freezing temperatures and a GPS

 

Now that the cold weather is here i was wondering if I left my Nuvi in the car overnight in below 32 degree temperatures could it damage the unit. I know it could kill the battery but could it damage the screen as well?

--
Ray- **Garmin Nuvi760**

Why find out?

Better to take it out of the car when it's cold than find out what cold will do to it. smile

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

Operating Temp Range

The owners manual lists the operating temperature range as 32-140 degrees F. I have seen the screen lose contrast as it gets really cold but it still works.

Cold

philr_up wrote:

The owners manual lists the operating temperature range as 32-140 degrees F. I have seen the screen lose contrast as it gets really cold but it still works.

Key word there being Operating. If it is turned off there shouldn't be any damage to the screen (IMHO)

Yes, but....

ralphy1 wrote:

If it is turned off there shouldn't be any damage to the screen (IMHO)

That is also true for the battery BUT, if you then turn it on to use, the battery capacity will be a little bit less until it warms up and the screen might be a little dim.

More importantly, if your GPS is cold and you take it into a warm environmnet (like the car with the heater going), water might condense on it and IN it and cause some real damage.

So, the cold itself won't hurt anything but what you do with it AFTER it is cold might.

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

No Ill Effects

My nuvi 200 has been in my car 24/7 for nearly two years with no ill effects. It turns on automatically in extreme cold and heat. Doing so might shorten the battey life, but I almost never run it on battery. Built in GPSrs see the same temperature extremes and can't be removed from the car.

--
><> Glenn <>< Garmin nüvi 2598

Of course

gdfaini wrote:

1) My nuvi 200 has been in my car 24/7 for nearly two years with no ill effects.

2)Built in GPSrs see the same temperature extremes and can't be removed from the car.

1) Regardless of what you ask, there ALWAYS seems to be somebody who says: "No problem. I've been doing that for years with no ill effects." mrgreen

That comment is not meant to argue with or minimize your personal experiences but to suggest that your experience may not be typical of a majority of users(then again, it might be too).

2) Built-in units are designed from the start with that in mind. Some of the changes are a tad bit more expensive so they typically are not included in portable units. They are also physically connected to the rest of the car somehow, by a mounting bracket at the very least. This provides somewhat of a heat sink and helps keep it near to the same temp. as the other dashboard components.

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Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

Good points! I'll have to

Good points! I'll have to remember to bring my 660 in from the secret hiding place in the truck at night!

--
Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

I leave my Garmin in the car

I leave my Garmin in the car all the time, taking it out only to update the POI files or to update the firmware. I occasionally take it out when walking about in a different city as well, just normal stuff!

In the winter months (Toronto, Canada) the only precaution I take in extremely cold weather is to warm the car a bit prior to turning my Garmin on. That seems reasonable, nothing worse than warmer your car a bit just to get to operating temperature..both for the vehicle and the driver.

So if i take a trip on a very cold day in winter, i warm the car for a couple of minutes...get a coffee at Timmy's, then turn it on and life is good.

If my car wasn't used for long periods then i might worry about condensation....however if your vehicle is driven and heats up to warm temperatures often then for me that isn't a concern. If i wasn't going to use my car for 6 months at a time i might think different, but in a normal day to day driven car i don't worry at all.

Effects of cold are reversible

I checked the data sheets on some LCD components. It seems that the effects of very low temperature are reversible. However, to be safe I wouldn't operate the unit until it was above freezing.

Same literature says very high temperatures may cause permanent damage.

It gets down to 40 below

It gets down to 40 below zero where I live. I normally don't leave electronics with LCD screens out in the car overnight, but sometimes I forget.

From my experience, I've noticed that the update on the LCD gets incredibly slow. The displays are unusable until they get warm.

In very cold weather, condensation has never been much of a problem. This is because when the car's heater warms the cold outside air, the relative humidity drops to very low levels.

I've heard rumors about the liquid in the liquid crystal display freezing and causing cracks that ruin some of the pixels, but after a quick Google search on the subject, I couldn't find any actual cases of this happening.

I would....

I would remove the GPS unit weater its below 32 or above 75 degrees in my auto...just for precautionary purposes.

batteries and displays

Modern lithium ion batteries are good to -30C (-22F) in terms of operation; performance of NiMH starts dropping off around -20C (-4F).

LCD materials will slow down below about -10C (14F), depending on the LCD.

(I live by choice on the Left Coast -- my performance is optimal at 10C (50F) and above, although it does drop off at high temperatures as well.)

Warm up the interior of the car a bit, and you should be ready to go. A friend suggests unclipping it and putting it in an interior pocket close to your body while you clean off the windshield.

If you're comfortable, your GPS should be as well!

--
Nuvi 2460, 680, DATUM Tymserve 2100, Trimble Thunderbolt, Ham radio, Macintosh, Linux, Windows

Frozen LCDs

jwt873 wrote:

It gets down to 40 below zero where I live. I normally don't leave electronics with LCD screens out in the car overnight, but sometimes I forget.

I've heard rumors about the liquid in the liquid crystal display freezing and causing cracks that ruin some of the pixels, but after a quick Google search on the subject, I couldn't find any actual cases of this happening.

Many years ago I left a digital voltmeter in my rental car overnight in subzero (F) weather and came out to find the display had been destroyed due to frozen pixels. Even though that was close to 30 years ago, I don't leave LC Displays outside any more.

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ɐ‾nsǝɹ Just one click away from the end of the Internet

Take it with you when you leave your car

Well, I don't know if the colder temperature will damage the gps but I think it's best to take the gps with you since that will prevent your gps from being stolen.

Cold

My opinion is, (for what it's worth)just take it in with you. It could save you some problems and expense and it is not a tough solution.

--
Dave Garmin Nuvi 255W Magellan 1400

+1

Blueshadow54 wrote:

My opinion is, (for what it's worth)just take it in with you. It could save you some problems and expense and it is not a tough solution.

That common sense answer gets my vote !!

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

FWIW I've had my old 200w

FWIW I've had my old 200w and my current 205w in hot summer days up to 100 degrees and cold down to about 25 degrees, with no ill effects. I probably wouldn't turn it on right away after it's been sitting in the car all day (let it cool a little first), but I haven't noticed any problems.

I agree with Blueshadow54 I

I agree with Blueshadow54

I have had 4 different models of garmin units so far. Three (3) have been left in the car with no ill effects, summer and winter. My sons and mother now have these sturdy units.

The fourth does not operate when cold. This is the 255W. I will take it in whenever I'm parking the car in the winter although this is a real hassle.

--
Nancy M Michael

I agree with ka167

Bingo !

I look at a gps just like a cell phone or wallet. It just has too much personal data on it. Even tho the lock feature is nice I use a soft case and never leave it in the car.

And with topo maps on it, the 1450 makes an almost passable hiking gps smile

I think if the LCD screen

I think if the LCD screen were vulnerable to cracking/freezing, wouldn't the same apply to built-in navigation systems as well? They don't crack so I see no reason that the Garmin (or whatever you use) should either. I've left mine in the car during the winter and never had a problem. We get down to single digits overnight here in PA on ocassion.

Thanks Good Info There

k6rtm wrote:

Modern lithium ion batteries are good to -30C (-22F) in terms of operation; performance of NiMH starts dropping off around -20C (-4F).

LCD materials will slow down below about -10C (14F), depending on the LCD.

(I live by choice on the Left Coast -- my performance is optimal at 10C (50F) and above, although it does drop off at high temperatures as well.)

Warm up the interior of the car a bit, and you should be ready to go. A friend suggests unclipping it and putting it in an interior pocket close to your body while you clean off the windshield.

If you're comfortable, your GPS should be as well!

Thanks much good info here.

If only

If only Garmin listed safe operating and storage temperatures in their manuals, then you wouldn't be dependent on the bogus advice of those who not only are apparently too lazy to take their own unit out of the car, but seem to want everyone else to leave it behind too. If only Garmin listed safe operating and storage temperatures. Oh wait .....

And a built in device lacks the expensive and difficult to replace battery that a portable unit has, and might well be made of other components that are temperature rated to higher extremes.

condensation

And condensation might possibly be an issue also?

it's weird

It's weird how many people still is using this old GPS units. You know, those - as somebody said - 30 or 40 pounds backpack units for car navigation. I agree, old electronic devices were made to last. But even I will not be happy to carry heavy backpack with me, when leaving car.

Or maybe we have so many surveyors on forum? Their GPS are big and not at all convenient to carry.

It's always makes me smile, when first we have topic "My GPS is so big and heavy so I am unable to carry it around" and then new one "Can you believe that my so smartly hidden under seat or in glove compartment GPS was stolen? How could it happened?".

Honestly, in winter clothing there is no pocket big enough to fit GPS unit? Especially that all it take to detach it from cradle is to press one button.