SP III not reading data card

[Lord Snooty]

Has anybody else had this problem.

My SP III is having problems reading the data card. Sometimes I have had to power it off and on several times before it is able to read it. Have carried out the usual checks, reseated the card seveal times and have also reloaded the mapset onto it just to make sure that the card was readable by the USB device.

I'm a bit concerned that this could be a symptom of a nasty internal problem, maybe the card interface has shook loose.

Any ideas???

 

[Fanum]

Little bit puzzled about your description here.......what is it you're 'powering on and off'?

The USB card reader doesn't have a power supply.....are you unplugging this from the USB port several times to get it seen or do you mean the PC doesn't see the SPIII and you have to power the SPIII itself on and off several times before the PC will detect it??

 

[Lord Snooty]

Bill,

when I install the card in the SP III unit and power it on it is not always able to read the card. I thought I'd check the data card out by inserting it into the USB device and rewriting the mapset to it which it did ok.

I have contacted Garmin Tech Support today and they have put a replacement card in the post which I think is excellent service. I'm hoping it is just a problem with the card and the replacement will resolve it. Otherwise the SP III will have to go back to Garmin to diagnose the problem and possible repair.

 

[Fanum]

Sounds good Mike.....they do seem to be one of the few companies that take their customer service seriously don't they!

Would you mind telling me the UK contact number please?? I need to get my unit repaired after the aerial fell off somewhere up the M1 (it'd previously been dropped and one of the locating lugs is broken)...all i can find is the merkin number

Cheers

Bill

 

[Fanum]

DOH!!

I should look harder shouldn't I!

Garmin (Europe) Ltd.
Unit 5, The Quadrangle
Abbey Park Industrial Estate
Romsey, Hampshire
SO51 9DL, UK
Phone: 44 1794-519944
Fax: 44 1794-519222

 

[Lord Snooty]

Update

The new data card arrived yesterday, I have loaded a mapset to it but I still have the same problem so clearly it is not a corrupt data card.

I'm in a bit of a pickle here as I am catching a ferry next Saturday to France and I'm not sure that Garmin will be able to fix it and return it by then. Bugger...anybody out there got an SP III they won't be using for the week of Sept 11-18th?

 

[littleredrooster]

Re: Update

Bugger...anybody out there got an SP III they won't be using for the week of Sept 11-18th?

Yup - I owe you a favour. Gimme a shout if you're stuck and we'll sort summat out. May even load the v6 French maps for you.....

 

[Howie]

I'm in a bit of a pickle here as I am catching a ferry next Saturday to France and I'm not sure that Garmin will be able to fix it and return it by then. Bugger...anybody out there got an SP III they won't be using for the week of Sept 11-18th? [/B]

[/QUOTE] Try you local BMW dealership , the may lend you a DEMO one .

I had the same problem and had it replaced under warranty, however have you checked if your LOG data is full up.
I believe this can cause the system not to boot up.

Have a good trip

Regards

Howie

 

[Banjaxed]

Snooty

Hopefully Rooster will sort you out - if not you can borrow my SPIII. PM me if needed.

 

[Mick_rw]

Re: Update

I'm in a bit of a pickle here as I am catching a ferry next Saturday to France and I'm not sure that Garmin will be able to fix it and return it by then. Bugger...anybody out there got an SP III they won't be using for the week of Sept 11-18th?

Have just had my SPIII replaced, when I took it in to them they said 5 - 10 days to fix, had it back in 6 working days, but they replaced and did not repair.

 

[Lord Snooty]

[QUOTE
I had the same problem and had it replaced under warranty, however have you checked if your LOG data is full up.
I believe this can cause the system not to boot up.

Have a good trip

Regards

Howie [/B][/QUOTE]

Howie, how do I check the LOG mate?

 

[Lord Snooty]

Re: Snooty

Hopefully Rooster will sort you out - if not you can borrow my SPIII. PM me if needed.

Paul, thanks for the offer mate. If needs be I'll take up Colin's offer as he is not too far from me. Let's hope Garmin can turn this around in time.

 

[Howie]

[ Howie [/B][/QUOTE]

Howie, how do I check the LOG mate? [/B][/QUOTE]

Press MENU or enter button , its the track log to look for . its in the settings section at the end I think
You may need to clear it , it may be full up
I have the Navigator 2 now , so I've forgot the workings .

However in Germany last year the gps shut down and it was the track log.
2 months later it shut down again and this time it was the computer

cheers

Howie

 

[Lord Snooty]

Update

Just thought I'd post the latest on this.

Sent the SP III to Garmin on Saturday and I called them on Monday afternoon to check it had arrived...it had and the support guy said he would get it over to service and personally see it got preferential treatment due to the urgency.

I called on Tuesday and I'm told that it is fixed....result! My man says he loaded up some maps onto a new card and powered on the SP III and it read the card - no probs, he said he did this 3 or 4 times and it was always ok. The SP III arrives home on Wednesday and I power it on and guess what....it refuses to read the data card! Arse! Tried several times but always the same result and I'm now pretty pissed off. Ok, resort to Plan B which is to take up Littleredrooster's kind offer to loan me his for my week in France - cheers Colin.

Called Garmin yesterday morning and expressed by disatisfaction - the support guy was very apologetic but what became clear is that he never got the service guys to run any diagnostics on the unit. Because it read the card ok he assumed that the problem was solved even though I had told him that I had tried two different cards with the same result. Clearly there is an intermittent problem, probably with the card reader itself.

I'll send it back to them when I return from France but if any of you have similar problems don't assume it is a dodgy card and make sure Garmin carry out proper lab tests.

Right, that's got that off my chest, now roll on 3pm and I'm outta here and on my way to Pompey for the early ferry to Cherbourg on Saturday.

 

[Lord Snooty]

Well done Garmin!

Like all good stories this one has a happy ending. I got back from holiday and returned the SP III to Littleredrooster he kindly loaned me. I then sent my unit to Garmin for the second time. I arrived home from work yesterday and there is a package waiting for me which contains a brand new SP III - yoo hooo!

So well done Garmin, excellent service and thank you very much.

 

[littleredrooster]

Re: Well done Garmin!

.......and there is a package waiting for me which contains a brand new SP III - yoo hooo!

So well done Garmin, excellent service and thank you very much.

Result, Mike!!

 

[Wolfman]

Excellent service

A great company to do business with, their service is second to none, a shame other companies don't take note.

A pleasure to phone them up and get the right advice and with a smile!.

Glad to see they looked after you.

Gary.