Power cable trouble

It may not be the cable but the connector on the Nuvi. These are a notorious fail point. But I would check the cigarette lighter plug. Make certain the tip with the litle silver plunger isn't loose and it's screwed in tight. There's a fuse behind it but be careful in removing the tip that you don't lose the spring loaded parts.

Understood. I can usualy get it to work by keeping the portion where the light is pointing towards the ceiling and bending the cable a little.

That's why I'm thinking it's the internals of the power adapter.

Plastic that holds the fuse and pin was tight

Does the light on the Power Adapter stay lit? If it does not, Box Car is likely correct.

I had a problem on another devices Power Adapter because the springs on the side of the adapter, that holds it snug in the lighter socket, were not strong enough to keep the tip from disengaging from the base of the socket.

If the light stays lit, it's realistic that the problem is as you suspect.

Yes and no. I can get the light to light if I twist the power cable in the socket and move the wire back and forth.

then all of a sudden it will stop. and I have to twist and move the wire. Very distracting and dangerous.

The best way I can describe it, is you know when your old headphones are on their last leg, and you have to turn you phone to the right angle to get it working.

I did take apart the fuse portion of it. The spring did not come out. I don't see any corrosion and I had a descent time trying to put it together.

By moving the wire back and forth I don’t believe will pinpoint the problem. The bad connection can be either at the USB connector on the Nuvi or the power plug itself. Damage to the USB connector on the Nuvi
to the main board can occur when there is stress on the wire at the USB connector. It's wise to wrap the wire around once or twice on the windshield mount, bean bag,, or whatever mount you're using. This eliminates the chance that movement will occur directly at the connection and possibly damaging it..

To confirm the problem is at the socket, make sure the cable has no movement whatsoever at the connection to the GPS. When the light is lit (power flowing) press firmly on the cable against the dashboard so there is absolutely no movement at the USB connector on the Nuvi. Now slightly wiggle the plug where it connects into the cigarette lighter socket,
If the light remains on it's likely the connection at the Nuvi's USB port. If the light goes out it's likely the connection at the cigarette lighter.

Have you tried the Nuvi in a different vehicle to see if the problem still exists?

Thank you muell9k, The problem is definitely at the lighter socket.

I can get the power light to go off simply by pressing the connector all the way in and slightly turning the connector. 0 movement on the USB side.

I have not tried it on a different vehicle, but I do have a splitter and I can reproduce the problem with that as well.

From what you describe it seems like the cigarette lighter socket is worn and not making good contact.
Using a splitter would give the same results if the socket is worn or has bad contacts within (ground and 12V).

The possibility still remains that the Garmin Power Chord plug is worn and not making good contact to the socket.
Make sure the wire going into the plug portion is tight and doesn't have any play.

Best way to test is try it in another vehicle, if it works you will need to replace the cigarette lighter socket or try cleaning it making sure there is no rust inside.

Or is it the wire itself at the point where it enters the power plug? Some of the adapter wires are stiff and are prone to breaking.

the type of person who would disassemble the lighter plug to see if a connection inside is loose.

If its not working right, right now what have you got to lose?

Even if you have to glue it together with crazy glue after.

Ok, I tried what muell9k mentioned about wrapping the cord around the windshield base and the problem all but went away.

So it does appear to be on the plug side. Sorry about that.

Any way to resolve this issue?

If I understand you correctly, it's where the power cord connects to the Nuvi. If this is the case, it would be best to contact Garmin if the unit is under warranty or Jim at Sharcnet if it is out of warranty.

Yes it's out of warrenty. What would Jim do to the unit?

According to his website he will disassemble the unit and repair/replace the surface mount connector, fully test the unit to ensure everything works, provide all software/firmware updates (not maps) and then reassemble and ship the unit back to you.

I had the same problem with my 1490. It turned out to be the jack on the back of the unit. As Box Car pointed out, this is a common failure point on the 1400 series as well as many other units.

After getting the receiver fixed, I bought a short USB extension cable which I leave plugged into the 1490. I have 3 vehicles and swap the GPS frequently. I now connect and disconnect the power cable from the short extension cable instead of wearing out the jack on the unit.

I got the cable here: http://www.angledcables.com/angled1.html

At $13, they aren't cheap but it sure beats the $80 I spent to repair the unit.

I realize this won't solve your current problem but it may prevent a repeat.

My 1490 was 16 months old when I had the problem with the USB port. I called Garmin, asking for advice. They offered to swap my 1490 for a refurb, at no cost to me. That was in February of last year.
Good Luck!

Now that you determined it's not the 12V socket area but on the Nuvi's itself USB port a repair will be in order as Box Car mentioned. By stressing the cable it most likely weakened one of the solder joints on the main board. When wiggling the cable it makes contact.

As mentioned earlier, I always wrap the chord around the base of whatever mount I'm using to take the stress off the units USB port, or the power mounts USB port. I consider it preventive maintenance.

Sounds like I might be able to resolder the connector.

Otherwise @ $80 I might as well buy a new one.

i wrote an article on here awhile back about lighter sockets vs power sockets. be careful using devices plugged into lighter sockets as they have a "U" or wide U shaped metal brackett at the bottom that is connected to the (Positive)+12V side of the fuse and if you twist whatever is plugged in the spring loaded wires that keep it tight and connect to (Negative)-12V on the battery you can short circuit and blow the fuse...did that a couple times before i caught it...stan

Trying to re-solder is something I would not attempt.
You need all the proper tools and magnifier to even see those minute solder joints. I think it's best left to a professional.

I think the $80.00 repair you state is high. If using Jim at Sharcnet, looking at his prices, a USB Mini jack repair is $35.00 plus shipping both ways. Should be about $48.00

Ok,

Called garmin up, and they're sending me a replacement unit. All I have to pay is shipping. I purchased the unit in August last year, and they still covered me.

What an awesome company!

That's good to hear they will replace the unit even though out of warranty, As much as I complain at times, I tip my hat to them for doing so.

Thanks for the report.

I had a bad power cable. The unit is good. With a replacement USB cable, my 1490T got fully charged, but, no traffic.

The power cable for my Nuvi 40 went bad. Is there any reason I can't replace it with a $5 USB car power adapter and the USB cable?