Garmin 478 users/owners thread

[BlueLghtning]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

New Question...
I just purchased a like new 478 from someone on Craigslist. The unit was never registered so when I registered it, I got a free update to 2011 maps which was great. Now, the bad part. There is an internal problem with this unit and the car speaker does not work. I called Garmin and they sent me a new one for free but it still doesn't work so the problem is definitely internal. I called them back and they said they need a reciept for me to send it in and get a free replacement which I don't have. Without a reciept it is a $150 replacement cost. I can get the sound out of the stereo output, but I wanted to mono one to work because my audio system has a mono input which will override the music and such coming from my Zumo which is where I get all audio. Anyway, this is getting complicated now so, here is the question. A good friend of mine got a new 478 a couple of years ago and it did the same thing. He sent it in and got a free replacement and the new one did the same thing in about 6 months. So, if I decide to spend the $150 and turn my great deal into a not so great one, can I expect mine to keep working or is this a common problem. I have a Street Pilot 3 that is 8 years old that the speaker works fine on, so I would like to believe a new 478 would solve the problem. But if it will fail again I guess I will need to just convert the stereo output to mono. Let me know...

I'm confused what speaker isn't working? The built in speaker the cig plug like this one?



So you are saying that is tied to something internal in the unit, not just through the plug? Hmm, my speaker on my cig cord still works fine and I've actually been using that plug in my tank bag for over a year when the other basic cig plug bit the dust? There is obviously the 3.5mm plug on the back? So it won't work for you because its stereo? You could just get a stereo to mono adapter? I've also seen some hardwire plugs with a mono plug built in. Not sure if the same thing carries the sound through though's as the cig plug?



I've never heard of that being a major problem on the 478's, but most people that

[spidennis]

Originally Posted by BlueLghtning

I'm confused what speaker isn't working? The built in speaker the cig plug like this one?

My cig plug speaker stopped working but sometimes it will work for a short time. I'm thinking it's a bad connection. My stereo jack on the back works just fine though.

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

There is an internal problem with this unit and the car speaker does not work. I called Garmin and they sent me a new one for free but it still doesn't work so the problem is definitely internal. I called them back and they said they need a reciept for me to send it in and get a free replacement which I don't have. Without a reciept it is a $150 replacement cost. I can get the sound out of the stereo output, but I wanted to mono one to work because my audio system has a mono input which will override the music and such coming from my Zumo which is where I get all audio.

I had this same problem with my 478, even down to Garmin sending me a new speaker plug, which didn't fix it, and my lack of receipt. I had no choice but to accept this problem or to try to fix it myself. I took my GPS apart, cleaned up a few contacts and tested the sound. It worked! Yay. I reassembled it, and it no longer worked. Boo.

After several trials, here's what I found worked for me. Refer to the picture below.



The ring around the antenna connector shown in this picture was too tight. If I loosened it up (use a pair of needle nose pliers) my sound worked. If I tightened it, the sound went away. The truth is, I couldn't figure out why this fixed it... but it did, so I can't complain.

That's the easiest fix to try first. If that doesn't work, I can give you more detailed instructions on what different things I tried to fix the sound on my GPS.

Jamie

[Sportourer]

Jamie,
Thanks for the advice. I am a mechanic for a living so I have no problem taking the unit apart if that will fix it. I am away from home at work for the next few days so I don't have the GPS with me. I will try the antenna ring first as you suggested and if it doesn't work I will let you know and ask what else you did.

[mcnut]

The antenna connector on most models is powered to supply power to the optional amplified external antennas. A short there would certainly cause a problem!

Bruce

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

I will try the antenna ring first as you suggested and if it doesn't work I will let you know and ask what else you did.

More specifically, I found I only needed to loosen the ring maybe half a turn and then the sound worked. If I snugged up the ring, the sound quit working.

Jamie

[Sportourer]

Jamie,
I finally got around to doing this. I loosened the ring a little bit and the sound now works! I can't believe this fixed it. I am sure glad I asked about this on here and did not send the unit in. Thanks again for the help!

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

Jamie,
I finally got around to doing this. I loosened the ring a little bit and the sound now works! I can't believe this fixed it.

Holy cow! It worked. I can't believe it either. Must be some sort of flaw in the design or manufacture so that tightening the external antenna ring opens or shorts some circuit inside.

I've been wondering if you ever gave it a shot. Thanks for posting your result.

Jamie

[Sportourer]

Jamie,
I wonder if you were to take the unit apart and put a small washer in place which would allow the antenna post to be tightened but not pull on the board if that would totally fix it? If I have a problem with it cutting out I might try this but until then I don't want to take the unit apart if I don't have to. Loctite is always another solution as well if it wants to loosen up. On another note, I read your travel article. Very nice. I do a lot of what you say myself but I did learn a few new ideas. I can't say I am as thrifty as you, but I did just do a 14,000 mile trip to Alaska and back on a 1987 Transalp. The only time I did not camp was when I stayed at the University of Fairbanks in a dorm room for $20 which I split with someone and in a couple of peoples' houses along the way. It is the only way you can travel these days without spending a fortune.

[Sportourer]

New 478 Question...
I am wondering if anyone has used the boat mount on their bike? I want to use the unit on my ST1100 and Transalp. I plan on getting a Touratech mount for the Transalp when I get lucky enough to score a used one hopefully. But for the ST1100 it seems like the boat mount should be rugged enough. What are your thoughts?

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

New 478 Question...
I am wondering if anyone has used the boat mount on their bike?

As far as I remember, that's what I'm using. It's been a year or two since I mounted it.

Jamie

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by Sportourer

New 478 Question...
I am wondering if anyone has used the boat mount on their bike? I want to use the unit on my ST1100 and Transalp. I plan on getting a Touratech mount for the Transalp when I get lucky enough to score a used one hopefully. But for the ST1100 it seems like the boat mount should be rugged enough. What are your thoughts?

Why not use a ram system mount to your touratech bracket, then you can swap the mount from bike to bike.

This is what I've got. I have a ram ball of each of my bikes and just swap the arm and mount over.

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Boon Booni

Why not use a ram system mount to your touratech bracket, then you can swap the mount from bike to bike.

Yup. The Garmin marine cradle is RAM compatible. In my opinion a better cradle than the RAM cradle. I really like RAM, except for their cradles.

Jamie

[SCflyer]

May be old news but to those that didn't know...

Softwa
Changes made from version 4.20 to 4.30:

• Improved GPS satellite acquisition processing
• Updated magnetic variation table with IGRF 2010 modelre update 4.30 is out.

[spidennis]

I'm having a problem with changing the date and time. In setup it won't allow me to change it. It has the wrong date and time, needless to say it can't find any satellites and the position marks it as in the Atlantic off Africa somewhere.

I got on an alrliner from texas to the east coast and from that point on it's had troubles.

Is this the internal memory battery problem?