would be that there is a component therein that is temperature sensitive/failing, and it is such that it's failure shuts down the whole thing, not just messing up the screen or the like. Another is that it actually is a failure of the power connections that only shows up occasionally and is fooling you into thinking that it reliably fails around two hours into use. The fact that it totally fails has properly led you to suspect a power connection.

Can you borrow a Garmin unit that uses the same connections, and see if it fails the same way, or plug your unit into someone else's wiring to see if it still fails?

Sometimes inspection of connections is not enough, and the actual problem requires cleaning all corrosion, etc.

Is it time to take a look inside? I doubt you are going to get service for it, so there comes a "what have you got to lose?" point.

I think we all hate unreliable failures. Couldn't it just go one way or the other so the decision is simple. Good luck.

[RJMRJM]

Many thanks for your comments Tkeithlu I do have a spare identical unit which I got hold of some time ago so I will follow your sujjestions and see what happens .I am very fond of this unit and would be sorry to see it lost and you are correct getting it serviced if possible would probably cost as much as a new one.

By the way Tkeithlu thanks for your comments in times past, always found them helpful

[RJMRJM]

Tkeithlu perhaps you can help me with another problem Simple as it should be I cannot get any thread into the general section. In simple terms I cannot seem to find the steps to follow and do not have grandchildren here to tell me what to do

[Exile]

Fwiw, an electronics tech advised me once to apply a q-tip dapped in some rubbing alcohol to all the connections. Garmin is likely no longer servicing your 10 year-old unit, but they may give you a credit for yours should you opt to buy a replacement.

[tkeithlu]

Thank you for your kind words, RJMRJM. Do tell us what you discover. Exile's made a good suggestion. I add using extremely fine sandpaper and pencil erasers where possible.

The last time I really understood computer stuff I was doing my engineering homework in 0s and 1s. That was 1966. To make it worse, my grandchildren are in Boston and I'm in Florida. I'll have to guess that whether a thread goes into the general portal, or stays there, is a decision of our moderators. Maybe one of them will come on and explain.

[tkeithlu]

And, right now, you are #1 in the portal. You did it!

[beirutsailor]

Originally Posted by Exile

Fwiw, an electronics tech advised me once to apply a q-tip dapped in some rubbing alcohol to all the connections. Garmin is likely no longer servicing your 10 year-old unit, but they may give you a credit for yours should you opt to buy a replacement.

Had same problem. My otherwise no-tech partner started fiddling with the little square cover in the front. Behind: the chip, which needed a liittle rubbing.

[Cpt Mark]

It does sound like it's either a loose connection or a thermal issue with a part that is failing. To check the thermal issue which is what I'd do if you can't find an issue with the power supply etc, is get some freeze spray and turn your unit on being careful and start freezing through the circuitry 1 item at a time. When it shuts down you will have found the issue.

Now it may sound like I know what I'm doing hahaha. I recently bought this book on Amazon "How to diagnose and fix everything electronic" by Michael Jay Geier. I've known people that can fix electronics so I know I can learn it as well. I bought a 7 year old, never used welder that has an electronic issue. I talked to a shop and they said $300 to look at it and then parts and labor. Nope. I'll fix it myself. Long time ago one of my clients had an old Benmar autopilot. He refused to let me install a new one in and after having the local guys come out 4 times at a cost of $150 each time I called Benmar and worked with them. Took us a couple of months to finally figure out the issue but it worked flawlessly after and Benmar asked if I'd take over servicing SF bay area as I was better then everyone else lol. Anyway, it's learnable if you want to try it.

[skipmac]

Also, if you don't want to go larger, a new Garmin 6" chartplotter is only $500.00, not $1,000.00

[Squanderbucks]

I have a number of Garmin products and have had for many years now. I like their ease of use and chart detail so I stick with them. But ...

Garmin does not "service" anything anymore. IF it is in warranty or a current model they will EXCHANGE for a "like new one" or give you a discount toward the purchase of a new one with the return of your broken one. All of mine had to be replaced in the Spring of 2019 when hit by lightening. Chartplotters, radar, onboard PC, radio, stereo, freezer, autopilot, alternators, tachometers and a million fuses and breakers plus a bunch of little stuff like hour meters. None could be repaired except one depth sounder and like yours I had an older spare one that quit earlier and I was able to send both back and the company felt pitty for me and cannibalized the two to get one up and going - it was a Si-Tex. No one else would even talk about "servicing" any of the other stuff (except alternators).

We are now a disposable society and finding much of anything that can be serviced when not working is getting harder and harder. This is especially true of electronics. With what it costs for "bench time" it seldom make sense to repair most electronics.. Often there are no parts available for third party service shops to even get should they discover the problem.

Why would someone spend a couple hundred repairing a TV when a new one is not much more. Besides if they spend and hour or two on the device and then find it can't be fixed who pays for the shop time.

There are services on the Web that will help you diagnose some of these types of problems and can offer fixes for common issues. www.justanswers.com is one I have used with some success and the rates are reasonable.

Check out Youtube for some possible suggestions.

Small Craft (under ~200 feet) Navigation equipment is generally considered "throw away".

Luckily you have a spare. Use it and when it dies then break out your wallet. If you do much open water or cruising near waters like the Florida Keys or Bahamas for example like I do then having at least two sources of GPS and depth info and consider those on my necessary list. It' just part of the deal when you step aboard.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Squanderbucks

I have a number of Garmin products and have had for many years now. I like their ease of use and chart detail so I stick with them. But ...

Garmin does not "service" anything anymore. IF it is in warranty or a current model they will EXCHANGE for a "like new one" or give you a discount toward the purchase of a new one with the return of your broken one. All of mine had to be replaced in the Spring of 2019 when hit by lightening. Chartplotters, radar, onboard PC, radio, stereo, freezer, autopilot, alternators, tachometers and a million fuses and breakers plus a bunch of little stuff like hour meters. None could be repaired except one depth sounder and like yours I had an older spare one that quit earlier and I was able to send both back and the company felt pitty for me and cannibalized the two to get one up and going - it was a Si-Tex. No one else would even talk about "servicing" any of the other stuff (except alternators).

We are now a disposable society and finding much of anything that can be serviced when not working is getting harder and harder. This is especially true of electronics. With what it costs for "bench time" it seldom make sense to repair most electronics.. Often there are no parts available for third party service shops to even get should they discover the problem.

Why would someone spend a couple hundred repairing a TV when a new one is not much more. Besides if they spend and hour or two on the device and then find it can't be fixed who pays for the shop time.

There are services on the Web that will help you diagnose some of these types of problems and can offer fixes for common issues. www.justanswers.com is one I have used with some success and the rates are reasonable.

Check out Youtube for some possible suggestions.

Small Craft (under ~200 feet) Navigation equipment is generally considered "throw away".

Luckily you have a spare. Use it and when it dies then break out your wallet. If you do much open water or cruising near waters like the Florida Keys or Bahamas for example like I do then having at least two sources of GPS and depth info and consider those on my necessary list. It' just part of the deal when you step aboard.

My feelings about Garmin exactly. Good gear, easy to use, intuitive, reliable but no service or support. I had a handheld GPS 3-4 years old and needed a new chart SIM, not available and Garmin's answer, buy the latest model.

There is one exception I know of, Furuno. Called them for support on an old model Furuno autopilot. Great tech support, got to speak promptly with a very knowledgeable engineer and when we diagnosed the problem said they were no longer sold, new control heads were not compatible but send it back to the factor and they'll repair it.

[barnakiel]

Yes, at 10 years old it will be simply the age catching up with the unit.


No, it does not take 1000 dollars to replace it. More like say 300-500 bucks.


If you settle in a tablet, maybe 100-150 USD. Tablets need waterproof sleeves though (usd 50 or so).


Cheers,
b.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yes, at 10 years old it will be simply the age catching up with the unit.

Not only problems with the unit itself and/or its connections, but the availability of firmware and chart updates. My Garmin plotters are now 13 years old and still working, but Garmin stopped providing updates in 2016. I still use them for backup and other purposes, but have moved on to a ruggedized PC-based nav setup with waterproof monitors. Not that this hardware will last indefinitely either, but got tired of the obsolescence game played by the marine consumer electronics industry (except Furuno).

Back to the OP's quandary, anyone heard of a phenomena with aging electronics called "tin whiskering"? You can look it up, but basically it's a form of corrosion (I think) where tiny strands of metal "grow" out of circuit boards, eventually causing short circuits. I think I summarized that right but welcome corrections as needed.

[RJMRJM]

Many thanks to you all for your sujjestions I will try to apply all the tests I can, your help is greatly appreciated.Here in Australia the price for a Garmin 65 C V chartplotter is $949 which would be about $680 US I think.