Garmin Zumo XT battery life (when OFF the bike)

[r1200rt]

Can anyone shed some light on their experience of how long their XT's battery lasts when off the bike (and hence not being charged).

My XT was new a couple of years ago, used for a couple of trips then packed away.

Upon trying it out recently (after charging for hours at a USB wall socket), the battery doesn't seem to last very long at all, which is a pain when trying to plan routes

What are other peoples experience?

 

[casbar]

Can anyone shed some light on their experience of how long their XT's battery lasts when off the bike (and hence not being charged).

My XT was new a couple of years ago, used for a couple of trips then packed away.

Upon trying it out recently (after charging for hours at a USB wall socket), the battery doesn't seem to last very long at all, which is a pain when trying to plan routes

What are other peoples experience?

Mine lasts for at least a couple of months off the bike. Obviously it has to be switched off and not in standby, which is what happens if it closes itself down on the bike.

The other thing to look at is, it is a bit odd to charge off a usb, if it is in data mode, it is not charging. But I assume that the unit is showing full charge after you have charged it, if that is the case, the battery maybe goosed, batteries are not supposed to be run flat, they no likey. Speak to Garmin

 

[Mzokk]

I have a Zumo 340 that hadn't been used for a long time and would not hold a charge for more than a couple of minutes when it indicated fully charged. I left it plugged into a wall socket for a couple of days and now it keeps its charge a couple of hours when switched on just like the Zumo 390 I also have. Li ion batteries don't like being completely discharged. I'd try leaving it on charge for a couple of days and see what happens. If this does not work charge it until if looks like its fully charged take it off charge for a few hours then plug it in again and repeat until its holding charge for a reasonable time...or not. Apparently there is a Battery Management System in the units that needs to relearn what a full charge looks like. Of course the battery could be completely buggered and may need replaced.

 

[Mzokk]

More info

My xt Does not charge..;

Sorry for my bad English:-) My problem is in the title . I did not use the zumo for a while , when trying to charge it on the wall power adapter I do have th…

www.zumouserforums.co.uk

Dismantling an XT vid.

 

[Orinoco]

More info

My xt Does not charge..;

Sorry for my bad English:-) My problem is in the title . I did not use the zumo for a while , when trying to charge it on the wall power adapter I do have th…

www.zumouserforums.co.uk

Dismantling an XT vid.

Resurrection of an old thread… did you solve this?

My battery is doing the same and just over a year old

 

[er-minio]

Mine is doing the same.
But sat unused for almost one year since Easter 2024.

I have to keep it under charge or half an hour before it can work.
Did that, then put it back in the drawer for a month or two and the same happened.

Mine is a bit older though.


I have a friend that recently smashed the glass of his XT. Got a replacement XT (paid) from Garmin and the battery is fucked same way. It would even power off while on the bike (with electricity) and he's getting it replaced again.

 

[Mzokk]

Resurrection of an old thread… did you solve this?

My battery is doing the same and just over a year old

I'm not sure if the OP ever did resolve the issue. Sometimes a new battery is the only option. I keep my XT on my Africa twin even when I'm not using it. It then gets regularly charged. Its three years old now and holds a charge for yonks when its off the bike Same with the 340 and 390 on my R1150GS which I alternate. I thought that the ZUMO 340 battery had died but managed to revive it using the method described above. I think a lot of the Zumo batteries die because folk put them away without doing a hard shutdown i.e. holding the off button down until the "Turn off the Device" dialog appears. Other than that, if you just turn the screen off, the units go into a sort of standby mode and slowly discharge the battery and Li ion batteries do not like being totally discharged and may become fubar'd. If they are used/charged regularly they seem to last a long time. I have an old Circa 2011? BMW Nav IV which is basically the same as the Zumo 660 and the battery is still fine. I use only it when I'm messing about experimenting with OSM maps now not for navigation.

 

[r1200rt]

I did sort-of solve it. I charged it on the bike, which seemed to work better than a wall charger, and it seems to be ok now. I also think you need to shit it down entirely before packing away for the winter.

 

[Redboots]

I did sort-of solve it. I charged it on the bike, which seemed to work better than a wall charger, and it seems to be ok now. I also think you need to shit it down entirely before packing away for the winter.

I never shit mine down.

 

[Orinoco]

Interesting, a case of YMMV, when I've had mine charging on the bike it seems to discharge fast when taken off, but I've had it plugged into a USB socket in the house and seems already to be looking better several hours on! Fingers crossed

 

[GS_PS]

I actually have a monthly task reminder in Google calendar to power up my XT as I've had random discharged battery behaviour in the past despite always making sure to fully power off after use. Despite that, when I tried turning on a couple of weeks ago, nothing beyond a couple of seconds of "splash" screen. Needed- from recollection- almost a couple of days on the charger to get the battery back up to around 80 odd percent. I did wonder if the high temperatures in early July-I saw the room where it's stored hit 30 a couple of times- may have went for it. Either way it continued my love/hate relationship with the XT, great when it works and routes properly, crap when it decides to flake with (random) battery issues or has a repeated U turn guidance melt down. Ultimately I now run it as a secondary nav to my Connected Ride Navigator ( if only because the XT does do somethings better then the CRN such as junction pictorials and speed camera alerts )

As an aside, has anyone had any luck tracking down replacement batteries? I looked a while ago but came up blank, I'd be sodding annoyed if the battery goes completely and it turns into a £400 ornament after only 4 years.

 

[r1200rt]

Garmin seem to have form for bike gps battery issues, i've had two earlier models (395/595?) which both had similar issues

 

[Wapping]

For what it’s worth, I have just dug out my Garmin XT, which was put away a year ago.

1. I always put Garmin devices away, pretty much fully charged.

2. I always shut them down fully, rather than just putting them to sleep.

I roused the device from its forced hibernation. The battery was / is fully live. All I need to do now is update the maps and software, which the device is now doing. I intend to use it, in parallel to my phone, which’ll be running the same routes fir my cross-country jaunt across France and into the border area of Germany.

 

[peter56]

My battery on nav 5 and nav 6 never hold a charge long when off the bike say approx a hour. AND that's despite changing the battery. Never did resolve the problem. I Just live with it.

 

[Redboots]

As an aside, has anyone had any luck tracking down replacement batteries? I looked a while ago but came up blank, I'd be sodding annoyed if the battery goes completely and it turns into a £400 ornament after only 4 years.

If you use an AMPS mount wired through the ignition and/or plug it into a PC/power supply for off-bike use, the battery is of no consequence.
My old Montana had a duff battery and the power button was u/s but never failed on its mount.

 

[Wapping]

I am not sure why anyone wants to leave a GPS device running for an hour, when they are not using it.