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garmin396 not charging on base

ratsac

Member
Member
hi,
To start I admit I know just enough about electrics to get me into trouble. I have wired all accessories on my bike. But have not had success with hard wiring the garmin 396 cradle. The GPS does not charge while in cradle. I have a c14 with a PDM60 block. I  am drawing power from the orange wire which has a 180 sec relay to turn off. ground is on a screw on the frame. The gps has a 2 amp inline fuse. i tested the 2 gold pins in the cradle and i have 5.4 (I think) AMPs at the pins, the pins are touching the dots on the gps. I have held the pins to the dots as well. I changes the power cord for a new one same problem, Garmin is not helping but to sell me more stuff, Am i doing this right or faulty gps. How do i tell, please.
andy
 
Are you confident the positive / negative are properly aligned to the GPS positive / negative? 

Do you have another power source to plug GPS in to, Does the GPS charge there? 

Some thoughts to get you going - be careful and don’t let the smoke out.
 
I had the exact same problem with my 396 LMT-S not charging in the cradle. There was power to the pins and the polarity was right.

I ended up going through two power cables before it started working. The one that worked was an older model of the power connector/cable.

The one that came with the GPS unit was recently redesigned and the pins/springs were too weak.

This is the cable that worked for me:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008JAFHLK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_ks4aEbPEPYR7P

Garmin support was worthless in helping with this for me as well.

Chuck
 
Hi guys, Sorry for delay. I ended up going away for xmas.
The pos/neg is correct as i have tried both possibility. i have now the cord from the link. and will install it.
I have also used a 007 o ring behind the plug to raise it a little it meet the gold dots.
The gps has been great in the car on my recent trip. But was wishing i was on my Bike.
Regards
Andy
 
Hope you found the solution. Grounding was the 1st thought I had. You write that the device is grounded to the frame. Experience from jumping batteries in cars has taught me that painted metal does not provide a proper ground....
 
Thanks I have power. I changed out old charger for new on and drew power from a different place. It now works, thanks. Crazy it was the lead when both were new ones. Now to learn Basecamp.
Andy
 
Glad you got it fixed.

I've been having intermittent charging issues with my 595LM as well over the past several seasons.
Thought I found a fix by manipulating the connector pins on the battery molex inside the unit, but that didn't last.
I posted it up here....too lazy to find the link.

I seriously don't understand what's happened to Garmin.  Well, maybe I do.    ::)

gr
 
ghostrider, i saw the post you talked about in my serch for answers. a bit advanced for me. so glad the cord was the issue, hope it stays that way.
andy
 
Ratsac said:
ghostrider, i saw the post you talked about in my serch for answers. a bit advanced for me. so glad the cord was the issue, hope it stays that way.
andy

Man....those little pins were TINY!! 

I needed a magnifier just to see them, and manipulated them with a PIN.

Not sure why the unit has stopped charging properly now, but it WAS working better for a while.
The battery is nearly five years old now -- but there's definitely something wrong with the design of the connector and cradle to cause this issue.

Sheesh I wish Garmin would get their act together and start listening to their customers for the next iteration of the Zumo.  :truce:

gr
 
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