Garmin xt not being charged.

[Stratman59]

I have fitted the 3DAM adaptor to the stock BMW cradle. I have checked there is 5V at the two pins. However, my brand new XT goes flat while out riding.
Can anyone confirm that the charge bar at the top right of the XT should change to the charge symbol, (lighting strike) when it's in the cradle to indicate its taking a charge. Mine doesn't.

 

[Deleted account 250722001]

You also need a 2 amp supply.
And gently (Q tip handle or the like) cycle / press individual pins up & down as they can stick. It doesn't take much of a gap to separate a connection.

 

[albatross]

Have a look her …had something similar when it didn’t charge from the mains….
Had to actually hook it up to the. Ike battery….

 

[John Armstrong]

Is your zumo XT an XT or XT2?

 

[Stratman59]

It's an XT. I watched a YouTube video buy RiderCamTV.

Theirs charges on the 3DAM adapter with no extra wiring or power? This is the main reason I went for this set up, no wiring.

 

[John Armstrong]

Have you checked that the pins have a bit of springiness, ie with gentle pressure move in and out?

Is there a locking device, I had a zumo lock which stops movement of the unlocking lever, and if this wasn't set up 100% correctly then it was enough to not allow enough contact between the mount and the GPS.

 

[Stratman59]

Hi John, OK, I've just removed the locking mechanism altogether, still not charging. The pins are fine. This is also the second 3DAM unit I have tried, both brand new.
I have also cleaned the contacts on the rear of the XT with contact cleaner. What is really strange is that the unit powers up when I turn on the ignition but will not charge. I'm becoming more and more convinced it's an internal problem behind the contacts on the Garmin?
I'm off to the shop tomorrow where I bought both the XT & 3DAM, they have promised to resolve the issue. Fingers crossed.

 

[John Armstrong]

Seems to be a known problem for some as it's discussed here in 2021, but the solution isn't mentioned as far as I can see:

BMW navigator mount to Zumo XT 3dam adapter

I have just upgraded my bike from an FJR1300 to a BMW R1200RT I was contemplating buying the BMW Navigator 6 for the RT but ££££££££££££££ Like 700 of them :…

www.zumouserforums.co.uk

 

[Deleted account 250722001]

In settings, if anything like the 700, you have:
Advanced setup
External Power on =>
a choice of:
+ Turn on
+ Charge battery

Try changing to charge battery
And maybe also change your interface to Garmin Spanner

And don't forget to choose re: External Power off
Your choice of either:
+ Prompted
+ Turn off
+ Stay on.

The zumo does seem to need to be told to Turn off from this menu.
Report results please

 

[Deleted account 250722001]

No results?

 

[Stratman59]

Well who'd have thought. It appears the problem is with my BMW cradle. Down at the Adventure Bike Shop, we tried the 3DAM and my XT on another bike and all working fine. Put it back on my bike and nothing. I decided to go for the hard wired option and they kindly gave me a refund on the 3DAM adapter. I have no idea what the problem could be, a brand new 24 plate GSA. I can only assume its a faulty BMW cradle. All very frustrating for what I was hoping to be a quick and easy option.
I'd heartily recommend the 3DAM as it looks good, has a locking function and is at a great price, just didn't work on my bike. Also, a big shout out for the guys at the Adventure Bike Shop who spent several hours of their time trying to get to the bottom of things.

 

[Deleted account 250722001]

How gratifying

 

[Wiz]

Hi All, I thought that I'd throw some light on this as I know LOADS of people who have had trouble with the 3DAM mount not charging. Here is the reason.

Firstly, you should know that there are two versions of the mount, one for the XT and one for the XT2. The reason is that the XT runs on 5v (a voltage regulator is in the factory cable) and the XT2 runs on 12v so can be powered directly from the bike.

The problem with the XT version is that the voltage regulator that they fit inside the mount (MP4560DN) drops the voltage to 5v ok, but it doesn't allow enough current draw to actually charge the Zumo for a sustained period. I know this because I pulled it apart and put a meter on it (see attached 1). This means that the Zumo gets enough power to tell it to turn on and just about enough to slow the rate that the internal battery discharges a bit, but not enough to reliably charge it. Eventually, depending on what current draw the Zumo is using (screen brightness etc) the internal battery depletes and it shuts off. Also, depending on current draw and temperature, the voltage regulator (which has no heatsink on it) overheats and shuts down for thermal protection. It may then come back on again for a while, but it'll never run reliably all day with the screen on full brightness and everything on (Bluetooth etc).

They may have updated the module now, but in the version I have (one year old) it's a design flaw. 3DAM should replace them but their customer service is pretty bad and they’ll fob you off back to the dealer if they can or tell you it’s a problem with your BMW mount.

Which brings me on to the second point. An XT2 will fit in the XT adapter, but obviously won't charge properly because it wants 12v and is only getting 5v (and at low amps). If you have a XT mount and want to use it for an XT2, you can simply mod it by removing the voltage regulator board like I have (see attached 2). Just remember not to put an XT on there after the mod; Garmin may have put a voltage regulator chip in the XT just in case someone wires it in direct to 12v (would seem sensible) but I’m not smoking one just to find out!


HTH.


PS, just to show you how far out of spec that chip is, you can see on the Garmin website that the XT draws 7.5 watts (5v x 1.5 amps). The max output of that voltage regulator according to the manufacturer's website is 2.5 watts, so little wonder it overheats!

 

[autogs]

Thanks for posting that I for one found it intetesting, is it possible to replace the low spec part with a higher wattage on?

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

 

[Pukmeister]

Thanks for that info Wiz, very informative.

I have the 3DAM adaptor and used my ZumoXT on my 2019 GSA through a four day tour of Wales and also a ten day tour down to Italy and back without issues, no idea about its current draw but I had the screen brightness dialled up pretty high ?

 

[Wiz]

Thanks for posting that I for one found it intetesting, is it possible to replace the low spec part with a higher wattage on?

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

Yes absolutely. In fact I just saw on the Zumo forum a post from a guy who did exactly that. Just make sure that the module you buy is small enough and good for at least - say 10w output at 5v when dropping from 12-14v. Some have a variable output and different ratings depending on how far you're dropping the voltage and if you're using a heatsink or not. I'll see if I can find one for you later if you can't.

 

[Wiz]

Thanks for that info Wiz, very informative.

I have the 3DAM adaptor and used my ZumoXT on my 2019 GSA through a four day tour of Wales and also a ten day tour down to Italy and back without issues, no idea about its current draw but I had the screen brightness dialled up pretty high ?

Lots of possibilities here which are hard to know without hands on, but most likely you have a different module in yours with a higher rating. I'd be surprised if they haven't changed them by now. Or it could be that a batch were made with the bad modules and only some people got them - probably isn't something they'd advertise. However, it's also possible that your chip is just a good one that is managing to stay out of the thermal cut out zone at the moment, but won't forever. I'd say, if it works don't... ermm mess with it but if you start losing power intermittently, don't bother looking for dirty contacts etc - at least you know the cause. When you take off the Zumo and clean the contacts, it gives the chip a chance to cool down and it's easy to think "ah, dirty contact, fixed now". Then it heats up again and... wash, rinse repeat...

 

[autogs]

Intermittent power loss had been a problem with 2 previous 3dm units my current one is good so far.
They were replaced under warranty.
Seems a relatively simple dig out and solder new bit in?

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

 

[Pukmeister]

I’ve ordered a small 3A 5vdc buck converter, will see what turns up, hopefully it’s small enough to be a suitable replacement, and sufficiently over rated that it stays under thermal limits when under load.

 

[Wiz]

Intermittent power loss had been a problem with 2 previous 3dm units my current one is good so far.
They were replaced under warranty.
Seems a relatively simple dig out and solder new bit in?

Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk

No too bad. the panel is glued on, but a bit of gentle persuasion with a thin spudger does the trick. If removing the module completely for a XT2 upgrade, you'll probably need to remove the contact board as well so you can solder some slightly longer wires on it to bridge the gap (I did) but if you're lucky you might have enough slack.