Problems with Garmin Vista

5commer3 · Post by **5commer3** » 14 April 09 11:17 pm

Just thought someone may be able to help me before I throw it off a cliff,
Takes ages to lock in satellites and loses signal easily,
Compass freezes but distance still moves,
Sometimes when it freezes it won't even turn off and you need to remove the batteries,
Never had any problems till a few months ago and it hasn't been dropped or thrown at anything........ YET....
Will try anything,
Does anyone know who repairs Garmin here in AUS,

Big Matt and Shell · Post by **Big Matt and Shell** » 15 April 09 10:59 am

5commer3 wrote:Does anyone know who repairs Garmin here in AUS,

Apart from Garmin?????Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd 
(02) 8882 6100 

U19/ 167 Prospect Hwy 
Seven Hills NSW 2147If it is still in Warranty then send it back they were very helpful when our Oregon died.

mtrax · Post by **mtrax** » 15 April 09 3:29 pm

I did have this problem when I loaded some OEM maps and they said to do a factory RESET which I think is power on while holding one or more buttons, this of course clears any loaded maps and settings.
but fixed my problem.

5commer3 · Post by **5commer3** » 15 April 09 9:17 pm

Thanks for the replies,
As usual it is not long out of warranty,
Ill try the reset mtrax but its hard to know if it has fixed the problem because it usually works ok for the first hour and then plays up the rest of the day...... bit like the kids

If it doesn't work ill give the number a ring that big_matt kindly provided (for some reason I could only get the one in the us) and see how much it will cost to fix or if its even worth it,

EPfarnie · Post by **EPfarnie** » 13 June 09 9:16 am

5commer3 wrote:Just thought someone may be able to help me before I throw it off a cliff,
Takes ages to lock in satellites and loses signal easily,
Compass freezes but distance still moves,
Sometimes when it freezes it won't even turn off and you need to remove the batteries,

Not sure if you have tried this or if it will work but upgrading the firmware version may have an effect.

When i bought my Vista HCX it was running system software (firmware) version 2.60 and used to freeze all the time, i downloaded and installed version 2.70 from the garmin website and my unit hasn't frozen while tracking since.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download.jsp click on additional software, click on your GPSr model and click on unit software download.

hope this helps. cheers

mtrax · Post by **mtrax** » 13 June 09 9:55 am

btw, my rubber casing is coming loose, should I get a new one or just re-glue the existing to body ?

Big Matt and Shell · Post by **Big Matt and Shell** » 13 June 09 10:05 am

mtrax wrote:btw, my rubber casing is coming loose, should I get a new one or just re-glue the existing to body ?

This is a known issue with most of these units. I actually re glued my Vista C that lasted for a further 12 months until I got the Oregon. I know cachers that only have 12 month old units that are doing this.

Camstal · Post by **Camstal** » 13 June 09 2:17 pm

Was using soemones Garmin eTrex Vista on the weekend and experienced the same problems!

Cam

EPfarnie · Post by **EPfarnie** » 14 June 09 8:59 pm

This is a fairly common problem with many of the etrex models. Rubber on my Etrex Vista HCX has been gradually coming unstuck over the last few months, came completely off last week.

In the first instance it is probably worth getting in touch with Garmin and seeing what it will cost to repair/whether still under warranty.

Mine is about due for an upgrade anyway so I tried glueing mine back together yesterday using Selleys "Plastics Glue" which i got from the supermarket - tried some other adhesives but whilst they stuck fine to the GPS they didn't stick so well to the rubber. It seems to have worked for now ---- hopefully it will last the distance and give me a few more months use.

The plastics glue has a primer pen which you use on both surfaces before applying the adhesive.

Cautions with using this product are;
- make sure rubber is positioned properly as if not the buttons will not work properly.
- my rubber seal has stretched due to heat exposure so doesn't quite fit neatly around the GPSr anymore.
- take care not to apply adhesive on the buttons themselves.
- product is pretty messy to use, and sticks pretty quickly on contact so having an appropriate solvent on hand probably wouldn't be a bad idea... i didn't and conseq currently have a layer of super glue on the tips of a few of my fingers.

Other forum posts have mentioned using double sided tape and silicone sealant with varying levels of success

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Problems with Garmin Vista

Problems with Garmin Vista

Re: Problems with Garmin Vista

Re: Problems with Garmin Vista