Nuvi and USB (charging low battery)

That's a good idea for all of the models of the Nuvi line.

I have the 350 and the power cord has a male mini usb connector on the end, is that the same with the 660?

Good tip, thanks!

I believe that is the case.

I use my power cord to charge my 660 frequently. Are you saying if my battery dies completely, the power cord will not charge it.This doesn't seem to make sense to me.

R/Tim

That information I received is straight from Garmin, I guess you could try it, but if you don't succeed, then I would use the usb port on your PC

At least Garmin products charge through their USB cable. I just tried a Magellan Roadmate 6000T. The USB cable provides no power, in fact you are strongly encouraged to use an AC adapter (not supplied) when connecting to a computer, especially when upgrading firmware or downloading files, or else it may die part way through a flash upgrade and render your GPS useless.

I just purchased my Nuvi 350 a couple of weeks ago and have no problem charging the unit through the 12 volt cord or the USB and AC charger.

Thanks for the info, my Nuvi 660 did some freaky things when I first got it and the battery was really low. But I have not had a problem charging it. But that is good info to know just incase.

Thanks for the heads up!

I have the new 680. Anyword? I usually connect the car charger which is needed for the MSN Weather and Traffic live update.

Just wonder how long the battery dies in Nuvi. If the battery dies in Nuvi, can I replace it by myself?

Li-Ion batteries (in general) tend to have about a 2-3 year "practical use" life time.

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF PLUGGING IN THE NUVI 370 EVERYTIME I GET INTO THE CAR WILL CREATE A MEMORY IN THE BATTERY.

Your nuvi should have a lithium-ion battery. Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries are "memory free".

I just ran my nuvi 200 until it turned itself off. I then plugged in the Garmin car charger and it fired right up.

Please note that if you try to use a generic USB cable with a cigarette lighter adapter you will not be able to use your nuvi. It will think it is connected to a computer, so all you can do with that type of cable is charge the nuvi.

Lithium-Ion batteries have a lifetime of 300-500 charges so running it down and charging shortens the life. If it is charged from 1/2 capacity that counts as 1/2 charge cycle. As someone mentioned their life is also limited by time to 2-3 years and they have to be sent back to Garmin for a replacement which I am sure will cost a small fortune. Lithium-ion batteries have a lot of advantages but lifetime is not one of them.
Mike

I just received my garmin nuvi 360 in the mail and was wondering if I need to charge it for a specified period before initial use.

Also, is it best to use the GPS w/o it plugged into the 12V outlet while driving and wait til the battery runs low before you plug it in? I'm not sure what most people do in their cars. I'm not really familiar with the memory life of these batteries. Most lithium-ion batteries should be completely used before charged.

Suggestions?

You can use it right away while it is charging in car. The old technology batteries needed to have a complete charge... it is simply a myth concerning Lithium Ion left over from the old days. Sames myth thing about completely using them up before charging again. The only reason to discharge your batteries is because the battery meter isn't accurate. Lithium Ion prefer partial rather than a full discharge.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm There is some great info on this website that can make your head hurt but I clipped the pertinent stuff here.

It seems to get better overall battery life, the most effective way is to "exercise" the battery one cycle per month:

The iPod/iPhone Battery unplugged . . .

I wonder if the Garmin guy told you backwards.... it makes more sense for it to be the other way around. Whereas if you were to have a fully discharged battery the USB wouldn't work and the AC power cord (or car charger) would. That has been my experience on older Pocket PC's. It has something to do with the current available on the USB is maxed out at 500ma whereas the AC charger can boost out to 1amp.

This makes more sense to me, as my Nüvi didn't come with anything BUT the automobile power cord. If the USB was actually required after a full discharge, then it seems like it would have been included in the box (an omission which seems a bit cheap to me for a product that needs to be connected to a PC for such simple things as software/firmware updates).

I discovered this to be true this weekend while visiting San Francisco. My wife accidentally left the Nuvi on and the battery discharged. We were unable to recharge the battery via the 12V car charger which meant the Nuvi was useless to us for the remeainder of the trip. We didn't bring a computer to charge it on our excursion. It looks like we will have to bring the A.C. adapter as a backup. This "feature" is very inconvenient on the road.

2 months ago I was playing with the Nuvi 360 at home to map out the road then forget to turn it off. When we start to go on the trip the next day the battery was gone. I put it in the cradle in the car that hook up with the 12v car charger which came with the Nuvi so I can navigate to the trip location. After 6 hours drive when I stop at the rest Area, I took it out the cradle and look at the battery and it full of charge. So to me the 12v car charger will charge your Nuvi. I don't know what make mine difference?

I have the Nuvi 760 and could not get it to work with the MSN 12V charger / traffic receiver after my battery discharged this weekend. I was able to charge it with the A.C. adapter when I got home.
I use the supplied cradle in conjunction with the beanbag mount.

Thanks for taking the time to share! I was confused by the whole battery memory thing.

Gage

Perhaps yours didn't drain completely. I, like you, never had the issue about charging on a usb port and not the dc charger. But I have heard of such.

My Nuvi 760 got drained down to nothing and would not recharge for any length of time using the included 12v charger. After doing a google search and finding this forum I plugged it into my computer and presto it recharged. I must say this is about as goofy as things get with such a highly regarded GPS. I can only say thanks for this forum or I would have tried to return the unit.

Is there any way to turn the screen off when the unit is charging on the computer, or with a power cord or use the 12V?

When using the 12V or AC the map is on.

When charging with the computer I get

Garmin and picture of the computer.

Does this not burn the screen?

Thanks

I just read this trick, while unit is on touch the battery icon for about five seconds. When the unit goes into test mode, attach the charger, then exit text mode. You can now turn off the unit and it will continue to charge or you can use the unit, whatever. You can turn the unit off and on as you like until you unplug the usb cord....

edit:

and no it's not like your tv it won't burn the screen but the unit may charge faster if it is off... Not positive about that...

Didn't realize that the 12V cigarette outlet would not power up a fully discharged nuvi. I'm glad that I've always brought along my AC charger on my travels.

I just took a trip to Delaware 4 hrs and forgot my power cord due to using my girlfriends vehicle. Knowing this, When I would get to a section of highway that was 50 miles I would shut the unit off and check the odometer the turn the unit back on conserving battery life that way. Well, it died shutting off its self being it was a long trip but when I knew I was close I could turn the unit back on long enough to tell me when my next turn was then it would shut down again. I returned with out using it. When I got back in my truck I plugged it into the dash mount and it turned on and I took the 1 1/2 hr ride back home from her place and to find out it charged 1/2 full with it turned on and just using it in map mode not that that matters . Just the car charger was used.

There has been much discussion about the unit not charging at all with the unit in the charger cradle, I don't know if it would fair any better if you used an auto phone charger, i.e. Blackberry or Razr, both of which have usb connectors. There maybe others... I know my Blackberry/razr home charger works on my 760....

WOW aophiuchus. Thank you very much for the tip.

Any mini usb AC charger with a minimum output of 500ma of supply current (under load) will charge your unit. If you get the map page, simply turn the unit off and it will display the charging screen.
Look for Output: 5VDC 500mA on the charger label.

I knew about charging the battery, but didn't know about the complete discharge problem. Thanks for the information. I have modified my "bag of goodies" to contain the USB Cable.

I just purchased a 760 and had no idea about this battery discharge issue. Very helpful information - thanks for sharing.

I have a motorola bluetooth headset. Does anyone know if I can charge the Nuvi650 with this charger?

Thanks

I tried and the one I had would not work properly. It would charge but very, very slowly. Bought a garmin charger for $20 and it works great....plus you can use the unit while it is charging...get a garmin charger and you won't have to worry about anything.

my 205w came with a charger for in the car

They all come with a car charger. This discussion relates to a wall AC charger..

I read that the nuvi 750 battery could not be replaced. I hope I read it wrong. If it can be replaced, please let me know. Thank you and have a great day.

ohwogo nuvi 750

They can all be replaced. What I think you mean to ask, is the battery user replaceable? Generally none of the Garmin nüvis have user replaceable batteries, but most can be replaced if you crack open the unit.

PT

Do I understand that if your Nuvi is completly discharged that it won't even respond with it connected to the cigarette lighter. Also here is a question that I posted on another part of Poi-Factory that was not answered, possibly someone has the answer.

Question, if the battery goes bad, ex:can no longer except a charge, I take it that you can still use the GPS if plugged into a cigarette lighter, or AC adapter and you can still connect to a computer to install software, or am I wrong. I think if this happens I will still use my unit that way. One function you would lose is to find your vehicle in a parking lot or if you are walking in an unfamiliar city etc. I would miss that but other than the portability would it still work.

Any help is appreciated.

Len

I am new to the GPS world and just got a Nuvi 760. I could not find answer for my question searching through the forum, but apologize in advance if I simply missed somewhere. I have a couple of questions.

1. I read in one post that if are going to use a generic USB to A/C adapter to charge your nuvi it might actually simply put it in data mode (as if it was connected to a PC as a data drive) rather than actually being charged. Any idea how to figure out if it is actually charging or sitting in data mode (since it simply show a Garmin logo with PC indicating that USB cable is connected)?

2. Any idea how to figure out exactly when the unit is done charging? I love the unit, but this appears to be a real shortcoming for Garmin. Cell phones and other devices have some sort of indicators (for example, my cell will have green light while charging and if the light goes off it means it's fully charged)

3. Does anyone know if there is a difference between using a OEM Garmin A/C Charger adapter and a generic USB to A/C adapter (sells at Walmart for around $10 which allows you to simply plug the USB cable into it and plug into AC) or any other generic USB/AC adapter sold on eBay?

Thanks in advance to all that respond.

Even in data mode the unit is charging. So nothing to worry about.

The only way to confirm that the unit is fully charged is to unplug the unit and go into the diagnostic menu. The easier thing to do is just let the unit charge overnight.

Generally the only difference between OEM chargers and aftermarket chargers are the price!! As long as the outputs are approximately the same you should be fine.

Any idea what the output is on the OEM adapters (v, mA)?

the info

I've been planning to buy a Nuvi soon, this will be good info to have. Thanks!

USB is ALWAYS 5v. The only thing that will differ is the mA capacity. Garmin's is 1000 mA. If you buy a 500 mA cheapie, it works fine, just takes longer to charge. Your computer's USB port charging capacity is usually 500 mA. Most 3rd-party chargers will typically be in the 500-700 mA range. They will all work fine. I use the same charger for my Nuvi, Blackberry and iPod.