Technical expertise/advice needed

Average Dolt · Guest

Details;
Garmin GPS unit in 15"-18"/4-5m fresh water overnight
Unit was ON when submerged,
When I recovered the unit, I disassembled and thoroughly dried it,
No obvious physical damage. I.E. broken board, corrosion, burn marks, etc.

My question is twofold;

*Ruling out a corrosion related mechanical/physical type failure, what probably failed? I have a basic understanding of electricity and am mechanically inclined. Please explain why you think what may have died. No need to go easy on me.

*How do I test the unit to determine what has failed? I have a Fluke 117 Multi and an EXTREME desire to fix THIS unit. I will attempt to replace/repair any part in any way possible. Yes, it's that valuable to me to salvage this unit. I'll settle for just getting it to power on and transfer waypoints to the pc.

I know that it would help to contact a qualified Garmin technician, but I can't really get through to the tech. department with this question. This unit has many irreplaceable waypoints, marks, and routes in it. If the unit is unusable after the retrieval of my info, I couldn't care less.

Thanks in advance.

minnie · Joined: 18 Aug 2005 Posts: 2880 Location: Hell

Let it dry out for a couple of days 'open' and post back whether or not the unit powers back on.

Average Dolt · Guest

The case has been open and the unit has been totally disassembled and sitting in a warm, dry place for over a month. There is no obvious sign of corrosion, (white crust or otherwise), and nothing is obviously burned or melted. I know that fuses, caps, etc., can fail without showing any outward sign, but there isn't anything that you see right away that says, "Here I am!"

Thanks for the help, and please keep it coming.

Old Bassid · Guest

I posted areply but my ISP cut me off(3 times!!!) They are just dirty @#$#@@% bassids!!!. If this gets thru, get a circuit, learn how to test electronic components- start at power supply. If all else fails, I am sure that Minnie or vtech would be happy to fix your unit if you mail it to them- no charge!(after all it's nearly Xmas!).

Average Dolt · Guest

Garmin answered my third email with an expected answer. I understand why the repair/troubleshooter folks are pretty blunt and pessimistic, but it still doesn't help me. I guess I'll have to keep trying and post new questions here until I figure it out. I'd be open to paying someone to repair the unit, but until I'm sure that it can be repaired, I'll take my chances with advice from the fine folks here and some brain grease of my own.

If anyone can offer any help in the interim though, please add your two cents.

minnie · Joined: 18 Aug 2005 Posts: 2880 Location: Hell

Can you power up the unit while hooked up to a live power source? I use my computer's USB port to charge.

deden · Guest

What exact 'type' of Garmin unit do you have?

For I have a similar problem with my unit (called Etrex, probably quite old one, b/w LCD, no maps).
Symptoms: blank display, no backlight, just draws current.
Cause: unknown...

But waypoints ets. can definitely be 'easily' extracted from my unit. 'Easily' means easily for Garmin technicians - the unit clearly has a JTAG interface, thus if you know the internal conections to the FLASH, you can read it. And if you know how the firmware works, you can extract all pieces of information you need.
But Garmin uses their proprietary ASICs and no datasheets or service manuals are available (to me)...