A/C Wall Charger experience among Nuvi 8xx users, especially 855’s

I personaly have never used a wall charger, so maybe someone with actual experience will be able to help you more...but I have read and understand that you can in fact use your Nuvi as a GPS while plugged into the wall.

From what I have heard, you will not find that it charges any faster, and I personaly would be a litte hisatent with anything called a "rapid" charger. In reality, I doubt you will actually need it to charge "rapid" anyway.

If you are needing to charge your nuvi up rapidly, so that you can get back out onto the field, I recomend buying a couple extra batteries. Then just do your best to keep them all charged during slow use times. It would be nice if we could get a stand alone battery charger....

Check the specs on these units. The standard Garmin wall charger supplies 1 amp. Many of the inexpensive USB wall chargers only supply .5 or .7 amps. A 1 amp charger will charge your Nuvi much faster than the USB cable connected to your computer. Between my iPOD, Blackberry and a cell phone or two, I have several USB wall chargers. They all work, but the Garmin charger works fastest. And the Garmin charger is the only one that allows using the Nuvi while it's charging. All the third party chargers charge my Nuvis, but put them in mass storage mode.

I got the 12V adapter from Garmin https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11190 to power my unit when I want to use it with AC power. I use it to power many if my chargers including my cellphone charger. I don't remember how the charge rate was using it.

I have and use the Garmin AC adapter for my 750. I believe that any unit that has rechargeable batteries will be recharged during any connection to an outside source (ie, AC adapter, 12V adapter in auto or connected to the USB Port). When connected to the USB port, the unit expects some type of reaction such as software update, POI load or some other function that is computer related.

The beauty of the AC adapter is that you can recharge the unit while you are eating, sleeping or doing other mundane tasks. The only alternative is to leave it plugged up in the Auto and it will stay charged.

I use my AC adapter all the time. I believe that anyone who has a rechargeble unit should have one. Makes life a little bit easier.

My .02 worth.

Curt

Yes.

My 360 was supplied with an AC charger. I think it's worthwhile having. It works on both my units and they both can be fully functional when plugged into the AC charger. Charing is always consistent/predictable on the AC charger.

I personally would not use any charger but a Garmin. I use one with my 750 and when connected you can use it to do maintenance or whatever and it will still be charging. You can also just charge it if you wish. For an extra couple bucks why mess with other manufacturers. Go with the OEM brand...I bought mine at the Dell website for 19.95.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/GPS_Accessories/...

Thanks to the comments above, I was saved from making a possible mistake.

Somehow, when I searched Amazon for the specific Garmin charger 010-10723-00, I clicked on two alternative products...neither of which are actually that Garmin labeled unit.

I was surprised that the two units I was interested in had only 4 and 1 reviews...and had forgotten that Amazon actually listed many other possible units. Dumb move!

I finally found the correct link at Amazon to the 010-10723-00 model, and see that 107 reviews exist (and the great majority very positive).

I read that other Nuvis are fully operational while using the Garmin charger...but I am still looking for confirmation that it works with an 8xx series model?

[I ask the above question because of the unusual nature of the 855, i.e., its "Suspend" mode prevents the unit from being operational when on USB power.]

I have used the Garmin Part Number: 010-10723-00 AC charger on both a 855 and a 885T and yes the Nuvi 855 can be operated (from the Main Menu and on the “Map Screen”) while connected to an A/C wall charger.

It also works that way with my 760 and c550.

I use my a/c charger when I am at home and put it in the car just in case the 12v charger in the car fails. You can buy a car power inverter to use the a/c wall charger in the car.
Converts 12 V DC to 120 V AC. Run and charge 120 V electronics in your vehicle.

Thanks to everyone again...and especially rjrsw, for the news that the specified Garmin charger works with the 855.

I just placed my order for both the charger and carrying case (folding wallet style) at Amazon.

I'm really glad that I asked my A/C charger questions here!

I use the Garmin folding wallet style leather case on mine and it works great to protect the unit and it is of very high quality and has a belt loop on the back for when you want to take it with you when on foot. Just used it on a 2000 mile trip last week and it came in very handy when on foot.

Thanks again to all contributors in this thread. I received my new wall charger today (from Amazon), and am very pleased to report that my 855 is totally operational when plugged in and charging.

I re-charged from a totally drained battery, and found it at full capacity 1.5 hours later; I'll have to be more observant next time, to determine if it finishes recharging in even less time. [I'm pretty sure that previous full charging via USB took more than 3 hours.]

I also like the wallet style case, which allows use of the 855 when inside. My unit acquired satellites with no problem while in the case, and the power button is fully accessible as well.

The case is about twice as thick as my previous make-shift use of a padded sunglass case, but I think that the extra padding will prove useful whenever I drop it again (as happened before, but to carpet). In fact, I like using the Nuvi while inside the case...and operating it while outside on my patio...and being less fearful of losing my grip on what used to be an UNcased slippery devil! I will learn to live with this bulkier package when I "walkabout" with it in my pocket.

Thanks again for giving me the confidence to make these purchases...and KNOWING that I would be happy before I even placed the order! I hope other Nuvi owners can benefit from the knowledge exchanged in this thread.

On a side note, I always pull my 855 out of my vehicle and keep it fully charged using USB. Even though I have the AC charger, I use USB because it charges at a slower rate, thus preserving the battery life a little better.

Fast charging is nice and the Garmin charger does do a quick job of fully recharging a battery, but at a slight cost to the health of the battery.

Heat is a battery's enemy and the price you pay for rapid charging is more heat (more current = more heat).

If you're not in a rush I'd recommend recharging your battery by USB and only using the AC charger if really necessary.

What would be sweet is if Garmin made a standalone charger to keep a spare battery always available. There are some crazy 3rd party universal chargers that could "technically" recharge this battery, but personally I wouldn't trust the quality of any of them (all are no-name brands and look cheap and flimsy).

Cheers,

Thanks for the information concerning battery charging. Usually before I take a trip, I am using the computer to load updated POI files but I wondered at what rate the car charger (the cigarette lighter power cord) charges. Would it produce a fast charge like the AC unit or a slow charge like the USB connection to a computer?

The car charger charges with the same amount of current as the AC adapter does and that is 1 amp.

On my 765 I have accidentally turned the unit on when putting it in the case. I could not figure how the battery was getting run down. I thought it was a bad battery. Nope just a bad operator. FYI.

The Garmin 010-10823-01 slip in style leather case will do what you are saying. I returned the slip in style for that exact reason and got the Garmin 010-10987-00 folding wallet style that is a completely different design and will not activate the switch. It also allows for the full use of the unit without removing it from the case so very handy when not mounted on cradle.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13541

I have been using an AC USB charger for my nuvi 855 when I want to play around with it in the house. The 855 becomes fully operational about 30 seconds after it boots to the computer link screen. And the battery charges until full the whole time you're working with the unit. You can hold the battery icon for about 10 seconds to enter the diagnostic screen and monitor the percentage of charge to see how it's doing. While it is charging, it will say "Charging" and also display the percentage a couple of lines down. When it reaches 100% it says "OK Cap" instead of "Charging" so you know it's done.

If I use my 855 on battery power until it dies, it takes about 3 hours to fully recharge. You can not turn the unit off while it is plugged into the USB charger. Even if you hold the power switch for 10 seconds, it will just reboot.

I already had the USB charger for my MP3 player so I didn't have to buy anything. I read a thread on GPSreview.net that it was safe to use a 0.5 amp USB charger with the nuvi so I thought I'd try it and it works fine. The model I am using is made by Scosche and it came with a DC USB charger as well for under $15.00. This is exactly what I have:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7081041

I also just ordered this model;

http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-AC-DC-USB-Charger/dp/B00167S66G/...

to keep in the car so if I stay at a hotel sometime and I need a charger I will have one that I can use in or out of the car.

my Motorola Bluetooth adapter. It's rated at 200 mills which is less than half the USB port. Slow, trickle charge that gets the job done when needed.

my Motorola Razr V3xx. Small, light weight, and puts out 550 ma. Charges up my 885T in under 3 hours.

Thanks. It is good to know that I should always charge on the USB and then just use the car unit to run the unit while on the road.

I Agree.

If I charge my 265WT in a car, how long does the battery last when I use it out of the car?

The GDB 50 Car Adapter that comes with the 885T actualy contains its own internal battery and FM radio to receive MSN Direct data. The internal battery is designed to power the radio for up to four days (after 12v power is removed) so that the GDB 50 is always ready with current traffic data for the 885T.

As expected, the GDB 50 will charge its battery whenever it is conneced directy to a 12v source such as a live cigarette lighter socket or from the Garmin 110v to 12v adapter, whether or not it is connected to the 885T.

However, if you plan to charge your 885T via USB and if you don't plan to use the GDB 50 for more than, say, three days, (eg. more than a weekend) then bring the GDB 50 inside and keep it plugged into the 885T when charging via USB. This will also charge the GDB 50's battery.

Good tip, didn't know that you could charge the GDB50 that way.

Yep. Confirmed it by watching the GDB 50's battery level while on USB at Tools >> Test >> MSN Direct >> Status

Has anyone attempted changing the internal battery on their GDB50 yet ?

I am using this Car Charger to Wall Charger adapter http://www.meritline.com/car-charger-to-wall-charger-adapter... and it works very good. I can still use navigation functions on the Nuvi when connected to this charger.For $2.49 + free shipping its a good deal

The easiest way to get your Nuvi 8xx to operate while conected to your computer via USB is to set the "Tools" -> "USB Switcher" from "Mass Storage over USB" to "Ethernet over USB". Note: the "USB Switcher" icon does not show up under "Tools" until you first enter and exit "Test Page" mode. To enter "Test Page" mode from the main screen:
- press "View map"
- press "Speed"
- press and hold "mph" for about 8 seconds.

FYI - after entering "Test Page" mode, two new icons
will show up under "Tools" (until the unit is rebooted) - "USB Switcher" & "Test".

I suspect that most GDB50s are still too young to have failed out of warranty. Opening the GDB50 would involve tearing the label, voiding any chance of a factory replacement.
I would also be a little concerned about accidentally detuning the FM radio. Are you having problems or just curious?

That's interesting! Where did you find this info and are there any other hidden commands?

A few hours of R&D and trial & error.
Yes, there are lots of hidden commands under the "Test Pages" (Tool | Test). Here's an interesting one: "Record" function - Enables your Nuvi 8xx to record and store screen shots 1 frame every 2 seconds. You can even store them on the SD card.

Mine charger from Garmin and I can operate the unit while charging. I also got couple extra battery in case I have to go on the field with out charger. Compare to other charger, the Garmin charge mine battery a bit faster. I got mine for $14.99 from Bestbuy.

A/C Wall Charger experience among Nuvi 8xx users, especially 855’s.

Yes!...
I have both a Garmin wall charger and a Motorola (cell phone) wall charger. I have used both on my 855. When using the Garmin wall charger it powers up in the 'Navigation Mode'. When using the Motorola wall charger it powers up in the 'Mass Storage Mode' first then approximately 15-20 seconds later it then changes into the 'Navigation Mode'.

In both instances it will charge the battery.

Being the Motorola wall charger will charge my 855 and the Motorola cell phone, I now only carry my Motorola wall charger with me on a trip using it as a dual purpose charger.

i personally dont like the car charger that comes with the unit. its a struggle to take it out and im scared to either break the charger or my cigarette lighter.and im not willing to pay extra for the msn direct service.

So my alternative was to buy a car charger with the two usb inputs. it works great since i can use a usb cabe to charge the gps and my ipod with the same cigarette lighter unit since i have 2 usb inputs.
it looks exactly like this except for the brand

http://www.zagg.com/images/other/zaggChargerMainImage.jpg

at first i couldnt get the screen off the "connecting to pc " mode but if you hold the button to the left for a couple of seconds it turns on.

hope this helps

There is no button to the left on the "connecting to pc" screen. That is the only button on that screen on my 885T, plus the Garmin logo. If not using my prescribed method above, do you know how to exit the charging mode without unplugging the usb cable?

lol Sorry Syntax. What i meant was if you slide the on and off button from its normal postion to the left and hold until the unit soft resets back into GPS Mode.

You're basically reseting the computer out of "usb connection pc mode" back to gps mode.

hope this helps

syntax lol

Thanks ganador11, but yeah I already knew about the soft reset. Was hoping that somebody found another secret path to doing this without rebooting.

I've just plugged in my Motorola phone charger, and it loads the maps, and charges the unit. Oh, me likey dis! Boku!