Invalid battery

I own an 855, never saw such a message, and consider the working to be odd.

Was it being powered through the 12V cable at the time?

As with some other modern batteries, there may be some slight "smarts" inside the battery housing. Maybe the main unit software thought it was not seeing the battery "smarts" handshaking as expected?

Happily the 855 battery is removable by design, though I don't know anything about availability and prices for replacements.

It was in the cradle on the dash; unplugged it, turned it off/back on - same. Only removing the battery resolved the issue.

Here is a screen shot of battery status:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17386698/Garmin/InvalidB...

It may have possibly been due to dirty/corroded/oxidized contacts between the battery itself and the mating contacts inside the GPS itself. Corrosion/oxidation can build up over time and cause issues. The simple act of removing, then reinstalling the battery can clear the corrosion up enough so it starts to work properly again.

To be on the safe side, I'd remove the battery again and actually *clean* the contacts on both the battery and the GPS side. If the error message does indeed pop up again after cleaning, then I'd suspect a *possible* issue with the battery in the future.

Kinda what I figured too...

This is really good to be aware of for people not too experienced with things of that nature.

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There are tons of batteries for the 855 on eBay for as low as $ 16.50 free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Garmi...

True there may be a lot of batteries on Ebay, but they are not the same.

The higher the mAh the longer the charge will hold.
So buy one with the highest mAh.

My personal choice would be to buy only from US vendors should there be a problem and the item needs to be returned. Some people are happy with their purchases from China, so you can make the choice.

I'm almost positive the 855's original battery is 1250mAh so I wouldn't recommend replacing it with a lower mAh.

I don't remember buying a replacement battery for my 855 and my battery is 1100mAh. Mine states: Garmin, 361-00033-00, 3.7V 1100 mAh, Pack Assy Date 03/25/08, and Made in China.

Looking around at sites like Amazon that offer reviews, I do see that the NewPower99 and Upstart battery suppliers get a large number of 1-star terrible reviews. One of the NewPower99 battery reviews from 2013 even has a comment that the buyer immediately saw an Invalid Battery error when placed in the nuvi so "Invalid Battery" has been seen by more people that our OP in this thread.

As far as I can tell, Garmin no longer offers batteries for the 8x5 series nuvi models, either my 361-00033-00 (what I received) or 010-10987-03 (what Garmin claims to be the correct battery in the 8x5 owners manual):

Page 55: http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/nuvi855_OwnersManual.pdf

The nuvi 8x5 series has had more than its share of oddness, whether thinking about replaceable batteries, Linux operating system, sleep mode, etc.

PS--On the earlier ebay link, note that the cheapest current battery claims in the title to work for the nuvi 780 and 855, yet the image clearly shows a battery that will not work in the 855--and the text in the ebay offering does not include the 855, so avoid this $14.39 with free shipping option for a 855 replacement--or for any nuvi 8x0 or 8x5 device.

I've had a similar error with my 855, but none recently. I'm still on the original battery. I would just keep going unless it happens repeatedly.

@CraigW
I stand corrected assuming the 885 had a 1250mAh battery,
Thanks for advising that the original battery is 1100mAh with part # 361-00033-00.
And Garmin shows the replacement battery # as 010-10987-03 that’s listed in the owners manual.

... with a NewPower99. It worked for a few weeks and then wouldn't hold a charge. Now the 2450 won't even power up, even with external power.

It sounds to me like your initial and continuing issue is not a weak battery but a charging system that's failing. It could be as easy as an open vehicle or power cable fuse or as serious as a defective socket on the nuvi or a power cable that needs to be replaced.

What happens if you use a USB cable and connect to a computer or AC adapter overnight? Since the internal battery had been replaced, it wouldn't hurt to open the nuvi again and check all internal connectors.

... I gave up on the 2450 and bought a 2557LMT. I'm glad that I did because IMO the 2557 is a much better unit. Thanks for your interest and advice.

I agree, over time especially in the sun the battery heats up and corrosion can occur. by removing battery and reseating your creating new contact points and starting the slow process over again. The battery itself could be near the end of it's useful life also. DorkusNimrod is on point with this.

It's not just corrosion. If you keep GPS in high humidity conditions or move it often from cold to heat (like from car with air conditioner to outside) it can damage quality of contact between battery and device. Cleaning of contacts usually removes problem.

Even in normal condition (temperature and humidity) a battery constantly charging and discharging will eventually misbehave. I found out that sometimes, just disconnecting the battery for a few minutes can give it a new life.

Never seen that one... glad you figured it out.