Loose Garmin Ball Mount - EASY FIX

If you call Garmin tech support, I'm sure they will send a new mount to you. We are always happy to replace the mount, and unless you are not registered or asking for 10 of them a month, you should have no problems getting a mounting bracket.

I did contact Customer Support and they sent out a new mount because the original left a black rubber ring on the glass. However, the new mount was worse than the original. The ball on the new mount fit very loose.

hello garminteck. hows it goung. you guys are the best

Terrific idea! I need to try this tomorrow.. I hate that it drops because of potholes, I can barely see it.

does garmin send out free replacement disc/double sided tape? mine keeps falling off the dashboard.

I tried the suggestion above about the paper clip. Unfortunately, doing so cause two of the black tabs to break off next to the spring band, so now the mount is broken.

but what about hook and loop fasteners (Velcro)? A strip on the bottom of the device and mount it to the dash and no need for a mount.

bubblegum?

So if Garmin does not send you one, let me know, I will drop it in the mail.
I got the vent mount from mountguys.com and it works great. Away from prying eyes, and right at the perfect eye level of the driver.
Dashboard and windshield just obstruct vision.
Fact/

I have given up on my mount, and have used Velcro-like "Scotch fasteners" for more than a month. It's sort of like Velcro but very heavy-duty. The package says "each inch holds 2 pounds," and I believe it. I put a strip along the bottom of My Nuvi, and the mating strip on the top of my steering column. I can see the Nuvi perfectly through the steering wheel, and it is easy to remove when I reach my destination. No suction cup marks on the windshield and a potential thief would have no idea why I have a strip of Velcro on the top of mu steering column.

I bough the stuff at my local Walmart. I think Target has it too.

The location on the steering column seems to be perfect... except the vibrations and the far apart from the windshield.
The beanbag is eliminating those...

I just bought a Garmin beanbag dashboard mount, aka "Garmin Portable Friction Mount", and it works great. It's portable and doesn't slip. This is especially useful in California where you can't use the windshield suction cup or if you don't like the black rings it leaves behind.

I tightened up my ball mount by placing a few layers of a plastic baggie over the ball to make it "larger" and not it fits snugly and does not move.

That's a great idea. I'm going to give that a try.

I can't remember on my nuvi, but I know that for sure that the streetpilot 530 had a metal ring and if you took it out and clamped it inwards just a bit, it make a perfect fit.

I tried the plastic bag around the ball trick, and it helped a little bit. Then I realized that the plastic is pretty slippery. I tried using a piece of a paper towel instead. That worked a lot better. The paper is thicker and less slippery than the plastic bag.

I did the same thing as buffettck. Used several layers and it tightened up quite nicely.

Charley,
This may seem like a dumb question but how did you remove the metal ring?

I don't want to destroy the plastic mount on the GPSr.

Thanks,
Bob

Pair of needle nose plairs? I haven't actually done it cause I never needed too. But I suggested it and someone else tried with great success.

I am wondering if you jammed the entire paper clip in the mount. I could see that breaking off a tab or two. What I did was unwind the paper clip so it was one long piece of wire. I then inserted the end of the wire into the mount. It put so little stress on the plastic tab there in no chance of mine breaking. In fact, I have since added a second piece of wire and now my mount workd perfect.

ALways go with a vent mount. Permenant and close to factory installed. Jake

I just contacted Garmin about my C530 socket being loose. Almost two years old - they charge a flat rate of $99.00 for the repair - seems a bit steep for a plastic socket but....

Plastic fingers inside the socket are broken - metal spring is fine.

I have tried the paper towel / napkin and it works pretty well. Next step is velcro - I can buy allot of velcro for $99.00

later

b25crew

Heck, you can buy several of them at Best Buy for that pric.

I used the plastic sandwich bag trick and it worked great fwiw.

Wow! Now that's customer service. I got a new one on ebay though, since I was out of warranty...

I am sure we are talking about the mount on the back of the Garmin unit, and not the piece it attaches to. That is built into the unit and does not appear to be replaceable. I have the same problem on my c530 (broken fingers, ring ok). Working okay with plastic wrap inserted.

I've called tech support and have had superb results for items like this. I had a suction cup mount that wouldn't hold, and I called them up and after verifying that I was registered, they had a new mount in the mail to me at no charge. It arrived a few days later, and all was well.

Definitely go the tech support route first.

Joe

Try a RAM mount,@ ram.com

I had the same problem - called Garmin my C530 is 2 years old - no warranty. Garmin charges $95.00 to repair. I remembered that when I bought the C530 I purchased the extended warranty via Amazon. 2 year extension for $29 I think - replacement etc.

Any way called the warranty people and was mailed a FedEx mailing label. Shipped off to "Lifetime Service Center". Just got my GPS back and dang that socket is TIGHT now!!! I think it took about a week including shipping which I did not think was too bad.

I never buy those extended warranties - I did this time and it paid off!!!

crew

Use a dab of Vaseline on the ball before you snap them together and the problem is solved. No wear and fluid movement.

After all this time Garmin is still coming through. You responded to a two year old thread.

But, I just got here. I'm a new member.

Just thinking outside the box, though.

two of the plastic fingers on the ball mount for my 660 have broken off and will no longer hold the ball.
All I need to replace is the plastic cup that contains the 4 retaining fingers. It appears to be held with a single screw.
Anyone know where I can get just the cup retainer?

Would lubrication with silicone, etc. provide better life? Would this allow the ball to move around too easily?

Thanks

Garmin has been known in the past to provide free replacements for this assembly. It's worth the time to try. As to lubricating the ball, how much do you move the device? Mine stays pretty fixed, but then I have a bean bag.

I hate things made of plastic. They don't last and near impossible to fix. Consider that the sun is beating down on a dashboard mounted GPS, its no wonder the plastic deteriorates quickly.

But, I agree, call Garmin. They have been pretty responsive to requests like yours... as long as they have the parts available for older units.

When I had to use my 750 on the ATV I drilled and tapped a machine screw through the ball (in the correct position of course) to hold the GPSr.

Worked very nicely for the several rides I made before I got the 500 back.

Thanks for the tip on the plastic bag. Mine hasn't started to get too loose, but after a year, I've noticed that it move a little too easily sometimes.

Side question. Does anybody know if Florida allows windshield mounts? I'm going on vacation in a couple of months, and wanted to know whether I needed to get a beanbag mount, or if I can just bring my windshield one.

Florida does not have any laws against using a windshield mount, like California. I use the beanbag mount myself, but that's by choice, not because I have to because of any state law.

By choice I opted for the Vent mount (the one with springs). No loose ball joint. No suction cup problem in the hot or cold weather. Easier to reach the unit.

Here is a new solution that seems to work very well.
I have a vent mount and a Nuvi 5000 that is loose.
It falls down as I drive and found this solution:

1) Remove the ball mount from the back of unit.
2) Put electrical tape over the ball unit.
3) Make sure extra tape ends go past the ball.
4) Tape down the extra ends in the back in a circle.
5) Replace the Garmin unit and it will not be loose.

I have a damaged connector on the garmin side (some of the plastic "claws" are broken". Expect that your solution will work.

I read the comment about loose Garmin Nuvi ball mount fix using a paper clip. Instead I used a black bobby pin inserted between the metal ring and ball socket and cut off using small side-cutters. The first piece inserted worked very well - stiff; added a second piece of bobby pin diagonally from the first and came out perfect. Feels natural and like new. Also, I have a couple extra of the same mount and all work with the same stiffness now. Another nice thing about this bobby pins are flat, strong metal and won't fall out.

Use a hairpin, you can't go wrong and no need for lengthy returns and waiting time. So simple a fix even a ten-year-old can do it.

What, no hairpin?

This was very true in my case. Barely anything asked other than model and mailing address.