Warning for Garmin Car Chargers (GTM 20)

Mine too. I also got about a quarter-turn when I checked mine. Thanks for the heads-up. I don't want to be looking for pieces if I can avoid it.

I have several car chargers that have done that. Most come unscrewed at the tip. I'd guess they are all coming out of a handful of factories in China. Not a lot of differences between them.

Thanks to this thread, I made it a point to check the end of the adapter, and sure enough, it WAS loose. Not ready to fly apart loose, but loose nonetheless. So now, I just check to make sure it's tight before every use.

For C550, the tag in my car charger says "REPLACEMENT FUSE F 3A H 250V"..I hope this helps

Very good thread, heading out to check it now, my luck I'll forget tomorrow and it'll cut loose tomorrow afternoon.

Can you tell me which car charger he bought from the local store? I took tried the same thing,but unfirtunately the spring didnt come from the car charger I have.Also, did you got a fuse separately or used the same fuse from the car charger you bought?

My Nuvi was under warranty so Garmin replaced mine.

This IS good advice. I've caught my charger coming apart a few times. Probably my fault. But I didn't think it'd explode, that sounds like a pain.

I never did go out that night, I did check it just now and mine was as tight as the day I got it. I wonder if it has anything to do with how you remove them? If you have twist it slightly when removing it after a while they pop loose, just a thought.

I'll check mine tonight. I hate when things like that happen.

When I opened my C550, the traffic receiver was broken. They sent me a new one.

My 660 had a broken receiver tip out of the box. I have trouble with understanding this type of quality control.

Changes from version 5.10 to version 5.20:
Add dynamic priority for pay service where free is available.
Display 'lifetime' for Clear Channel lifetime entries
Update available using Garmin's Webupdater

My charger also came apart. I was lucky to find the parts in my driveway. Now every time I handle the charger I double check the tightness.

I too have been hit by the broken tip bug; I emailed Garmin to see what they have to say, I hope they can send me a new one for free as its just under the one year period.

I'm sure they will if it's under one year. Let us know.

So Garmin emailed me yesterday and advised me that they will be sending me a repair kit to fix my traffic receiver. The only problem is that its back ordered and could take 3-6 weeks to get to me. I guess its not all bad. I could have had to buy a new one.

Still waiting for my repair kit. They emailed me and advised me that the repair kit "should" be here by the end of the week. Lets see...

I still don't get it what part should be checked? Mine looks like one piece and everything is tight.

If your charger looks like this:
http://media.rei.com/media/892849.jpg

the black flat disc piece at the tip in between the two silver pieces tends to loosen after regular use.

Thats what i had to replace cause my tip broke off completely.
Hope that helps.

If you have a look through the thread at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/10701 you might find just a little too much info on this subject....!

My Nuvi is back in action. Ahhh Karen; how i've missed you so.

How about everyone give their plug in tip a twist tomorrow. I thought about this the other day and having been meaning to do this. Change your smoke detector batteries twist your plug in.

Since originally reading this thread, I check the GTM20 for tightness every time I take it out of the outlet!

Hopefully I won't be on the street looking for a spring that way!

The tip of my GTM 20 broke off at the thread line sometime back in December. I finally got around to calling Garmin last week to complain. Even though I was more than two months past warranty, the CSR helped me anyway and sent me the parts for free. The CSR thought that the replacement parts were back-ordered until late February but when I got home last Friday night, they were waiting for me in my mailbox.

Thought this might help someone who was on the fence about calling.

Just got off the phone with Garmin and they will send me a new Tip for the GTM 20 for "free" but an $8.00 charge to ship. And that is via US Post Office in 7 - 10 days. I mentioned that it looks like there is a problem with the tips on these , and she said you have to check every week or so to make sure its tight. I mentioned I have never checked several other 12 volt items I have for power but no go. She said I have had the unit over a year ( 15 months) and its not covered.
I guess I AM stuck, because of the price of a new GMT 20 is out of sight. I tried several other tips and they are not the same size.
Yes, its a very poor design and should be replaced free IMHO.

$8 bucks shipping is outrageous for an item they send by mail with only one ounce postage, even if it wasn't their own well known design defect. Sounds like you already gave in to the price gouging, but for around that price you can sometimes find a prepaid cell phone with a mini-usb car charger, or you may be able to find the cell charger by itself even cheaper (I've seen them in the dollar store).

Just screw on the tip and make sure it is secure then take a thin piece of electrical tape and wrap it around where the base and tip meet and it won't come undone.

I just bought a GTM 20 and it doesn't look like that photo. Mine looks like the standard 12v plug with the power cord/antenna terminating in a 2.5" rectangular block about 6" from where the cable plugs into the nuvi mount. I assume that is the FM Receiver. There are no lights on this unit at all.

Maybe Garmin decided it was time to fix what sounds like a design flaw.

When I connected it to the nuvi 750, it says Navteq (US, CAN) Lifetime Subscription with the option of adding the Clear Channel TTN Lifetime for $60.

Yes, they did change the design. The one in the picture is the old style. Presumeably, the new design is configured to get better FM reception. That's very easy to believe given how (poorly) the originals work.

How about everyone give their plug in tip a twist tomorrow. I thought about this the other day and having been meaning to do this. Change your smoke detector batteries twist your plug in.

I just checked mine and the tip was a little loose. Will definitely start checking it periodically.

Thanks for the tip, much appreciated !!

I had my adaptor come apart inside the cigarette lighter socket of a rental car. The chrome ring created a short circuit inside the outlet - so that blew the main fuse for the lighter socket.

Fortunately I was able to get the adaptor parts back together - and the car had a secondary power outlet that still had power.

I would recommend a twist of the tip on any Cigarette lighter charger plug that has a fuse with in it. Not just the GTM20 FM receiver.

Thanks for the information! I checked my GTM-20 and it was loose too! You saved me from a potential headache.

The Garmin charger is very similar to many others. My cell phone and iPod chargers have the same type of design. You unscrew the tip to get at the internal fuse. A twist every now and then will verify that it's still tight.

Had same problem but lost the silver tip. How can I get another one?

Call Garmin customer service and they'll probably send you a replacement at no charge.

I found a place that sells the tip part kit for the gtm20, gtm25 and I beleive the gbd 50 Car charger for the Nuvi.

http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-replacement-parts-for-gtm2x.ht...

I just ordered mine crossing my fingers I have not called Garmin but for less than $6 I hope I dont have to mess with there tech support.

So what do your neighbors think when they see you on your hands and knees searching the grass day after day?

This hasn't happened to me, yet. I plan to put some Locktite on the threads so it doesn't come loose. This should fix the problem permanently. If you do this be sure to use the blue variety, not red, or you will never be able to get it apart to replace the fuse.

Even though the original post of this thread is way old, it's a very timely message. For me anyway. I saw this a couple of weeks ago, and thought I should check my plug. I forgot, but today wouldn't you know it, my tip was about to come off! I quickly tightened it up, and caught it just before it sprang into oblivion! PHEW!

This is a good fix, but you might want to be careful, because you might also fix the warranty permanently. Check with Garmin before doing this fix to any Garmin Cigarette lighter plug. If it's out of warranty then it doesn't matter and you can feel comfortable doing it.

Mine did the same but only blew the fuse for the Garmin. I reassembled it but it doesn't work. Anyone have any suggestions before I buy a new one?

Thanks

has always been good at replacing defective parts

Using a continuity checker or ohm meter, check the fuse. The fuse element might have fractured due to the jar when it hit the ground. If you are sure the fuse is good, look the plug over and see if anything looks wrong. The tip is spring loaded and should stick out about 1/4 inch but push in fairly easily.

I had one of those start on fire, inside the adaptor, on my old Nextar unit!!! It didn't trip the internal fuse or the cigarette lighter fuse!

Yep, it happened to me too last year.

I plugged it and it was not working. I removed it and re-plugged it again. Nothing. I was in a hurry and the car was still running. I finally realized it was missing the metallic tip part. After searching around, I found it in the lighter plug.

I took my house key and tried to removed it from the lighter plug. I saw little spark telling me I was a total moron to use a metallic object to removed it from there. I finally stopped the engine, removed it and assembled back the GTM-20. Obviously, the fuse of the lighter was dead (remember the spark?). It was a nice way to start a 500 miles journey...

Like everybody else here, I now check it everytime before I plug it.

Loctite is good, but more for mechanicing-------on lightweight stuff USE FINGERNAIL POLISH, any color works, but "clear" is colorless on anything----works really well on eyeglass screws