leaving GPS / electronics in hot car

It's very bad for the battery, and your GPS unit won't charge in that extreme temperature.

Read the manual.

Also see http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_li...

My Nuvi lives inside the center console of my Nissan Altima since 2008, just replaced the batteries last month, it goes on when I turn the ignition and off when keys are removed, most of the time it just sits there with the lid closed to alert me (dong) of red light cameras on my route.

The heat in Florida never gets past 100º and I haven't noticed anything wrong with it, nor have I seen problems with the car radio and CD player that are always in the car

This is my personal opinion and experience, it may differ from others in this forum, this subject has come up before a discussed at length with opinions on both sides.

You may be interested in this discussion on cold temperature operation. Although storage and operation in heat won't have all of the same concerns as in cold, some of the same info applies ... like unit and component specs.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/31054?page=1

RT

My Sprint HTC Evo locks up in the summer heat, sometimes after only 15 minutes in a warm car. It displays a white screen or blank screen, and to recover, must be taken to a cool place and the battery removed for a while. I have taken it to the Sprint store a couple of times, and they tell me that there is nothing wrong with it. "Don't leave it in the car." Funny that I got through all last summer with the same phone without incident. Now the heat tolerance is way too low. To be continued with Sprint...

Larry

Not good on batteries.

not a good idea

When a transistor, integrated circuit or diode is made, heat infuses a dopant into the silicon wafer forming a junction. Two junctions form a transistor. If the two junctions touch each other then the transistor shorts and won't work. The same holds true for integrated circuits. The dopant continues to disperse into the silicon throughout the life of the device and is the primary reason for its failure. Heat accelerates this process, hotter=faster. Keep your stuff cool.

That's what I tell my wife all the time when she leaves me in the parking lot while shopping in the craft stores. (sorry couldn't resist as it reminded me if you have somethng take care of it)

I leave my GPSes in the car ready to turn on when I turn the key (along with my Sirius radio and all the other electronics in the dash). I have never had a problem and prefer the convenience of simply starting my car and going.

Glad I wasn't the only fool, we may be accused of GPS endangerment by leaving in the car unattended.

The biggest problem I've seen during hot times (in the car and on the Harley) is that the GPS fails to see the micro SD card when booted up. I start down the road and realize my Custom POIs are not there. I hold the ON/OFF button for 8-10 seconds, which is some sort of a soft reboot, and it usually finds it after rebooting. A simple off and back on doesn't work once the card goes missing.

I don't know if its the card or the GPS having the problem but since I have plenty of memory I moved the Custom POIs on to the GPS and did away with the card for now. I will eventually buy a new micro SD and give it a try.

I do know that the zumo gets hot as h%*& when in the sun whether sitting on the dash or in the handlebar mount. Its been happening during use on both vehicles.

I work in Phoenix where the temps have gotten up to 118 degrees in the day. No telling how hot it is in the car. I leave my GPS in the console everyday and have been doing so for over 2 years and I have had no problems.

she's hoping the dopant will spread?

Sorry, couldn't resyist.

The electronics may be fine, but the batteries really suffer.

My concern is the touch screen becoming brittle, or the reactive grid getting damaged. Either way, the nuvi gets taken out.

The ones concerned with batteries inside a hot vehicle better stay away from Nissan Leaf Laminated lithium-ion battery or plan on bringing it inside, maybe park it next to the bed.

I got my Nuvi 260 Christmas of 2007, it went inside my Nissan Altima and stayed there 2008, 2009, 2010 early in 2011 it was only staying on batter power for 15 min, just got battery replaced in late June for $20, to me it was worth it to have in the car when needed rather than in my desk drawer.

I guess it's better than leaving the kids in the car like some "good" parents have done in the past!

Caught one the other day leaving 2 babies in the car at 80F for 15 minutes. She looked at me like I was scum. "I was only gone 2 seconds..." Like hell, I said! I told her I was about to call the police. She responded by taking my license plate down. WTF?

People are messed up these days... How many more kids have to die?

I've sat in my car for a minute or two after shutting it off on a somewhat hot day, and I've noticed the temperature rise a fair amount in that short amount of time. I could only imagine how bad it would be after 10-15 minutes! Unfortunately thinking, or "common sense" does not seem to apply these days. I'm guessing it did at some point in the past.

I all ways take my gps out of the car. I don't want to take the risk of damaging it.

You can make a POI file to REMIND you to REMOVE your personal items when you arrive at work, home or etc...

I have one made to do such when I arrive at my terminal to make sure I remove my Cell, Bluetooth, XM, Garmin, laptop and personal bag from my Rig as I depart for home.

It starts with a phrase taken from Sanford and Son...
"SHUT UP DUMMY" and then proceed to tell me what items to remove from my Rig so that I will not have to return to get them.

I live 25 miles from the terminal... costly to return to get what I left, but expensive to have them get a heat stroke or worse,,, stolen.

USE IT!... get the most out of your GPS unit.

I always leave electronics in the car. I buy the stuff for convenience and don't want to remove two gps's, radar detector, camera, portable battery charger, spare backup drive, etc. when I park the car. The electronics seem to last until the newer, better, more up-to-date model is available. I once had a gps attached to the handlebars of a motorcycle powered up, year-round and it was working the last time I looked.

Have no problems with my nuvi 350 with the heat.

I live in Tucson and have had built into the dash Kenwood/Garmin nav equipment and GM factory nav and they never leave the vehicle with no heat related problems at all.

I do not think the electronics themselves have a problem with the high temps but as others have mentioned it may be more battery related if it would cause any problems.

Flaco said in part..

Ahhhh, I hate to mention it but, (this is not to argue with you).. there have been many times when Florida's temp has risen to over 100º, with 109º being the recorded highest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Florida#Records

Nuvi1300WTGPS

i forgot mi 1490 in the car in florida when i came back the unit was off. when i powered back up there was a screen that warned me that it had powered off to protect itself and to be carefull

I stand corrected

Echoing what others have said, it is indeed very bad for batteries. Batteries are engineered such that they work best near typical room temperature ranges. Cold and heat are both bad for the lifespan and functionality of batteries.

As for the components in the circuits, it really depends on how the components are running. Electronics do not like heat in general, and the effect will largely depend on how hot the components typically run in the circuit. A higher ambient temperature while running will greatly affect a components ability to stay in acceptable temperature ranges. If it is simply stored in heat and then run in cooler indoor temperatures, it will probably have no effect beyond the batteries.

I know some capacitors use paraffin as a dielectric, so depending on the exact melting point of the wax used, heat in a car can certainly cause a problem. Also waxes are often used in electronics potting; I know guitar people often use paraffin-beeswax blends for potting pickups. But in the case of most electronics, heat will not be that big an issue unless the device is running.

It's long been known that common sense is not common.

I leave my 885 in the car,as long as temperatures don't reach over 100 degrees. If I'm in the car, the air is on and if I am parked at home it is in the garage and shade. But if temps getover 105 or 110 out side, I figure the temp is the car, when it is parked and windows are roled up, may exceed 140 0r 150 degrees and I won't leave it in the car, even when parked in the garage, when it is that hot. I have had the 885 for a couple of years and so ar, no problems with it.

That's using your poi's for greater good!!!

My Nuvi and gpsmap units live in my car. As do spare AA batteries and a charger. I seem to have more of a problem with plastics degenerating than with electronics going bad. I've had several Garmin units and most still worked years later when I quit using them. I once left an Escort radar detector on the dash of a car with a black interior with an outside temp of low 90's. After lunch I returned and the Escort wouldn't work. I put it in the shade, ran the a/c in the car and about half an hour later the unit was working ok. I would imagine that one reason we pay what we do for our car electronics would be that the components are designed to survive in a wide temp range.

Heat is never good for batteries... But if you do need to change the battery because of an issue is not hard and can be found around on the internet.

That's the problem, the non-avionics, non-military electronic devices do not have this kind of temp specs. If one wants to use GPS units in extreme temperatures, one should consider the avionic units.

Direct from the nuvi user's manual:
"Do not store the nuvi where prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures can occur, because it can cause permanent damage."

"Operating temperature range: 32 degrees F to 140 degrees F."
"Charging temperature range: 32 degrees F to 113 degrees F."

From the "Important Safety and Product Information" literature, concerning battery warnings:
"When storing the device for an extended time, store within the following temperature range: from 32 degrees to 77 degrees F."
"Do not operate the device outside of the following temperature range: from -4 degrees to 131 degrees F."

It's 113 degrees F in the Phoenix area right now (it has reached 122 degree F). Parking a hot car inside a garage will heat the temperature in the garage well past 130 degrees F. Electronics left in the sun inside a hot car will well exceed the device temp limits. The manufacturers warned you, they can void your warranty if they determine their published temp limits were exceeded.

RT

Sprint finally acknowledged my problem phone and swapped it for another. The new phone works well in all environments. As to the subject at hand, if you think about it, all new cars have multiple microprocessors under the hood. My car has a processor directly connected to a pedal with no mechanical linkage to the engine. This processor controls the engine speed and miles per hour. One would certainly hope for and depend on the processor's ability to tolerate extreme conditions.

Larry

I'm glad you weren't discussing GPSs and other electronics in stolen (hot) car !

You're comparing apples and pomegranates here. The only similarities are size and color. The components are designed to completely different sets of specifications. Auto electronics are designed to work in extreme temperatures, personal electronics aren't.

leave it in the trunk, no radient heat from all the glass...temp quite a bit cooler there, and less chance of theft!

It has to be hard on the batteries, if you use them you may want to take it out of the heat!

I used my 760 semi-permanently in one of my vehicles since 2009 until recently. It only came off the dash of the vehicle if it went on a trip with me. It got moved to backup when I bought my 765t which I use the same way. I also have a 885t on the dash of my convertible now. It is also semi-permanently mounted. By semi-permanent I mean the wiring stays in the vehicle but I can take the nuvi out of it's mount to use on a portable mount in another vehicle. I had to replace the battery once in the 885t but that is more likely to be the fact that I bought it reconditioned than it is the heat of the car affecting the battery. The 760 lasted at least twice as long in the same duty and is still fine.

I should also add I live in South Carolina. 100 degree days are not as rare as they should be and there is lots of sunshine. My cars are in the garage when I am home but at work they sit in the sun 10 hours or so. Interior gets nice and toasty.

It can also be asked “How can Aircraft/Military/Space electronics operate at such extreme climate conditions when the personal automotive GPS unit can’t”? ‘Not all components are created equal’. Not only do their components (i.e. resistors, capacitors, transistors, IC, etc) have different ‘value’ and ‘temperature’ tolerances; the units also have different design and manufacturing requirements. An example is some Aircraft/Military/Space (and some automotive electronics) components and circuit boards are encased in a material similar to epoxy to keep out moisture.

While working in an Environmental lab for a major Electronics Manufacturer, we pulled units off the assembly line … then ran them through extreme temperature, humidity, altitude, vibration, drop, and RFI tests. If we had redundant failures, the unit would have to be re-designed. I doubt that the personal GPS units go through that kind of rigorous testing.

Sure, you may get by operating your GPS outside of Garmin's temp specs. You also may get by driving 110 mph in a 70 MPH zone; but that doesn't mean you should do it. Anything can happen when a component is operated well outside of its temperature spec, including applying a voltage to an IC that exceeds its max voltage spec … thereby frying it. If you want a Garmin GPS that will operate outside the required temp specs, have a look at their aviation units. Still the cheapest route … just take it out of the car!

@boxcar and retiredtechnician. Thanks for your insightful comments. If you read my post you won't find any comparisons. My subject was "Electronics and Heat".

Thanks again,

Larry

I just leave it in the storage box under the center console arm rest. It is also where my nettop located. It is well insulated for heat as well as away from prying eyes.

After reading BoxCar's and my posts in this thread, they are in direct 'comparison' to your stated subject! The following words and phrases from our posts appear to relate directly to your subject of "Electronics and Heat"!
"heat", "Temperature", "electronics", "113 degrees F", "122 degrees F", "130 degrees F", "electronic components", "automotive electronics", etc, etc, etc

RT

This subject has come up before in other threads with similar results, we have two divided camps one that assumes from reading specs and electronics manuals that exposing electronics and batteries to extreme temperatures is bad for the GPSr, then you have the other camp that ignores what is written in manuals and electronics periodicals and consistently leaves their GPSr in the vehicles with no apparent or visible damage other than the batteries going dead after a few years of abuse.

What is needed in this and previous thread is the missing camp, the one that left their GPSr in the vehicles inside glove box or center console and upon returning to the vehicle found a glob of plastic of what used to be the GPSr or at least someone that found their unit stopped working (dead, trash) after being exposed to extreme high temperature.

I’m neither an electronic expert nor do I claim to be one but from my own personal knowledge my unit is running as good today as the day I got it, the battery lasted 3+ years and it happily sits in the car all the time.

Operating a GPS outside of its temp specs is not always an 'on-off' situation, it won't necessarily stop operating, it can deteriorate or damage the components to a point where it may quit next week when it's 75 degrees F. Of course, when you send it in for warranty work, you'll tell them "I just took it out of a 140+ degree car and all was fine".

Like I said, "Sure, you may get by operating your GPS outside of Garmin's temp specs." Some get by texting while driving drunk; then again ........

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Swisher-Teen-Killed-in-Rollov...

RT

In the diagnostics page in my nuvi, it actually lists the current temperature. I have no doubt it also records it for use by Garmin's techs if need be.

I’m neither an electronic expert nor do I claim to be one but from my own personal knowledge my unit is running as good today as the day I got it, the battery lasted 3+ years and it happily sits in the car all the time.

You can quote manuals or psalms of the bible; I’m speaking from my own experience and not making assumptions because I read a warning somewhere.

it's diffently nno good for tem... bu if you must a lest make sureheir no in direct sunlight