885T battery life when stored overnight or longer.......

The nuvi 8x0/8x5 series do not actually power off when you use the power switch to "power off" the unit but instead go into a sleep/or standby mode. This is how they are designed. This sleep/standby mode uses battery power to keep the unit ready for it's instant-on "feature" (not much of a feature IMO).

To fully power down the unit, remove the battery from the unit. This truly powers the unit off and will not use any battery power.

I have left my 885T in sleep mode with the battery in it for days and the battery level only went down one bar.

The instant on feature is one of the two things I like the best about the 885T when comparing it to the 760 and c550 units. It is more than worth the slight battery drain.

I just recently used it on a 2,000-mile trip and it sure is nice not having to wait for the GPS to boot up and lock in the sats every time you stop for a little while. You have to experience it for a while to understand and I had no idea how much nicer that feature actually was until I had it.

As DorkusNimrod pointed out you can remove the battery if you are not going to be using the unit for a long while but I have not done that and never have been even close to having a dead battery yet.

The other top two feature is the voice navigation that works very well and comes in very handy in heavy traffic. It was very useful when running around the Phoenix and the LA areas.

Thanks Dorkis nimrod,

Well that sucks, it's just weird how sometimes it will have battery life after a couple of weeks and other times it craps out on me in a day or so?.

Kevin M

Sounds like you may have a bad battery. If you contact Garmin and tell them about the battery with a full charge dying in one day when off they most likely will send you a new battery.

It might be important WHEN you turn it off. My 760 goes into sleep mode when you turn it off while it's still in the cradle and getting power. I really like the instant-on feature, too. No searching for sats, etc. Turn it off when it's out of the cradle, and it actually shuts off. You might find something similar with yours.

now we're saying this is a design feature? My 760 essentially does the same thing yet the battery goes dead in no time at all.

Is this feature covered in the Owner's Manuals?

Thx.

That's for the 800 series. It's designed that way for Instant On. The 760 is not designed for Instant On and the battery won't last long enough to carry it overnight.

The 760 should be allowed to shut down when you turn the ignition switch off.

It should, but it's not always the case as some of us have learned.

How long will the 8 series battery last in the suspend/resume mode? Weeks?

Thanks.

When it gets too low, it talks and says it's dying. Quite a surprise the first time when you're not sure where it came from. When I use the comupter (every day) I stick the 885t in a port and let it charge. Takes a while compared to "in the car" but this way it usually stays fully charged.

Zapca

I had not heard about the verbal low battery warning. I guess mine has never gotten that low, sounds funny and I guess I will know where it's coming from when I hear that.

Thanks. How long 'til you typically get the verbal warning? Days? Weeks? Hours?

With the frequent need for re-charging, I have to believe your battery lifespan will be brief.

My battery discharges quickly, at least I think so. Had it fully charged and two days later plugged it into the computer and was down a couple bars. Also kind of scarey. The guy at the Garmin place in Chicago said it should last longer and not to worry about "a couple bars down". (He offered a back up for $30.) Not sure how long it took before I got the warning (probably about a week) but haven't heard it since. I keep the Nuvi plugged in somewhere. It was suggested you take the battery out but I'm not sure what I lose.

Zapca

I have noticed something similar--but it has been inconsistent. I'm thinking it may still be connected bluetooth wise to my cell phone when it is in range.

Sooner, you may have just broken the code -- that would explain the inconsistencies reported. BT would drain it quickly.

You won't lose anything if the battery goes dead if you have saved it before going into sleep mode- same as when pulling a battery and replacing it with a fresh one. I just tried it. Favorites and Maps(obviously) remain when pulling the battery without external power.

From Garmin
Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

As long as the information has been saved in the unit, it will not be lost. Like you stated in a previous e-mail, you'll want to have external power when changing out the battery if you do not save information on your unit as the unit will stay powered on.

With Best Regards,
Tanyon H
Product Support Specialist
Automotive Team
Garmin International
913-397-8200
800-800-1020
913-440-8280 (fax) Att: Tanyon H
www.garmin.com

Well, it's not exactly true. You do lose voice preferences - mine switches to default Jill every time I let the battery run out.

my primary concern is draining the battery to 0 repeatedly. I had an issue with my 760 a month ago where the battery had gone to 0 and I could not re-charge it without great difficulty.

The batteries have a finite number of recharge cycles, maybe 350, for example. Beyond that, the battery becomes worthless. If you're draining the battery after every use, I can see more frequent battery replacement, etc.

My battery went to zero bars in one+ day. Suprised me since it usually loses a couple bars every other day or so. Noticed that I had left my cell phone on next to the 885t which was linked via bluetooth. As mentioned above it is possible the big drain is bluetooh induced. Beside when the battey went to "low" with no bars the bluetooth connection was broken and I had to go thru the hook up procedure.

Zapca