Ok all you Zumo 550 Users

[cyclemed]

I have a Zumo 550 that was received as a refurbished unit in December 2010, basaically 3 1/2 years old. I have two issues and wondering what you all may have seen on this.

1. Yesterday the rubber power button fell off. Basically the rubber outer button cracked and came off exposing the inards. The unit still turns on and off but no longer weather proof. I have looked online and see that there are no fixes for this and Garmin will want to do another refurb exchange for $150 and I can probably get them to do it for $75 if I push. Any other solutions that I am missing?

2. The unit will not turn on if on battery power. When removed from USB or bike/ccar power it turns off immediately. I am assuming a bad battery and the unit works fine when plugged in. Shouldn't the battery last more than 3 1/2 years? It is in my car most of the time with constant 12V to the battery as GM cars don't turn off the lighter plug. How can I test the battery?

With batteries being $40 or so online, I suppose I am best to do another refurb and pay $75 for the new unit with a new outer case and buttons and new battery. What do you all think?

Thanks,

 

[HYCLE]

Lithium Ion Batteries start to degrade from the moment they are manufactured. Watch out when buying a new battery online, it could be 4 years old and never sold.

Go with having it refurbished, if part of the repair is labor intensive, you might end up with all brand new parts inside.

just my opinion

 

[Queensland Ken]

I've seen just the 550 shells on Ebay, no electronics in the guts of them.

was going to buy one as my case has been slightly damaged.

Also seen batteries relatively cheap

 

[RichDoyle]

I had a 550 for several years. One thing I didn't like about it was I found the buttons kind of hard to operate, due to the kind-of-flexible (rubber?) membranes over the buttons. I also felt that various weather conditions (especially sun) would wreak havoc on these coverings.

I've had a 660 for several years since, which I've found more inherently usable. But lately a column or two of pixels has gone mostly dead. I was updating databases a couple of weeks ago. The process failed and now it's basically frozen. I hadn't thought about getting it refurbished by Garmin (it's long out of warranty), so instead I've ordered a 590LM bundle with the tire pressure sensors, as I'd been toying with this idea for awhile now.

Methinks I'll see about getting this refurbished by Garmin and see if anyone wants it. The battery is easily replaced in this model, BTW. I don't recall about the 550.

 

[Wlfman]

Go with having it refurbished, if part of the repair is labor intensive, you might end up with all brand new parts inside.
just my opinion

They do not fix the one you send them and then send it back to you. They just send you one that has already been refurbished.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I've had my 550 7 years, original battery, and had some intermittent power on issues way back when. Once a year, remove the battery and clean the contacts with a pencil eraser, and the contacts in the Zumo. Lube with some contact cleaner, and gently pry the contacts in the Zumo out (be careful, not very much). Clean the bottom contacts with an eraser and lube with contact cleaner. Work some contact cleaner in the cradle pins, use a popsicle stick or plastic to work the pins up and down.

You can do a hard reset by holding the bottom right corner of the screen while you push the power button..... hold pressure on the screen until the unit powers up. You will be prompted that you will use all user data (routes, preferences, etc.) and will have to reset that after you're done.

I have a sunshade to keep the sun off the buttons/screen. Never had an issue with the rubber parts, still going strong. Mine is mounted vertically on my dash shelf so sun doesn't hit it directly like some who have it mounted between the bars.

I don't know about the 660 series, but you can get replacement digitizer and LCD screens for the 550......

 

[Larry33319]

My wife's 550 did exactly that 2 weeks ago. I had an old Zumo 450 that had done the same. I called Garmin to try and buy the rubber piece, thinking it was just an end cap. They do not sell them and after a discussion with the Garmin rep I found they could no longer work with the 450 but I could send the 550 in and get a refurbished unit. I tried to explain the cover was the same on a 450 or 550 so I should be able to fix the 550 by sending one in and then transferring the rubber piece to my 450 and then send the 550 back with the bad rubber. The Garmin Rep even agreed that was a good way to get the part and get it weatherproof again. She then gave me 2 Return Authorization numbers and told me there would be no charge because it was the rubber that failed and not the unit. I guess they have enough shells left that can swap the electronics into. Unfortunately I found the rubber is glued on and is a very thin layer of rubber holding the button that is not removable so my 450 will have to get back on the shelf until I can find a shell for it. Bottom line is that they did replace it for free.

 

[cyclemed]

Thanks for your replies. I will try the battery contact fix tomorrow and call them about the shell. Figure if I break the battery stuff I need to refurb anyway.

Thanks again.

 

[Fred W]

Being constantly on the charger is probably why the battery died. That has happened to a couple of my GPS units that I use in cars (streetpilot550, nuvi765T) both were easily and cheaply repaired with eBay parts.

My zumo 550 buttons were also falling off after 5-6 years of use, so I opened up the case and used black RTV goobered in from the back side to reseal the buttons and hold them in place. I'll have to look into the case replacement ideas too.

Unlike some others, I find the 550 to be functionally far better on a motorcycle than the 660 (owned both and reported on my findings here) If you don't like using the hard buttons (I do) you can still use touch screen buttons to do all of the same things.

 

[cyclemed]

Being constantly on the charger is probably why the battery died. That has happened to a couple of my GPS units that I use in cars (streetpilot550, nuvi765T) both were easily and cheaply repaired with eBay parts.
My zumo 550 buttons were also falling off after 5-6 years of use, so I opened up the case and used black RTV goobered in from the back side to reseal the buttons and hold them in place. I'll have to look into the case replacement ideas too.

Unlike some others, I find the 550 to be functionally far better on a motorcycle than the 660 (owned both and reported on my findings here) If you don't like using the hard buttons (I do) you can still use touch screen buttons to do all of the same things.

Fred

How difficult to open and button up the case. I use clear RTV all the time and actually did a temp repair from the front using just that.

Thanks

 

[RaYzerman19]

EZ PZ, just get yourself a #6 Torx bit/screwdriver to remove the screws from the back and it will pop open.

 

[cyclemed]

Funny thing. I called Garmin, they looked at my account and prior refurb history. Offered to do this one for $75. Battery alone is $45 so for $30 I got a new unit. In fact they also shipped my new one that day with me doing the same so they crossed in the mail. I was back in businees in three days.

Last weekend I went on multi-day trip and XM radio crapped out. Kept getting " Check AM Antenna" message. Tried the common fixes - nothing. Upon returning to home I tested with my other unit and other GMX30 and narrowed it down to bad motorcycle cradle. My guess is years and 100,000 of motircycle miles, rain, etc finally killed the cradle. New one is on the way.

 

[Just Krusen]

That is why I bought a new 390. After 250,000 miles I knew the cradle was shot and the 550 needed refurbishing. I just decided not to invest more money in the 550 and put it towards the new 390. I'm happy with the 390 and hopefully it will last as long as my 550 did.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Sure glad I have a 660.

 

[RaYzerman19]

After a couple of cradles and reading about preventing failures, twice a year I use contact cleaner with lube on the cradle pins, working them up and down with a plastic tool (if powered).... work the cleaner into the pins (so the springs underneath get lubed). Never had to get another cradle.

 

[Just Krusen]

After a couple of cradles and reading about preventing failures, twice a year I use contact cleaner with lube on the cradle pins, working them up and down with a plastic tool (if powered).... work the cleaner into the pins (so the springs underneath get lubed). Never had to get another cradle.

I did likewise and it worked for the most part. But it seemed lately every time I really needed the gps it would shut down on me. So I figured after 8 years and all those miles to just get a new one. And I really wanted the TPMS for this bike. After the Concours I missed that safety feature.

 

[cadman]

Some time back when my power button fell out mounting the unit on the cradle. What the heck!!!

I contacted these folks:

https://www.palmdr.com/garmin-zumo-450_550-button-repair

I do not remember the cost they quoted, but after looking at the picture thought i'd try a self repair.

Before I took mine apart, I taped the button back in place with some painters tape. (check the orientation of the button before taping)

The back of the power button, well all of the buttons, have a square indentation that fits in place over the raised contact on the circuit board. be sure to keep that area free from any silicone.

Then using a toothpick I applied several thin layers of some blue automotive silicone around the fatigued button.

I let it cure for a few days before reassembling the unit.

So far the fix has held up better than expected, and even in the rainstorm I rode in on the Dragon this past April 25th, the Zumo seems as waterproof after the fix as it was before the button fell out.

 

[Fairlaner]

I just picked up a 590LM yesterday.....WOW this unit is SO much better than the 665...it boots up instantly and the sound is crystal clear..

R

 

[dcarver]

I just picked up a 590LM yesterday.....WOW this unit is SO much better than the 665...it boots up instantly and the sound is crystal clear..
R

Better than the 550, R?