Garmin 196 and vibrations

[Aim Far]

My 196 keeps switching itself off in flight when I put it on top of the panel on its cradle mount. Seems to be something to do with the engine vibrations as it is OK if I hold it. It also switches off at the slightest tap on the casing.

Before I send it back to the shop, I just wondered how much abuse these things are supposed to be able to take and whether anyone else has had this problem?

[S-Works]

poor spring contact in the back. stretch the springs slightly but not to hard (my mate pulled his off and had to resolder it!)

Also clean them with a rubber.

b-x

[Monocock]

I had a GPS III Pilot that kept doing that.

I phoned Garmin and they replaced it immediately even though it was several years old. (Far more helpful than the Skyforce lot who I vowed to never deal with again.....)

A dodgy GPS is not the kind of thing you want on your coaming if there is a permanent threat of it turning itself off. I would give them a ring and explain the situation.

Alternatively, do what most do and sell it on ebay for £200 more than the retail price, buy a new one from www.gps.co.uk and have a bloody good night out on the profit......:}

[Mike Cross]

Same problem with my 196.

My solution was to stick some small strips of foam draught excluder to the inside of the battery cover so the batteries can't vibrate. Worked fine since then.

My earlier attempt at stretching the springs caused one to break so I would steer clear of that idea.

[skydriller]

Aim Far,

I had exactly the same problem last year, we talked about it on This Thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89929&perpage=15&highlight=Garmin%20196&pagenumber=2)

I have since discovered that using the 196 on the Robin dash attatched with velcro I dont need the Foam either as the velcro cushions the vibration.

If the problem persists, I discussed this with some Garmin people at Fly! earlier in the year who said if I phone them in Romsey and arrange an appointment they would check out the unit free of charge if I brought it down, they know about this issue and have a quick fix involving some inserts or something.......unfortunately I didnt have the unit with me:hmm:

Hope this helps,

Regards, SD..

[Aim Far]

Thanks folks, I will try the foam before sending the unit back.

[long final]

Had the same problem. Garmin initially sent me some new contacts with foam in the centre. These didn't work. After sending the unit back, waiting 8 weeks, and having had numerous fob offs and contradictory comments, I did get a new unit.

This one is not as sensitive, yet, but still has the problem.

I have to say that the after service I got was very shoddy at best. I suspect that there is a problem with the 196 and they have no ideal solution.

LF

[david viewing]

I suspect that there is a problem with the 196 and they have no ideal solution.

It's a problem with all gadgets powered by cylindrical cells, but possibly worse for us because of vibration and pressure changes. Stretching the springs won't work because the actual problem is erosion of the plating on the contact surfaces. Stretching the spring just causes it to chafe away even more of the plating.

Once the plating is eroded, the underlying metal oxidises (partly because of current flow) and Bingo! GPS switches off for no reason.

The only real answer is new springs or contacts, but this is impossible in some sealed GPS's. A good short term solution is a fibreglass pencil (Maplins etc), designed for cleaning printed circuit boards, which will penetrate the 'AA' sized cavity to the bottom where the spring often is.

Note that the cells chafe just like the contacts and so a new set or a good burnishing might cure the symptoms.

Some cells (Nicad for instance) have charging vents and outgas noxious electrolyte when hot. This material is famous for 'blackening' the wiring. It's possible this venting also happens with altitude change so may be a good reason not to use some rechargeables in GPS.

There are better materials than the nickel plated steel or brass ofted used for contacts in GPS's (the cost of heavy gold plate would be trivial for instance) so to that extent I'd agree that the manufacturers could take this issue more seriously.

[Snapshot]

Aim Far,

This might help?
I have a 295 and when on batts it would keep switching off!
If I pushed hard on the cover it would switch on again.
The problem worsened until I would have to put fair pressure
on the batt cover to even keep it on!

The problem was not there when plugged into the 12v
in the car!

I thought it was batteries, springs, clips etc. Garmin sent me spares but it didnt fix the problem!

When it gets to that stage you start trying all manner of
bizarre things so during the process of elimination, I checked
the tiny internal screws (the ones that hold the casing two halves together! I found one of the corner screws was slightly loose
and by tightening it solved the problem completely!

Im not saying that is your problem but if the casing has become loose by use AND your on batteries, it could be an earth or contact that is essential for battery usage?

If this doesnt help you, it might help someone else as it drove
me nuts for ages!

Fly safe
Snapshot:ok: :ok: