Garmin GPS for trucks...

[nvshooter]

My Garmin 580 GPS for over-the-road trucks has failed me after several years of use. It won't stay energized. I plug it in, it's lit for several seconds, then goes black. Anybody ever see this with their GPS, without regard to the maker? I'm wondering if the charger has gone around the u-bend. I have a second charger, albeit not for the same model. The plug on this second charger will fit the 580. Haven't yet tried this oldie from a previous unit I had-- for a four-wheeler. I have so many places marked in my 580 that to have to start putting them in all over again as I go to them could take years and years. Suggestions welcomed...

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[Peanut]

My Garmin 580 GPS for over-the-road trucks has failed me after several years of use. It won't stay energized. I plug it in, it's lit for several seconds, then goes black. Anybody ever see this with their GPS, without regard to the maker? I'm wondering if the charger has gone around the u-bend. I have a second charger, albeit not for the same model. The plug on this second charger will fit the 580. Haven't yet tried this oldie from a previous unit I had-- for a four-wheeler. I have so many places marked in my 580 that to have to start putting them in all over again as I go to them could take years and years. Suggestions welcomed...

No suggestions, but you have me thinking about a Garmin now. I started to answer "GPS. How quaint," before recalling that the DOJ, ATF, IRS and the Governor's flying monkeys all have the ability to track my every move just by slipping a twenty dollar bill to Siri.

I'll bet your problem is the battery. A battery will build its own (very small) charge just by warming up a degree or two and that would give it enough oomph to light up the screen. Of course if the charger doesn't work then it's still a battery problem, albeit one that can be easier to fix.

Can the battery in the unit be replaced? Gosh, I'm having flashbacks to the old tom-toms, I think they were called. Siri was prepubescent back then.

 

[nvshooter]

I'll bet your problem is the battery. A battery will build its own (very small) charge just by warming up a degree or two and that would give it enough oomph to light up the screen. Of course, if the charger doesn't work then it's still a battery problem, albeit one that can be easier to fix.

I'm hoping it's that the charger has failed. I have to insert a few layers of folded-up paper into the 12V cigarette lighter socket to get good contact. That may be part of the problem. I'm going to Salt Lake tomorrow; nine hours of driving to get there. If the battery has gone flat because the original charger has gone kaput, maybe we will enjoy a resurrection with the charger for a unit I used about ten years ago. We shall see...