2 dead Garmin Zumo 450s in less than a month....

[Greg H.]

I went out for a ride yesterday afternoon. And, again; the Zumo 450 would not turn on. And, again; it's about 2 weeks after installation. Connections are good; as is the fuse. I swapped fuses to verify. Garmin exchanged the last one.

I'm wired directly to the battery like many people. When I called Garmin on the first incident, the customer service rep. mentioned that it might be a problem of the battery overcharging when wired directly to the battery. Then; she spoke to another rep, and they said that should not be an issue. I am wondering however, that maybe I need to dismount the Zumo more often. I don't know..

Thoughts?

 

[bjt]

I've had my Zumo 450 mounted to my Spyder 24/7 for the past 7 months without the Zumo 450 dying on me. Could it be where your mounting point is? Excessive vibration? Mine is powered through the Evoluzione Powerbus so its only powered when the Spyder's ignition key is on. The only thing I noticed with my Zumo 450 in all this time is that any time my Spyder sits for more than 6 hours or more, it takes the GPS about 2 minutes to acquire the satellites. It didn't used to take that long. :dontknow:

 

[Greg H.]

I've had my Zumo 450 mounted to my Spyder 24/7 for the past 7 months without the Zumo 450 dying on me. Could it be where your mounting point is? Excessive vibration? Mine is powered through the Evoluzione Powerbus so its only powered when the Spyder's ignition key is on. The only thing I noticed with my Zumo 450 in all this time is that any time my Spyder sits for more than 6 hours or more, it takes the GPS about 2 minutes to acquire the satellites. It didn't used to take that long. :dontknow:

Morning Brian: It's handlebar mounted, like many others. Satellite acquisition has always been fast. Maybe I need to look into getting one of those Evoluzione Powerbus.

 

[zzneonzz]

WoW Greg sorry to hear you have had yet another Zumo Die. I wonder what could be causing this. I would be curious if leaving it on a constant charge could be toasting the battery cuz i know that can happen with Cell phones, laptops and other rechargable battery items.

Anyone know if the Zumo can function on the cradle with no battery in it?

 

[Greg H.]

WoW Greg sorry to hear you have had yet another Zumo Die. I wonder what could be causing this. I would be curious if leaving it on a constant charge could be toasting the battery cuz i know that can happen with Cell phones, laptops and other rechargable battery items.

Anyone know if the Zumo can function on the cradle with no battery in it?

Tim: I think it's because it's mounted most of the time, and overcharging the battery. I don't know. Or; 2 bad units in a row? I doubt that. But, buying that Evoluzione Power Bus is a bit extreme ($75) if I all I'm going to have connected is the GPS. Of course, with a comm. system in the future; I guess it makes sense.

 

[sleepman]

My 550 goes between both my Spyder and my V-Strom with it being mounted to one or the other all the time. The V-Strom is wired directly to the battery and for awhile the Spyder was also. I've never had any problems with my zumo.

It is however very easy to wire the Zumo to an accessory wire without having to buy the powerbus. I tapped into the orange and white wire behind the fuse box and it is now only powered when the Spyder is running.

 

[Greg H.]

My 550 goes between both my Spyder and my V-Strom with it being mounted to one or the other all the time. The V-Strom is wired directly to the battery and for awhile the Spyder was also. I've never had any problems with my zumo.

It is however very easy to wire the Zumo to an accessory wire without having to buy the powerbus. I tapped into the orange and white wire behind the fuse box and it is now only powered when the Spyder is running.

Sounds like a good idea..

Did you use those splicing blocks that you put put the wires into, and then; just snap closed to make the connection. I've used those before with great results. I didn't really want to be cutting on the factory wiring.

Thanks!

 

[Spydr in KS]

Voltage?

I'm wired directly to the battery like many people. When I called Garmin on the first incident, the customer service rep. mentioned that it might be a problem of the battery overcharging when wired directly to the battery. Then; she spoke to another rep, and they said that should not be an issue. I am wondering however, that maybe I need to dismount the Zumo more often. I don't know..

Thoughts?

Is the Zumo 12 volt? I can't find in the Garmin specs. My Nuvi needs a transformer to step down to 5 volt input. I purchased a wiring kit with the transformer and have wired to a power bus.

Dave

 

[sleepman]

Sounds like a good idea..

Did you use those splicing blocks that you put put the wires into, and then; just snap closed to make the connection. I've used those before with great results. I didn't really want to be cutting on the factory wiring.

Thanks!

Actually I'm not nearly that sophisticated when it comes to wiring. I simply shaved the accessory wire down and spliced the Zumo wire to it, then just wrapped with electrical tape. Not very professional, but it's a method that has never failed me on wiring job.

 

[zzneonzz]

Sounds like a good idea..

Did you use those splicing blocks that you put put the wires into, and then; just snap closed to make the connection. I've used those before with great results. I didn't really want to be cutting on the factory wiring.

Thanks!

Greg I have used these a ton of times and would strongly recomend it if your going to splice into something. But honestly I would be leary of splicing into any wires on the spyder with all the computer stuff attached and not knowing the wiring diagram.

 

[bjt]

Greg, you have your Zumo mounted the same place I have mine mounted. I don't think you have to go with the Evoluzione powerbus and I would doubt that buying one would solve your Zumo dying problem. Just relaying to you how I had mine hooked up while staying on the Spyder 24/7. When Garmin replaced your bad GPS, did they give you a replacement cradle also? And if they did, did you install the new cradle? Something wrong with the cradle could be frying your GPS. I do have a cradle problem but it only affects the sound output (right half of stereo cuts out) when I'm trying to listen to MP3s off of my Zumo 450.

 

[Greg H.]

Greg, you have your Zumo mounted the same place I have mine mounted. I don't think you have to go with the Evoluzione powerbus and I would doubt that buying one would solve your Zumo dying problem. Just relaying to you how I had mine hooked up while staying on the Spyder 24/7. When Garmin replaced your bad GPS, did they give you a replacement cradle also? And if they did, did you install the new cradle? Something wrong with the cradle could be frying your GPS. I do have a cradle problem but it only affects the sound output (right half of stereo cuts out) when I'm trying to listen to MP3s off of my Zumo 450.

Hi Brian... Garmin sent the complete kit. So; everything was replaced. I was just talking with Tim (zzneonzz), and since we are wired exactly the same, I'm thinking about on the next Zumo, leaving everything wired as it is, and just remove it from the cradle more often - even when it is garaged. He mentioned that he has heard of the same problem on other devices that are constantly connected to a battery, that overcharging can occur. So.... I guess it's worth a try - to keep things simple, anyway. If it happens again, maybe get the power bus.

 

[Spanky]

Hi Brian... Garmin sent the complete kit. So; everything was replaced. I was just talking with Tim (zzneonzz), and since we are wired exactly the same, I'm thinking about on the next Zumo, leaving everything wired as it is, and just remove it from the cradle more often - even when it is garaged. He mentioned that he has heard of the same problem on other devices that are constantly connected to a battery, that overcharging can occur. So.... I guess it's worth a try - to keep things simple, anyway. If it happens again, maybe get the power bus.

You can wire the Zumo to the accessory by using plug in connectors. However the connectors are different from any I have seen and I imagine you could order them.

The accessory connectors can be found strapped to the left front upper A-arm.

It's a good way to not cut into any wires or add another power block.

Good luck.

 

[sabunim5]

Greg,
Do you keep your Spyder hooked to any kind of battery charger when not ryding?
sabunim5

 

[Greg H.]

Greg,
Do you keep your Spyder hooked to any kind of battery charger when not ryding?
sabunim5

Nope. I try not to let it sit more than a day or two between rides.

 

[Greg H.]

Tim and I checked to verify the battery last Friday. Turns out; my battery is okay. The Zumo is bad. How odd?! So; I'm getting (another Zumo) exhanged.

 

[bone crusher]

Very odd indeed...I've had the 550 hooked up to my Spyder since the summer...never a problem...love the thing...use it for navi and for phone use...can't figure out the SD card yet for music though...

I am going to start using a tender plus to keep the bike charged in the garage...I'll likely take the Garmin in and leave it inside...no need to leave it on the bike in the garage all winter long...

Good luck with the next one...

 

[Greg H.]

I'm back in business. Number 3 looks to be a charm. :thumbup:

 

[M2Wild]

Output Voltage

BTW ... did you hook a meter to the socket to check out the output voltage? Just curious.

 

[Lamonster]

This will be my next gps