Garmin Zumo 590LM battery fix

A "permanent" fix for an always flat, won't charge Zumo battery

I've been meaning to post this for a while and have been reminded/prompted by several related threads over on ZumoForums.

April 2018 UPDATE: the original ZumoUser forum suddenly closed it's doors and all data seems lost (lucky I posted here, eh?). It's replacement can be found at www.zumouserforums.co.uk.

Credit to user stu_m for having the nerve to diddle with the connector in the first place. I'd previously only re-seated the connector a few times to reduce contact resistance and the improvements didn't last.
Please refer to the forum for the origin(s). I will post these details there too, it is just more convenient for me to create here.

Garmin Zumo 590LM.

If your Zumo seems to die within minutes of taking it out of the cradle and doesn't seem to charge no matter how long it's left on charge for or with whatever charger/power supply, then there's a good chance this will work for you.

My fix is slightly more pin-friendly and reduces the risk of bending a pin too much (and crushing or snapping it) and provides improved contact on both sides of the pin and it's mating half, as it should have been at point of manufacture. It's fairly easy to do, you just need a steady hand and good eyesight (or some kind of magnification - close-up pictures here are from a cheap USB microscope).

Step-by-step:

1. Remove battery.

Press down tab and lift out connector.

2. Remove a pin (one at a time to avoid short-circuit or mixing up the sequence) by using either a pin, small jewellers flat-blade screwdriver or the blade of your scalpel/X-Acto knife to carefully lift the tiny pin-retention tab on the connector housing. Gently pull the wire at the same time and it will slide out.

Lift tab and pull out pin.

3. Insert the knife blade between the "sprung" contact surfaces, either side of the pin and "lean" the blade over slightly (both ways) to expand the gap, it doesn't need much.

Spread the contacting surfaces.

4. Re-insert the pin in to the connector housing.

Back home, ensure the tab is pushed back down.

5. Repeat 2-4 for all pins.

6. Re-insert battery, switch on and you should see an immediate improvement.

In the couple of months since I did this, I've never had my 590 die on me or any low battery warning for that matter. Enjoy!


Jan 2020 UPDATE

I just noticed my battery performing badly again. I couldn't be bothered to pull the pins again (I was also doing other things) so opted for a tiny squirt of WD-40 in the battery socket in the back of the Zumo (soak up the excess with tissue paper or shake/blow out the excess). Hey-presto, battery lasted over 2hrs. I suspect it won't last as long as the proper fix but could be useful mid-trip. Use this information at your own risk ;-)

Don't bother: 24hrs later and it was reading low battery. Just did the pin trick again...

No pressure

SatNav installation completed last night, then route tweaking. I was trying to bring it down from 11hrs by using more motorway and main trunk roads, didn't quite manage it.

I'm finding I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself; lots to do in little time. Not what I wanted. I wanted a more relaxed trip. 

Last few bits to pack tonight, mostly my walking gear (in a dry bag on the rack), then final checks...

Sat Nav update

Well, I didn't expect that! I had an email from customer service; they've got new stock in ahead of schedule and are delivering tomorrow! It gives me time to get it installed and to RTFM before the trip.

3 Peaks - Nav

Navigation

With two weeks to go until the first trip I decided to purchase the sat nav that I'd had my eyes on for a while. Up until now I'd only been using the Tom Tom app on my phone which is really good for A-to-B (and via a maximum of 5 way-points), but it had begun to feel a little limiting. You can't follow predetermined routes and it doesn't handle multi-day trips.

A friend had always raved about the Garmin Montana and although it was pretty impressive, it didn't really fit my needs. It was close, but not quite what I wanted. Then Garmin released the Zumo 390 and 590.

Zumo 590LM in portrait mode

The was looking like it was what I needed (the 390 didn't support the "curvy roads" routing - something the Tom Tom app did!). I didn't particularly want to spend a small fortune but I'm at a stage in life were I just want stuff to work and work well. I'm done buying tat. It'll also come in pretty handy for a planned family trip to the south of France and, of course, Iceland. See Touratech's 7 Things You Should Know About the New Zumo 590LM

So with the decision made I found a retailer, it was in stock so I paid for next day delivery to give me chance to install it and become familiar with it. Then I received an email telling me it was not in stock and not expected for another week. It won't be delivered until after I've left...

Don't panic!

Thinking I would just have to take all the paper maps and use the Tom Tom app, it occurred to me that I hadn't booked anything (deliberately), so I could still make it work by swapping holiday from Friday to Monday. Work was cool with it, so now the plan is to install the sat nav on the bike Friday evening and leave early Saturday instead. It obviously doesn't allow much time to get packed and get the route sorted. Best pack as much as I can beforehand.

I've planned over ten hours of riding on Basecamp taking me to Snowdon via the Peak District on some amazing looking roads and through places of interest. I just hope the route transfers correctly to the device when it does arrive.

Route planning with Garmin Basecamp.