I bought a Garmin Colorado 400t to use on the sled this past summer, I have it all wired up to run off of the sled power and have it mounted on top of the steering post on my xfire 7. The problem is that the unit will run for about 15 mins then it will freeze making me remove the batteries to reset it. Is this caused by the cold? I have not had an issue using it in my car. With the unit freezing all of the times it makes it pretty pointless for me to bring it with me.
Garmin GPS Problem
- Thread starter bedgar7
- Start date
mezz
Well-known member
Power supply issue?
I would suspect that it's in the wiring that is feeding it from the sled. Have you tried to use it soley on the sleds power without the batteries? Have you tried to use it soley on the batteries without sled connection? I am not familiar with the power supply from the sled. I do not have mine mounted, I just keep it in the back of the sled & I run strictly batteries in my Csx60 which are good for several hours.-Mezz
I would suspect that it's in the wiring that is feeding it from the sled. Have you tried to use it soley on the sleds power without the batteries? Have you tried to use it soley on the batteries without sled connection? I am not familiar with the power supply from the sled. I do not have mine mounted, I just keep it in the back of the sled & I run strictly batteries in my Csx60 which are good for several hours.-Mezz
I don't think it's the cold. I wired my GPS to run off my F7's power, which should be the same as yours, and have no problems. When I wired mine though, I had to incorporate a voltage regulator and bridge rectifier into the wiring. Bought both at Radio Shack for less than $5. My guess is you need to do the same. I am running mine off of one of the free accessory plugs.
I have run a Garmin 60csx and a Lowrance XOG this way, using the car lighter adapter.
I have run a Garmin 60csx and a Lowrance XOG this way, using the car lighter adapter.
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When it is plugged into the sled does the "plug" icon show up where the battery strength indicator normally is? If not you are not getting plug power. Also make sure you are using the correct cable, I initially just used a cig/mini usb cable that we used for one of the phones and it would not power the unit correctly, it would stay in battery mode. The correct cable has a "cylinder-like" thing on it, I'm not sure what it is but the cable has to have it.
I have not had cold issues with my 400t but I usually keep it in a bag or my jacket altho I was out geocaching today in -5 temps and had no issues except akaline bats do not last long. I would suggest trying your setup with only lithiums and see if it locks up, if it still does then it is not you cable and something with the unit.
I have not had cold issues with my 400t but I usually keep it in a bag or my jacket altho I was out geocaching today in -5 temps and had no issues except akaline bats do not last long. I would suggest trying your setup with only lithiums and see if it locks up, if it still does then it is not you cable and something with the unit.
I made a full bridge rectifier and regulator to take it to 5dv and I used the plug from my car charger to get it into the charge mode. The unit will run without the batteries in it, but will do the same thing. I have been using lithium batteries in it, but I dont remember trying it with just batteries powering it. I will try that when I go back up on wed.
I'm guessing you know the 400t does not have a "charge" mode but rather a "plug" mode.
In regards to the rect/reg you made are you using an adaptor with the "tube" thingy on it? Using it in a car it is in a 12v outlet then the cable reduces the voltage 12v in/5v? out, maybe that reducer needs 12v input vs 5v input as a 5v in/5v out may be messing it up. I know the cable is important, I do not know for sure if it is a pinout thing or voltage. I definately need to find out what is special with the cables I got...
In regards to the rect/reg you made are you using an adaptor with the "tube" thingy on it? Using it in a car it is in a 12v outlet then the cable reduces the voltage 12v in/5v? out, maybe that reducer needs 12v input vs 5v input as a 5v in/5v out may be messing it up. I know the cable is important, I do not know for sure if it is a pinout thing or voltage. I definately need to find out what is special with the cables I got...
My little regulator is its built on its own circuit board wired from an accessory plug on the sled with a mini usb coming off of it. It is wired so I have 5v on the 1 pin, the 4 pin is ground, and the 'x' pin is wired to ground with a 20k ohm resistor. The resistor is what puts in the the 'plug/charge' mode, and not the data mode like when connected to a computer.I used the car charger cable to achieve this, but cut it before the little barrel thing since its right next to the cig end. What does that barrel actually do?
Today I also updated the firmware/software on the gps to the most current version (3.20)
Today I also updated the firmware/software on the gps to the most current version (3.20)
I also been trying to figure out what that barrel like thing is and guess that it reduces the voltage. I haven't found specs on the voltage required for the 400t but I did see that operating temp is -4 to 158F.
My unit I also has 3.2 and I really like that the track line is now darker and easier to see. There was some power reliability issues in previous version but I'm not sure if it was related to the cable but I would guess you had a version that was after that, you can check the update history on the garmin site for specifics.
I'm interested in this as I was going to mount it exposed but Doo has a new heated handlebar bag for my sled and now my plan is to put there, but obviously I would have take it out to see it which may be a problem.
Your fabbed up adapter sounds pretty cool I have to give you props for that, I hope you can get things to work. The main reason I did not get the Oregon is since I did not think a touch screen would be reliable in the cold, I hope the Colorado doesn't have this problem. I still have to fab up my cig to battery connector.
My unit I also has 3.2 and I really like that the track line is now darker and easier to see. There was some power reliability issues in previous version but I'm not sure if it was related to the cable but I would guess you had a version that was after that, you can check the update history on the garmin site for specifics.
I'm interested in this as I was going to mount it exposed but Doo has a new heated handlebar bag for my sled and now my plan is to put there, but obviously I would have take it out to see it which may be a problem.
Your fabbed up adapter sounds pretty cool I have to give you props for that, I hope you can get things to work. The main reason I did not get the Oregon is since I did not think a touch screen would be reliable in the cold, I hope the Colorado doesn't have this problem. I still have to fab up my cig to battery connector.
Well I am back from another week of riding. I messed with the gps some more, I tried normal alkaline batteries and the fancy lithiums with the same results. I guess I will be contacting Garmin and talking to them. Even though I have it mounted in the open I feel it should still work fine, its completely shielded from the wind and snow since its behind the windshield and dash and there are countless other people with units mounted in the oplen that work fine.
StreetnSnow
New member
I'm not much help for troubleshooting, but I'll add a vote for contacting Garmin Support via phone. In an age of poor customer service, companies that just don't seem to care, & outsourced service reps, Garmin's support has been nothing short of excellent every time I've contacted them.
Expect a little time on hold during peak hours, but it's worth the wait.
Expect a little time on hold during peak hours, but it's worth the wait.