TomTom GPS Acting Flakey

Author Message   Mike Spengel Advanced Member Username: Mike_sp Post Number: 372 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 79.149.72.83 Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 06:38 pm:    Vic, that's no sillier than my first guess at what was wrong with my GPS; I thought the little man inside had just gotten tired of repeating, "Cross the rotary, second exit; then cross the rotary" over and over again. This country (Spain) is full of them.   Vic and Connie Senior Member Username: Pattons Post Number: 545 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 72.218.14.250 Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 12:18 pm:    Thanks Mike, Sorry about the name mixup. I had Tom (i.e., TomTom) on my mind and my fingers just got confused. Enjoy your travels. Vic   Mike Spengel Advanced Member Username: Mike_sp Post Number: 371 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 79.149.200.137 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 07:17 pm:    Vic, I'm Mike, not Tom. The GPS worked OK most of the time but after having been in use for a few hours and then shut down for a short while, refused to reboot without a "rest" of several hours. I have not replaced the battery because I don't have a source for the replacement while in Europe. To confirm my suspicion of the problem I went to the unofficial TomTom forum and received the response quoted below. The link provided will start you on a trail of two or three links that will take you to instructions for the replacement. Going to www.batteryship.com and searching under TomTom will give you the correct battery which is sold with the appropriate tools for about $22. "Many devices actually run off the battery connection even when plugged into an external power source. The combo of external power source and internal charger/regulator of the device are _expected_ to produce sufficient current to charge the battery and operate the device concurrently. However, there are a couple of ways this can "go wrong". Normally, a bad LiPo battery will develop a high internal resistance such that it really doesn't take much of a charge, nor will it draw much current as a result. However, there are other failure modes that actually increase the current draw of the battery - so much so that it pulls down the output of the charging circuit and the unit doesn't see sufficient voltage to boot. So yes - given the very poor state of your battery, there's a better than even chance that your power-on problem is battery related. Battery replacement info is here: http://www.tomtomforums.com/tomtom-tweak-discu ssion/14261-720-730-920-930-battery-replacement-tutorial.html" Good luck. If you do the replacement, PM me or post here (new board) with the results as I won't have a chance to do it before September. Meanwhile, I went out this morning and bought a TomTom 950 for 299 Euros including the value added tax which was just increased from 16% to 19%. We're doing a lot of driving all over the Iberian peninsula for three months and I can't rely on an undependable GPS.   Carmon Roy Senior Member Username: Ckroy Post Number: 969 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 143.214.160.67 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 03:46 pm:    Mike, I too have a 920 that has stopped working unless it has a power source. Is yours a 920? I guess I will get a battery and see if that helps. I got it specifically for possible use in Europe, so don't want to give up on it yet.   Vic and Connie Senior Member Username: Pattons Post Number: 544 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 72.218.14.250 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 10:30 am:    Tom, I'd be interested in a little more info on this. I have a 920 and its battery quit holding a charge. It works just fine as long as its plugged into an external power source. 1. Did yours work o.k. if it had external power? 2. You said it's not an open case, insert battery, close case process. Did you do it? If so, any lessons learned. 3. I bought a Nuvi 275 (US and European maps) for about $175. Works well for us but I wouldn't mind getting my old 920 working again too. Thanks, Vic   Mike Spengel Advanced Member Username: Mike_sp Post Number: 370 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 79.149.193.164 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 05:12 am:    My TomTom GPS began letting us down at a most inopportune time; we're on a lengthy European trip. It works fine for a while. Then, after a lunch or other stop, it refuses to reboot. After "resting" for a few hours it seems to recuperate. Researching this problem on the unofficial TomTom forum seems to indicate that the internal battery is kaput. Since the device is out of warranty, the manufacturer won't replace it. Replacement is more than just popping the case open, inserting a new battery, and snapping the case shut. However it can be done and new Lithium Ion batteries are available from www.batteryship.com for about $22 in the case of my 920 model. That won't help me here so I'll buy a new unit locally, but thought the info might help someone else.