refurbishing your Garmin

Lot's of threads on this.

Lots of videos online for this.... Google the following words -- youtube replace garmin battery. You'll get more than 35,000 hits including sources to get the battery.

Ditto for the screen, it seems a lot of people DIY their Garmins.

Larry

Replacing the battery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXXzsi9Ures

For a battery check eBay.

I replaced the battery in my Nuvi 680, it wasn't the easiest repair I've made on an electronic device. But it wasn't that bad. The cost was very minimal too, around $20 if I remember correctly. As far as touch screens go, that would be a whole other animal. You might find a damaged unit on ebay somewhere that you might be able to swap a screen out with. I would guess it would be cheaper to simply purchase a new unit than hunt down a new screen. Just the nature of modern electronics.

That's why I got the 1300LM. They wanted $100 for a touchscreen, so I said NO. If I ever come across a $20 or less replacement for the touchscreen I'll fix my 260W.

Replaced the battery in our Garmin Nuvi 750 yesterday. First, I backed the unit up.

In short, you remove 2 Torx #5 screws & pry. In my case, fingernails were sufficient to remove the cover.

Swap, snap, screw & done.

some tough fingernails!!

Indeed you have tough fingernails. I would suggest getting a case opening tool, it can be used on any Nuvi.

Battery replacement on 750 is very easy, on the 660 far more difficult and easy to dislodge touchscreen and LCD cables, extreme care must be used.

I replaced the battery in my 660 using a kit purchased from these guys www.newpower99.com.

It was about $20 and battery came with Torx Tool and Shim Tool. It took about 20 minutes to do. They have video instructions available.

Agree with skydivemo - changing battery in 680 wasn't easy, but not overly difficult either.

If you have a torx set that will enough and small screwdriver. Or use a precision screw in place of torx screw. I did with mine NUvi.

Do it slow & follow instruction carefully.

the battery is easy.

If the maps are less than two years old, you've probably got a keeper; depends on how the screen looks.

The "newer" generation has glass screens, which should hold up a lot better than the older resistive film screens.

In talking to a friend about upgrading, I think that's a key factor, the condition of the screen. If the screen is in good shape, replace the battery and update the maps.

If the screen is getting beat up, you can get third party to replace it, or you can go with a newer unit.

I went with a 2460 -- larger screen (glass), more memory for maps, and unexpected benefits such as faster update rates. I also went with lifetime maps and traffic.

I replaced the nuvi 660 battery myself after watching the YouTube video. It was easy.

When the touchscreen went bad, I sent it to Jim at Sharcnet. Replacement touchscreens are not as easy to come by for the average user and are more difficult to replace.

This site should help you out, Garmins are not scary on the inside. http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2010/02/how_to_replace_the_intern...

I replace my battery. Got it from here: http://www.batteryship.com/ it comes with the kit and only cost around 20 bucks. aS Gary mentioned above contact Jim at Sharcnet (he is a member here) to do both if you also need a new screen.

I got my battery for my 360 on ebay and replaced it in about 30 min using a video I'd found on youtube. Good luck!

And of course there is option of sending unit to Garmin. Not sure about battery replacement, but repair usually has flat fee. You can check prices here:

http://www8.garmin.com/support/outofwarranty.html

Note, that some units will be discontinued and not accepted for repair. And if you have bought traffic or Lifetime maps and you will receive different unit as replacement (with different serial number) Garmin may not transfer subscription to new unit. Better to check with them first.

If Garmin does the repair/replacement your subscriptions will be transferred.

I found the best deal for a replacement battery on BatteryShip.com (free shipping and a free toolkit to open and replace the battery). The battery arrived a few days later.
There are a number of You-Tube videos showing how to open the nuvi 750 case and replace the battery. The only hard part was opening the case using the supplied pry tool. But, after a bit of 'persuasion', I managed to open the case and replace the battery [see my P. S. below for a few tips].

All-in-all the whole experience was painless and it only cost $22.95

P.S. On the nuvi 750 clamshell case there are six places with hooks and mating slots where the case snaps together. After removing the Torx screws, pry the case apart along the same edge as the screws. This edge does not have any hooks/slots. Work along the side case edges using the pry tool to snap open each hook from it's mating slot. There is only one hook/slot on the side where the SD card is inserted. There are two hooks/slots on the opposite side of the case. The case edge opposite the Torx screws has three hooks/slots.

I just ordeered a battery with tools for my 765t at eBay for $14.72.