Garmin 2730 cutting out when I hit bumps

[canucklehead-biker]

During one of the bumpier rides at CFR, my 2730 started turning itself off and on every time I hit a bump. Checked the cables and the connections and they seem fine. On the ride home, it was starting and stopping with the slightest vibration. Eventually I just shut it down and put it in the top box.

Anyone else had this problem? Is there a simple solution, or do I need a new cable (or GPS)?

Thanks!

Griff

 

[wfooshee]

I'd set it up in the car with the car adapter it came with, see if it exhibits the same behavior.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Canuckle,

On mine, I found some contamination on the Rear Terminals and on its Connecting Cord Terminals. Once those were cleaned up, some intermittent problems went away. ( Sound familiar? )

 

[Bustanut joker]

Tell ya what Jeff.. Head over towards Port Huron crossing into Canada..

The fukin' bumps there took me brand new GPS right off the bike.. 90 MPH keeping up with traffic mind ya..and that never used unit said kiss my ass bust! I'm gone!

Thankfully I'm old fashioned and had Toms( Huron52's) phone number..

:jester:

 

[canucklehead-biker]

Canuckle,
On mine, I found some contamination on the Rear Terminals and on its Connecting Cord Terminals. Once those were cleaned up, some intermittent problems went away. ( Sound familiar? )

Does sound similar. I'll give that a try. Standard electrical contact cleaner?

Griff

Tell ya what Jeff.. Head over towards Port Huron crossing into Canada..
The fukin' bumps there took me brand new GPS right off the bike.. 90 MPH keeping up with traffic mind ya..and that never used unit said kiss my ass bust! I'm gone!

Thankfully I'm old fashioned and had Toms( Huron52's) phone number..

:jester:

Yeah, I rode that way on the way out from your place... some pretty deep crevases in the street. Was good training for the shell craters in the roads in Quebec though....

Griff

 

[DELETE-PLEASE]

Canuckle,
On mine, I found some contamination on the Rear Terminals and on its Connecting Cord Terminals. Once those were cleaned up, some intermittent problems went away. ( Sound familiar? )

Same exact problem, same GPS unit. I found that if I pulled over, and wiped the contacts as well as I could with my fingers and shirt, it worked much better and would cut out much less frequently or not at all for the rest of the ride. Guess it's just time to clean those contacts. Next time it happens, take your thumb and wipe away at those contacts. SHould work just fine.

 

[McRide]

two-words: di-electric grease (on all the connections)

 

[ionbeam]

two-words: di-electric grease (on all the connections)

Mebby not in this application. Dielectric grease has been assigned some magical properties by users, but I'm not so sure it lives up to the reputation. The main properties of dielectric grease are that it is a wicked good electrical insulator (as in opposite of conductor) and by virtue of its own bulk filling nooks and crannies prevents water from entering those points. When you pack any socket or connector with dielectric grease you are packing it with an electrical insulating material. In the case of bulbs that twist into a socket like the common 1157 tail light bulb, it prevents the bulb from freezing in the socket and allows bulb removal without twisting the glass envelope off the metal base.

If the GPS electrical connector is intermittent the four most common reasons are:

* The power cable has a poor connection at the power & ground source.
 
* The cable has internal broken wires.
 
* The power cable has eight contacts, the contacts are supposed to be mounted in the connector such that they have some springiness to them. One or more may be worn/bent/tired. Look at the connector end on and see if the contacts are straight and of equal height.
 
* The contacts on the back of the GPS may be dirty. Put a few drops of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) on a paper towel and lightly wipe the contacts to remove surface grime. Now very, very lightly rub a lead pencil eraser over the contacts. There is just enough abrasiveness of the good old yellow #2 eraser to break oxidation without taking all the gold off the contacts. This is a favorite of many electronic techs.
The suggestion to try another power cable or different mount was a good one.

Edit: I also have a 2730 and among its quirks, "cutting out" on bumps is not one of them.

 

[McRide]

All good points. My 2730 used to cut out all the time, put a few daps of DE grease here and there and it's been a year with no problems. Just say'in.

 

[Bungie]

My 2c. Wipe the contacts on the GPS and the cable with some alcohol. Then then take a plain old pencil eraser and lightly clean the contacts with that. You'll be surprised at the unseen spooge the eraser will pick up. Give it a try. If it's still intermittent after that, then it's time to investigate it further.

 

[Geezer]

Bump roads in Canada? Hard to believe.

 

[Bungie]

Bump roads in Canada? Hard to believe.

I know! Whats up with that!

As a side note, I found the bumpiest PAVED road in all creation last weekend. The patches had patches had patches had patches and in other sections, and I swear to god, the pavement had BAD washboard. The road was like this for about 10km on either end, but the middle 30km was probably one of the nicest rides in Northern Ontario. Hell'uva price to pay though. I ended up dumping my bike on the shoulder of the road pulling a U turn after I said f*ck this road!

 

[nwrider1]

I experienced the same thing with my first 2610. I eventually sent it back for another refurbished one. Later I discovered that the 12v contact on the "shoe" that slides into the back of the GPS was compressed and breaking contact. There was nothing wrong with the GPS itself. I carefully bent the finger contact away from the "shoe" to regain a firm connection. Eventually I may have to replace the speaker "shoe" accessory. By the way, I much prefer the 2610/27/28 series displays to anything I've seen since from Garmin.

 

[SkooterG]

On mine, I found some contamination on the Rear Terminals and on its Connecting Cord Terminals. Once those were cleaned up, some intermittent problems went away. ( Sound familiar? )

Bingo!

I eventually had to replace a power cord because the corrosion on the 12v hot terminal got so bad.

Another possibility that I have seen a couple times from the power cords sitting in hot cars - the plastic bits on the end of the power cord warp so that it doesn't fit into the back of the gps well, or it keeps the 12v power terminal connection iffy at best.

It ALWAYS the power cord imho. Unless you have one of those POS Zumo 665s.

 

[krashdragon]

had the flat backing piece on the cable loosen up... was on the car plug, just ordered a new cord.

Going over bumps it would flick on and off....

Still works fine, except with the latest upgrade, when I donwloaded a new route, it wiped out all my old ones. Not that I need them, but that ain't the point.

 

[radman]

Now very, very lightly rub a lead pencil eraser over the contacts. There is just enough abrasiveness of the good old yellow #2 eraser to break oxidation without taking all the gold off the contacts. This is a favorite of many electronic techs.[/indent]The suggestion to try another power cable or different mount was a good one.

The good 'ol HO Roadracer Tune-Up

 

[wheatonFJR]

:lol: That's right!! :lol:

 

[Willie]

During one of the bumpier rides at CFR, my 2730 started turning itself off and on every time I hit a bump. Checked the cables and the connections and they seem fine. On the ride home, it was starting and stopping with the slightest vibration. Eventually I just shut it down and put it in the top box.
Anyone else had this problem? Is there a simple solution, or do I need a new cable (or GPS)?

Thanks!

Griff

If you are using the power adaptor cable that came with the unit and plugging in via the socket in the left side compartment check the end of the male adpator. The end of it is a threaded connection to allow one to change the fuse in the power adaptor. See if this is loose.

I use a 2 way connector that I let sit out side the box and then plug the adaptor into the 2 way connector. This way I am not trying to cram the power adaptor into the compartment. Wipe the inside of the female connector clean as well. I placed some velcro on the back of the adaptor and to the side panel just above the compartment and simply place it there during the travels. I have noticed that adjusting this where it bends has shut the unit of and on, but I am not sure this just isn't adjusting the male/female conneciton and momentarily shutting the unit off.

The other suggestions on the fitting to the unit itself are good, however in my experience the source of the problem has always been the power adaptor connection.

HTH, YMMV

Willie

 

[Bustanut joker]

This isn't good. Jeff is currently broke down in Port Huron, had to push the bike into customs.

He thinks it may be a Ground Spider issue...

:jester: