New Garmin Montana

[dvwalker]

yes sir, with positive lead on pin 4 and negative on pin 5, good voltage. Leaving positive lead on pin 4, no other pin reads good ground, so pin 5 is the confirmed ground.

good luck with your wiring problem

[bergster]

Originally Posted by dvwalker

yes sir, with positive lead on pin 4 and negative on pin 5, good voltage. Leaving positive lead on pin 4, no other pin reads good ground, so pin 5 is the confirmed ground.

good luck with your wiring problem

That's exactly what I have. I called Garmin support and they have no idea what the pin-out is for their mount. It makes no sense it's not working, but considering I modified the cable I guess I will have to order a new mount and try it again.

I have to remember to stop modifying stuff...

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by bergster

That's exactly what I have. I called Garmin support and they have no idea what the pin-out is for their mount. It makes no sense it's not working, but considering I modified the cable I guess I will have to order a new mount and try it again.

I have to remember to stop modifying stuff...

Won't the black wire in the cable be the ground?



I see black and I see red, the others are for information.

[bergster]

Originally Posted by Boon Booni

Won't the black wire in the cable be the ground?



I see black and I see red, the others are for information.

Yes, that should be correct. I cut the cable back prior to the take-off of the audio cable. I checked continuity to the pins on the mount prior to cutting the cable to be sure I was wiring to the proper wires after I cut the cable. Prior to shortening the cable the red wire had continuity to pin 4 and black had continuity to pin 5. After cutting the cable back and identifying the red and black wires I confirmed the red wire still had continuity to pin 4 and the black wire to pin 5.

Red and black are apparently continuous throughout the cable. I wired red to power and black to ground. On the mount I have power to pin 4 and 11 volts across pins 4 & 5 with correct polarity when red lead on the volt-meter is contacting pin 4 and black lead on pin 5.

Still no joy. As far as I can figure, it should work. I guess the only solution is to order a new mount with an unmolested cable and see if it works.

Any other thoughts are appreciated and thanks for the very helpful responses.

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by bergster

Yes, that should be correct. I cut the cable back prior to the take-off of the audio cable. I checked continuity to the pins on the mount prior to cutting the cable to be sure I was wiring to the proper wires after I cut the cable. Prior to shortening the cable the red wire had continuity to pin 4 and black had continuity to pin 5. After cutting the cable back and identifying the red and black wires I confirmed the red wire still had continuity to pin 4 and the black wire to pin 5.

Red and black are apparently continuous throughout the cable. I wired red to power and black to ground. On the mount I have power to pin 4 and 11 volts across pins 4 & 5 with correct polarity when red lead on the volt-meter is contacting pin 4 and black lead on pin 5.

Still no joy. As far as I can figure, it should work. I guess the only solution is to order a new mount with an unmolested cable and see if it works.

Any other thoughts are appreciated and thanks for the very helpful responses.

You might want to connect a test light to pin 4 & 5 to verify that you have good connections. It's possible for the pins to show voltage, but not be able to carry any enough amperage to power your unit.

11 volts seems low, is that the same voltage at the battery?

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by Boon Booni

You might want to connect a test light to pin 4 & 5 to verify that you have good connections. It's possible for the pins to show voltage, but not be able to carry any enough amperage to power your unit.

11 volts seems low, is that the same voltage at the battery?

Your pinout is correct but your voltage is LOW. Must be 12VDC minimum. If you have a good connection(?) and your motorcycle battery is healthy(?), you should have at least 12.5-13VDC unloaded. Is the 11VDC with the engine running? If not, start the bike and measure voltage.

Cheers,

[bergster]

Low voltage was the problem. I disconnected everything and ran a temp wire direct to battery and BINGO - it worked. Turns out the lead I pulled power from was too low a voltage as you guys correctly pointed out. I found another lead that was approx. 13 volts and all is now working properly.

Thanks all for your help.

[R-dubb]

I'm currious how much current this little beauty draws when hardwired, turned-off, and fully charged?

Something tells me it is enough to put a hit on my smallish KTM battery over just a few days. I'd feel better if it shut off entirely after completing the charge cycle while not being operated. Clearly, it does not since the screen stays lit.

[R-dubb]

Originally Posted by rmhrc628

So the old 276 is holding it's ground?

So far, the 276 has an edge in two important areas I care about:

• Route handling / auto recalc off mode.
• Ability to control screen detail relative to zoom, Topo lines in particular.

There are probably at least 20 things the Montana does better! Here are just a few:

• Sunlight readability.
• Bigger higher resolution screen.
• High sesitivity receiver
• Icon enabled touch screen
• Keyboard data entry.
• Extremely high memory/storage capability.
• Battery flexibility.
• AMPS mount with hardwire contacts.
• Vibe resistance.(seems to be more robust)
• Elevation plots.
• Menu short cuts.
• Profiles
• Wireless sharing (which didn't work for me and my buddy)

Bottom line.... Montana wins by a mile

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by R-dubb

So far, the 276 has an edge in two important areas I care about:

• Route handling / auto recalc off mode.
• Ability to control screen detail relative to zoom, Topo lines in particular.

There are probably at least 20 things the Montana does better! Here are just a few:

• Sunlight readability.
• Bigger higher resolution screen.
• High sesitivity receiver
• Icon enabled touch screen
• Keyboard data entry.
• Extremely high memory/storage capability.
• Battery flexibility.
• AMPS mount with hardwire contacts.
• Vibe resistance.(seems to be more robust)
• Elevation plots.
• Menu short cuts.
• Profiles
• Wireless sharing (which didn't work for me and my buddy)

Bottom line.... Montana wins by a mile

I think the Chartplotter folks will be in denial for some time yet. . .

Cheers,

[DRTBYK]

Mounted and "tested"



Short RAM Arm. . . I like to be able to rotate to Portrait mode in just a few seconds.

P.S. Although I think the AMPS mount is very robust and the Locking Screw is easy to use and solid, I added a quick-release lanyard to the Montana - I like "backup's"

Cheers,

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by DRTBYK

I think the Chartplotter folks will be in denial for some time yet. . .

They're a voracious bunch, without a doubt :)

[Lobby]

Originally Posted by DRTBYK

I think the Chartplotter folks will be in denial for some time yet. . .

Cheers,

Actually, I've been wondering when somebody's gonna come out with a suitable replacement for my 478.

On my recent long motorcycle trip to the east coast, the batteries on my 478 crapped out. I wasn't sure whether the unit was damaged. And while I'd heard of the Montana, I still wasn't sure it would adequately replace it. It seems like it will.

Sure the 478 is a great machine, but instruments should get better as technology evolves.



Now, if I can only get my 478 to break.

[DRTBYK]

Originally Posted by Lobby

snip...

Now, if I can only get my 478 to break.

eBay is your friend It seems that there are always buyers for the old chartplotters.

Cheers,

[dvwalker]

mounted and dirty