660 batteries

[Cogs]

The battery on my 660, now nearly three years old, is showing signs of age: Not holding charge too well, running down when switched off for a long period...

Has anyone found a good/ supplier of OEM batteries other than mega-buck Garmin? Or a good aftermarket alternative?

I recently bought a OEM battery for my Razr from Amazon, for the same reason, only to, a fortnight later, accidentally put the original one through a colourfast 40 cycle
Came out completely discharged, obviously.
Blow me if it didn't rejuvenate the bugger and it's now as good as the new one!
Need to have a spare handy before I try this with the Z660 one though

 

[PanEuropean]

Hi Cogs:

I don't know of any source other than Garmin for a Zumo 660 battery, but the larger question that your post raises (to me, at least) is "Why the heck would you want/need to buy a new battery in the first place?"

I recently purchased a Zumo 660 and was a bit surprised to find that it had a battery in it. I previously used Garmin 26xx and 28xx series GPSRs, none of which had a battery, and couldn't really comprehend why Garmin 'reverted' to providing batteries in the GPS - the last Garmin GPS I had that contained batteries was a StreetPilot III, way back in 2002.

Anyway, what I am getting at is this: Provided you have the cigarette lighter cable for the car mount (supplied with the Zumo), and the motorcycle mount with integral power cable (also supplied with the Zumo), I can't see any reason why you would need a battery at all. The GPSR will get its power supply from either the car or the motorcycle using the supplied accessories, and if you connect it to your computer, I believe that the USB cable will also supply the power that the thing needs to run on while it is connected to the computer.

So, unless I have missed something obvious here, I suggest you don't bother buying a new battery at all... the original battery you have, even though it is near the end of its life, will be sufficient to cope with momentary power interruptions (<1 minute) when you are using the device in the car or on the moto. The only functionality you will lose is the ability to use the device whilst having a coffee at the side of the road - hardly something worth the price of a new battery.

Michael

 

[corsicandreamer]

I think you will find that if you remove the battery the garmin will display the message "insert battery" and wont function.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

If you Google "replacement battery zumo 660"
You get many hits.
The first few are for genuine article from the likes of Amazon
About 5th down is this one.... http://www.batterymill.com/shop/SATNAVS/GARMIN/40466
£14 to you with a 10 yr warranty.

Would you like me to order it for you too ?

 

[PanEuropean]

I think you will find that if you remove the battery the garmin will display the message "insert battery" and wont function.

You are correct. I guess I didn't express myself clearly enough in my response to Cogs' post - what I was recommending was that he continue to use the original battery that has diminished performance, rather than buying a new one.

As long as the original battery has the ability to provide the specified voltage to the GPSR (if only for a very short time), that will be sufficient to avoid the "insert battery" message, and also sufficient to keep the unit from shutting down if there is a momentary interruption in the mains power (e.g. hitting a bump when the GPSR is in the moto bracket, accidentally bumping the power cord when the GPSR is in the automotive bracket).

Michael

 

[slimbo]

you will also find that to be the truly multi purpose unit that it is marketed as .
it needs to be usable away from a power scource.. ie in pedestrian mode!!!
so it has a battery..

also with the mp3 running you can plug in some earphones and use it as an mp3 player whilst off the bike!!..

 

[Cogs]

Thanks for the link Angus less than half the price of Amazon!

Yes I could have gone the google route but then I wouldn't get the benefit of personal recommendation/ experience. Or debate...

At least I didn't ask what oil to put in it

Pan, to answer your question, I use my Zumo away from the bike/car quite a lot:

On my bicycle and as a pedestrian in the pursuit of 'tupperware in the woods' ie Geocaching. Previously I needed two sat navs for that; my 2610 on the bike and then my GPS12 on foot.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

I use mine away from the bike too. Play tunes in dull hotel rooms. The built in speaker is not too bad if you keep the volume down.