GPS II+ memory battery

Yep, that old issue again.

Way back, my II+ exhibited the classic memory battery issue, and under
the "we_know_there's_an_issue_so_it_will_be_fixed_under_warranty" deal
at the time it was "fixed" here in Oz by GME.

It has started showing that message again at every power-on, and it
won't acquire any sats. I've seen most of the numerous threads on the
topic in the various forums, and I now suspect that the GME fix was
NOT to address the charge circuit deficiency but to simply fit a
replacement VL1220(*).

I've had this powered on for most of the last four days using the
Garmin power/data lead on an external supply. In diagnostic mode
(Enter/On) the battery showed as 0.2V this morning, and has now
dropped to 0.1V so it's a safe bet that it's either (a) not getting
any charge or (b) it has a comined load+self_discharge exceeding any
charge current. My bet is the former. Obviously I will check once I
have it apart, but as the service bench here is always busy I won't be
inside it until a repalcment battery is in hand.

So to the reason for posting. Has anyone actually ascertained what
was the issue with the charge circuit and whether it is fixable? If
not, a non-rechargeable battery (as used in the GPS II) might be as
good a replacement - after verifying no charge current is being
supplied.

(*) It wouldn't surprise me if GME actually fitted a non-rechargeable
battery ....

Post-script. Cracked it open to find ....

(a) a 47/16 SMD cap piggy-back parallelled to an existing SMD cap.

(b) two radial electrolytic caps (470u/16V and 68u/50V) had been added
above-board.

(c) a Panasonic BR2032 (non-rechargeable) taped inside the rear cover
and connected via flying leads.

Bastards.

But at least in their (presumably Garmin-sanctioned) butchery they
used a reputable brand of battery.

On Sat, 01 Jan 2011 11:02:27 +0800, who where wrote:


Don't know about Oz, but in the UK you could still demand a repair/
replacement as it's obviously a fault that can be traced back to
manufacture and so is "not fit for purpose". It could also depend on how
old it is. There's a Govt. website that lists many, many items and their
"reasonable expected lifetime". Items which fail inside of this period,
no matter what the warranty might say, must be repaired or replaced by the
retailer or manufacturer. Note, IANAL, that's my interpretation :-)

--
You cannot simply assume someone is honest
just because they are not an MP.