auberger.com

I love Garmin products. I’ve owned the Edge 305 for over a year and just bought a Nuvi 670 for a recent trip to France. So far their customer service has been excellent too.

Recently my Edge 305 started to power itself down while riding. I thought maybe that was a software problem. I reset the unit, re-flashed the latest software, etc. This did not help. I would be riding along and then all of the sudden the device shuts off. When that occurs, I can turn it back on right away. This is obviously not an acceptable solution and can even be dangerous to do while zipping down the hill. The last thing I want to do is worry about my device shutting off and messing up my ride details.

I finally Googled the problem and found that I was not alone. Many Garmin owners have been experiencing the same problem.

This clearly points to a design flaw in the device. It looks like after some time, the contact between the main PCB and the battery can be subject to fatigue and cause micro interruption due to vibration, sufficient for the device to shut off. The problem is that you get a lot of vibration on a bicycle.

I was able to confirm that by simply dropping my unit flat on its back from 1-2 inches on a paper pad. 1 out of 10 times it would shut itself down. Since my device is out of warranty, I cracked it open and following the advice of other users, bent the contact back up. After glueing it back together, the problem seems to have gone away.

Is Garmin aware of this problem? I’ve contacted their support and I’m awaiting for some sort of acknowledgement. There are several ways this problem can be solved. A better mechanical connector, adding a capacitor on the power line, etc.

I’m considering buying an Edge 705 but since it looks of similar design than the 305, I don’t want to risk spending $600+ on a device that will reset after only a year of use. My Edge is 15 month old and has about 3,500 miles on the road. I certainly expect it to last longer than that. I’m sure a lot of other cyclists feel the same.

UPDATE 6/25: Not much of a response from Garmin

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

I will send your e-mail onto the appropriate department as a suggestion. If you should have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

I’ve asked them to clarify whether or not the Edge 705 followed the same design and hence would be subject to the same problem. Waiting on an answer.

Also, my first attempt to use rubber glue to put my Edge back together as recommended by others failed miserably. I never had luck using this type of glue anyways, I’m more of an epoxy kind of guy. After drowning the back side with it and keeping the two halves together with clamps I’m happing to report that the unit is now performing like new.