Thread: Garmin Monterra - no battery charging and USB-PC connection

Well with it being an Android device running one of 4.X versions of Android doing a hard reset would be a good thing to do.

Plus using the correct external charger for the battery is very important and using a Garmin USB cable too.

3rd party cables is one thing I stay away from when it comes to all my Garmin GPS units.

Example:

Spoiler: The correct battery charger.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

And Garmin Monterra came out in 2013 and replacing the battery would be a very good thing to do to start with.

I am not one who would take a Garmin unit apart to try and re-solderer connections.
You would need cold solder so you do not fry the unit.

Cleaning contact areas yes and seeing that they fit tight against the battery.

My son in-law let his eTrex 20 sit of over on year with alkaline batteries in it.
They leak and it could not turn on.
I took a look at the contact area cleaned it with alcohol and let it dry.
Put new batteries in it turned on and also connected to my laptop.

The eTrex does not have a way to charge the batteries they have to be charged with an external charger.

But the bottom line here is:

1. Hard Reset
2. New Battery
3. Correct Garmin USB cable
4. Correct External Garmin Charger
5. Clean the contact areas
6. Make sure the contacts fit good to the battery

Remember this is a very old Garmin unit from 2013 running Android.

If all else fails you can always use an SD card to copy over apps that are needed to be installed or maps.

Originally Posted by asprin624

..........
I am not one who would take a Garmin unit apart to try and re-solderer connections.
You would need cold solder so you do not fry the unit.

It's not so hard to do, just a fine tip iron and be careful not to create bridges with excess solder. Look at this video from 5 minute mark, he seems to be a tech but even he's a bit heavy on the solder imo however he does reinforce the socket mounts which is something i always do too. He's got his iron at 700°F and isn't too concerned about keeping the tip in prolonged contact either:

Spoiler: YT video 1

This next guy is a hopeless amateur and has to get a friend to reflow the connections but even he muddles thru' successfully, soldering from around 4.45 mark but you can't see much detail like in the one above:

Spoiler: YT video 2

Both devices shown above are nuvi models. 1xxx and 40/50 series seem particularly prone and i've fixed many of them but any Garmin devices with USB sockets can have connections break. The outdoor models seem to be tougher generally but all it takes is some excess horizontal force when the plug's attached and the solder gives way. They're not 'hand-soldered' in the factory, it's done robotically in mass production and are therefore inherently weak from new. In fact a careful hard-soldered reflow with extra reinforcement of the mounting points is far superior to the original provided you know what you're doing. A common mistake is using a generic socket to replace a damaged Garmin socket. They're usually different and it's hard to find a suitable match from electronic parts suppliers. If a socket has broken pins internally i now only use scavenged sockets from devices with bricked boards, they are at least a guaranteed fit.