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

Originally Posted by asprin624

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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.