Garmin 12 Map battery turn off problem

[spectr17]

A buddy is having trouble with his Garmin 12 Map GPS turning off by itself. He says the problem is similiar to the turn off problem with the real old Garmin 12 units. The GPS is humming along just fine and then off it goes. We checked the battery compartment and contacts and everything looks good. Anyone else experience any trouble?

[Quercus kelloggii]

I just picked up the garmin legend a month ago. ###this happens to me when the batteries get low. ###with roughly 25% charge left (or so it appears) it starts shutting off. ###it'll power up just fine again...and then shut off. ###haven't been able to relate it shutting down to any particular activity (looking at the map, setting a waypoint etc)...it just seemed rather random. ###new batteries and it was fine.

[spectr17]

Quercus,

We changed batteries and made sure they had a full charge. I got an email today which I think answers our question since the problem we are having is among off road riders and this guy who answered me in a newsgroup is also a dirt biker.

I had that problem too when the 12Map was mounted to my motorcycle. ###It would get worse too because carbon would build up where the batteries contact each other. ###The solution was to put a strip of tape to connect each pair of batteries to each other before inserting them into the unit.

Bruce , Wichita KS

What's happinging is the batteries are seperating, like contacts on a car ignition, when the unit is jolted hard, causing carbon arcing and poor battery juice flow.

[Richard Webb]

Jesse-

I had to upgrade the software in my GPS III by downloading from the GARMIN Site, and then loading it into the G3. ###Here is the URL:

http://www.garmin.com/support/download.html

Richard

[spectr17]

Richard,

I know there are some issues with some of the Garmin GPS units like the 12 regarding software upgrades and intermittent battery compartment doors that cause this on/off problem. We have made sure this isn't the problem and think the batteries seperating from the jarring landings and bumps may also be causing the units to turn themselvves off. Thanks for the link.

[Topclamdigger]

I had a similar problem with a Garmin 12CX . I changed the batteries and returned to normal operation. The condition has been experienced since that time.