had unit plugged into the ciggy lighter. Turned car off and unit displayed message, 'lost external power, shutting down in 25 seconds'. When I got back to the car tried to turn on unit but screen remains black. Tried the reset button and still nothing. Unit is only 3 weeks old.
If the battery does'nt charge can I buy another battery
Bryan Neville
May 2012
OMG I followed these instructions and mine is now up and running again Genuis ...! Very happy thanks
Karen B
September 2010
Yesterday we had the same problem with our Garmin Streetpilot.
Fortunately we found our way back without. I recommend to take a small philips screwdriver onto your next journey. The procedure outlined below worked just fine: I've opened the case, unplugged the small plug for a few seconds and voila: I was able to switch on the streetpilot again afterwards. The display tells that the battery is fully loaded.
Peter Funk
April 2010
best guess need to charge the battery and it will be fine.
dr woosil
March 2010
did james's trick with the 4 screws and unplug the battery and speakers and it worked thought i was going to have to buy a new one
mark
December 2008
James' trick worked for me also on my C540.
Now, does anyone know why it locks up in the first place? Is there some behavior I need to avoid (turn GPS off before turning car off, turn car off then switch GPS off, let it power off after 25 seconds or never do?)
Thanks!!
Kitty
October 2008
james you are a genius :) another satisfied customer thanks!!
JH
October 2008
I have the same problem as Sueb and tried what James recommended - which works for others but not me.
I used a ohmmeter to measure the continuity of the power from the car plug to the connector on the back PCB = good but when I measure it to the battery connector power lead - it is open. So I assume the battery will not be charged and neither can the battery provide power. Somewhere between the external connector to the internal battery connector there must be an open. Not sure if the diode or capacitor has anything to do with it.
roy
August 2008
I have the same problem as Sueb and tried what James recommended - which works for others but not me.
I used a ohmmeter to measure the continuity of the power from the car plug to the connector on the back PCB = good but when I measure it to the battery connector power lead - it is open. So I assume the battery will not be charged and neither can the battery provide power. Somewhere between the external connector to the internal battery connector there must be an open. Not sure if the diode or capacitor has anything to do with it.
roy
August 2008
I can only add to the priases above.Bought a new cable-that didn't do it and resigned myself to buying a new one.then found this genius on the net.
Thanks for sharing your expertise with non techies like me.
many thanks
Mike
Mike Riley
April 2008
Thanks James.
Another satisfied customer here. This fix really does work. Cheers mate.
Kelvin
April 2008
Thank you James!
Tried the same thing and it worked great, opened up the unit by unscrewing all 4 screws under the front cover.
Unplugged the battery in the back section from the circut board, left for a few seconds, plugged back in and viola!
Don't ask me why this works it just does.
marko
February 2008
Exactly as James said, had the same problem with mine for the first time today, was going to throw it away as warranty just expired, thought i'd have a look for any smart answers and found this website. All now good and working fine.
Thanks a million, saved some money on buying a new one.
Gaz Armes
January 2008
James, you can consider yourself a genius, what a guy, had so much hassle with my C510, and took out the 4 screws and took off, battery lead, and back on, and all is great, thanks, so much. Anyone else out there, listen to this man, it is all true.
All the best, cheers mate, Garth..
Garth McAuley.
December 2007
Mine also done this, if you still have no joy and your c510 is out of warranty.
Try taking the fascia off then there are 4 screws, take them out and open the carmin up, in the back section you will see a battery, unplug the small plug going into the circuit board from the battery and speakers, leave it for a couple of seconds then plug it back in and put it ll back together then.
Then plug it in to charge and all should be fine
James
November 2007
I had the same problem. Try this...plug the c510 into the cigarette lighter with the car turned off. Then, turn the ignition key to the first position, where you only turn on the electrical accessories of your car. DO NOT go all the way to starting the engine. Wait a few seconds and see if the c510 turns on. With my VW Golf, if I just start the engine, and don't give the c510 a chance to turn on first, then it does not turn on.
mrsumo
October 2007
Check the lights on the cable to see if they are illuminating - if not check your car's fuse for the cigarette socket - my unit blew my fuse in my last car twice.
Try plugging it into a computer with the USB cable - if it powers up then it's just a case of the battery being flat as it cant charge off the car cable.
James
September 2007
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