My Nuvi 350 battery isn't holding a charge. Can I replace it? How? Thanks!

Batteries are not user-installable.

Contact Garmin's Tech support about the issue, and they may offer you the chance to do a warranty return of your unit and replace it with a refurbished one, or offer some sort of repair option.

I would suspect the wall charger is not charging the unit.

What kind of adapter are you using when you plug it into the wall?

My reasoning is if it works ok with the auto power, the wall power should be the same. If it was the battery then it would not hold a charge only if you were running it on internal power.

In both cases you say the unit is plugged in. What does it do when just on battery power? Does the battery meter show full charge after either or both recharge from 12 volt or wall? How old is the GPS?

You also do not mention if when removing your Nuvi from the auto cradle what the battery charge shows and how long the battery lasts after doing so.

I had a cell phone charger that went bad and when it did, it actually drained the battery while plugged in instead of charging it. Could be that just your wall charger is bad.

Did you buy the wall charger from Garmin or is it a generic USB wall charger (I tried to charge my Nuvi 200 using a motorola USB charger but it didn't work).

Was it working before and stop recently?

If you are trying to use a cell phone AC charger more than likely it will not work. I have tried several and the only charger that will charge my 750 is the Garmin AC charger. You can find them online for around $20. The great thing about it is you can use it while it is charging.

How old is the Nuvi? Is it still under warranty? If it is, contact Garmin support and they will repair/replace the GPSr.

If it is not under warranty, you have 2, 3, or maybe 4 options:

1) Send it back to Garmin for a paid repair, OR
2) Do a google search for "nuvi battery replacement", and either get the kit and do it yourself, OR
3) send it to a 3rd party company that will do it for you, for less than Garmin, OR
4) Get a new Nuvi!

I have replaced the batteries in a number of personally owned, out of warranty iPods over the past few years. My first time, it worked, but I butchered my iPod. Subsequent attempts were much better (and the quality of the kits improved, too).

It all depends of your tolerance to the cost/risk. A botched replacement by anyone other than Garmin will ruin your GPSr, and leave you shopping for a new one.

Good luck!

I have other "mini-USB" car chargers that will not work with my Nuvi, BUT, my Nuvi charger does work with my new Moto q9m cell phone. Saved me about $30.

That makes sense...I believe the Garmin charger has a little more umfffff which the GPS needs. Like I said I tried several cell phone chargers and they would not work with the NUVI..

What is the output of the wall charger you are using? Is it 5V-1000mAh, 750mAh, 500mAh etc..? If it is a generic cell phone charger, you may not be supplying enough mAh. Also, I believe some cell phone chargers are only ~3.5v.

The garmin charger shows output as 5V/1.0A
It also says it is a switching charger whatever that means.

My charger is also a 5V-1.0A but what is the one Chrystie is using? My point was that if it is not the correct charger, and they are using a generic charger, they may not be charging the unit fully. A lot of chargers tend to look the same. If it was not for the words Garmin and Motorola on mine, I would get them mixed up. My Motorola charger only has an output of 750mAh.

I believe the Garmin GPS units need at least 1.0A of power to charge adequately. In addition the unit goes to navigation mode when plugged first pugged in using the garmin charger. To put into full charge mode you shut the unit off and it says going to charging mode. When I used the motorola charger it would charge (don't know how fast) but not go to the navigation mode at all.

I've actually had luck charging my 360 with the ac charger that came with my wife's motorola phone. Never gave it a thought.

I ran 2 tests on my Nuvi 750 using my Motorola AC Mini-USB Charger (for my Motorola w385 cellular phone).

Test 1: Does the Motorola AC Mini-USB Charger charge
the Nuvi750?
Test 2: Will the Nuvi run in the Navigation mode
while connected to the Motorola AC Mini-USB
Charger?
----------------------------------
Test 1:
First I ran the Nuvi on the internal
battery for awhile to discharge the down
to 2 bars.

Secondly I then plugged my Nuvi750 to the
Motorola AC Mini-USB charger, It booted up
in mass storage mode. I let it stay this
way for 1 hour and then disconnected my
Nuvi750 from the charger and let it boot
up. The charge bars now showed 4 (FULL
CHARGE).

Passed Test 1.
----------------------------------
Test 2:

Next I re-connected the Nuvi750 back up to the Motorola AC Mini-USB charger and let it boot up into the mass storage mode.

I then slid the power switch to the LOCK position.

I then unpluged the AC charger and waited for 2 to 3 seconds and then re-plugged the AC power back into the Nuvi750. It booted up in the Navigation mode.

I then slid the power switch to the center position and it worked just like it was suppose to in the Navigation Mode.

Passed Test 2.
-------------------------
This seems to proves that the Nuv7xx can charge and work properly when using other vendors Mini-USB AC Charger adaptors. Test 2 uses a small but very unobtrusive workaround.

Sorry as I may have not made myself very clear. The phone chargers will work but I believe it takes longer to charge because they normally do not put out the higher amperage. Also they will not let you use the navigation (inputing,searching,editing, etc.) while it is charging. This is what I found with the NUVI750. Maybe the 300 series has different requirements. Didn't mean to mislead you...

The 3xx has two mini-USB 'B' sockets - one on the unit itself and one on the cradle. It limits its current drain to 500mA from the one on the unit, but will attempt to draw more from the cradle/rear connector.

If you connect 'standard' USB power to the rear connector, and the Nüvi battery is completely flat, it seems to try to draw more current than is available; it then tends to set the battery state to fully charged, and increments the charge cycle counter. It's definitely not fully charged though - as removing the power supply soon confirms!

I've found you can succesfully supply power to rear connector from a POWERED usb hub (and charge the unit). Presumably, the cheaper and nastier the better! - one that doesn't implement any sort of current limiting (so that potentially, upto 2A is available, on for a typical 4 port hub).

I have a Nuvi 760 somewhere in the shipping system and I decided to get a Garmin branded charger. I've seen a ton of chargers that all look similar to each other but have very different outputs. If the Garmin charger puts out 5V at 1.0A (1,000mA) then that's what I'll use. It's not an expensive item so I have no reason to fiddle around with other options.

Amen!!!!

Some of the Motorola/Blackberry chargers that I have used put the Nuvi 350 into data mode and do not charge the Unit. Its best to get a replacement original Garmin charger.

I've seen some cheap ones over on Ebay that claim to work, but havn't tried them.
http://tiny.cc/6N87n

Also the Gomadic chargers seem to work on the Nuvi lineup. My brother bought a replacement from them and it works for him.
http://tiny.cc/xLthr

But i would suspect for the C3xx and the C5XX series would be the same. but have not run across any thing for the Nuvi series.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=67938

you can not replace battery yourself must be done by garmin company.

Garmin does not sell replacement batteries, but there are a number of replacement battery kits available, just do a google search on "garmin nuvi battery replacement".

Again, depending on your tolerance for the cost/risk factor, you may want to replace the battery in an OUT OF WARRANTY GPSr.

Garmin has a very forgiving policy for battery replacement under warranty. If it's under warranty, contact Garmin.

Your best bet, if you believe it to be the battery, is to call Garmin. I've found them to be extremely easy to deal with on the phone and they are incredibly helpful. If you have to deal with customer assistance Garmin is top of the line in that category. Give them a call: 1-800-800-1020

You can find replacement batteries on eBay. Just search ebay for "Nuvi 350 battery"
There are instructions on how to replace it here:
http://www.dacust.com/nuvi350/index.html
and here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/webspace8/
Good luck!

get a new one, cheaper than any alternatives

Great news. Contrary to popular belief, the battery can be user replaced. Here's a link to a video that shows how: http://www.newpower99.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GAR...

Hope this helps. Cheers, Craig

My daughter has the same 205T I do, and the official wall charger. Her husband's brother tried to use that to reload his cell phone. Bad idea, fried the phone

So there's definitely something special with those Garmin chargers !

Do a google search and you will find replacement batteries for sale, kits and videos on how to replace the batteries. They run about $25 depending on the model.

It's just not worth the hassle. Garmin intends you to throw these things away when the crappy battery gives out. If you had two years with it, count yourself lucky.

Thanks for the link to the video, Craig.

I just replaced battery in my 5-year old Nuvi 350 and it works like a champ, holding the charge now for 6 hours+. Shipped battery cost me $8.50 from ebay. And I invested $1.79 on a good US quality Torx #5 tip from Ace hardware.

Replacement is not easy. You need to be extra-extra careful not to damage the thin ribbon cables inside. Previous experience in electronics repairs would be highly recommended and a HUGE plus.

I would suggest the following: If you have no need to use your Nuvi 350 out of the vehicle, then leave it the way it is. The risk of destroying it while getting inside may not be worth the benefit of a new battery. Plus, you'll save your time and money.

But.... if you decide to fix it, take extra time and extra caution rather than rush through the repair.

Things to watch for in particular:

Don't let the antena's spring shoot across the room when removing it first.

When removing the single Phillips screw from the main PCB, make sure to move the ribbon clear from it to prevent cutting it with the screwdriver's tip.

The speaker plug and battery plug are placed near each other and are of the same type and size, so right away, before unplugging, mark the speaker socket "S" with a sharpie to avoid mistake and damage to the speaker's output.

I bought a replacement battery on line. Followed instructions on youtube, (go slow and you'll be okay) and had success. Before you buy a new battery you might also try opening up the GPS and disconnecting the battery. Let it sit an hour. Come back, reinstall the battery and use any of the charging methods previously mentioned. This process may reset the GPS evaluation of your battery charge level. If this doesn't work, order the replacement battery. My batter came with a free mini tool kit.

We also have a 350 and a few years ago I needed a DC Charger. The old one stopped working. I was RVing near the factory and stopped in. They provided a new charger. I think they are a good customer support company. Have a great week. No problems since
Rick

http://www.sharc.net/gps_repair.htm
This guy is a member here on the forum and he will replace the battery on your 350. He works cheaper that the guys at Garmin and you will get your GPS back; not a re-furbished unit.

replaced many of my Nuvi batteries, some are more difficult than others, the 350, 360 and the 370 are a bit more involved, but well worth "saving."
YouTube can walk you through it with great ease, good luck!

Batteries Plus has a good choice of batteries that will fit the Garmin units. They can show you how to replace the battery.